Municipality of Vierville-sur-Mer
Municipal Information - Bulletin No. 4 - May 2004 - "vierville.free.fr"
Editorial
Vierville, like all Norman villages, is preparing to welcome the liberators of Europe, paying tribute to their courage, honoring the memory of their missing companions. These men delivered the old continent from the formidable Nazi oppression.
What would happen to our civilization today if young Americans had not accepted on June 6, 44 to face death at the foot of our cliffs? If the French, rejecting servitude and barbarism, had not worked clandestinely to prepare their arrival?
Humanity has entered the 21st century more than ever weakened by its violence, racial hatred, the temptation to destroy democracies.
By organizing commemorative ceremonies, by participating in them, we not only show our gratitude to the fighters of yesterday, but we also reaffirm our commitment to seeing the whole world democratically enter an era of Peace and Freedom.
Jean-Marie Oxéant
Safety: Reminder of some rules of caution
Météo-France broadcasts warning bulletins when it predicts storms, heavy rain or snowfall, thunderstorms...
Everyone is invited to take this into account by respecting some basic rules of caution and especially in high wind:
- bring inside objects that may be taken away
- close doors, windows, shutters
- cancel any trip to sea
- do not drive boulevard de Cauvigny if the sea has invaded it
- do not touch electrical and telephone wires that have fallen to the ground
- avoid leaving home during the storm
Practical information
Town hall: Opening hours:
Monday and Friday 10:30-12:00
Tel.: 02.31.22.42.66 Fax: 02.31.21.38.57
La Poste: Monday and Friday from 9am to 12:00pm; Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10:00am to 12:00pm;
Mail up from Monday to Friday at 4:15 p.m.,
And on Saturday at 11:30 am.
Party room: capacity 100 people, information at the City Hall.
Cult: mass in Vierville in principle on Sunday at 10am, until 12 September.
Firefighters: Tel. 18
Gendarmerie: Tel. 17, or 02 31 22 51 03,
SAMU: Tel. 15
Diste disposal:
The Port-en-Bessin waste disposal facility is open on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., closed on Thursday and Sunday. Other waste disposal facilities are available in the West of Bessin.
Information in City Hall which issues the essential access card.
Tennis Club Viervillais: an outdoor court open all year round from 8am to 10pm.
Information: Multi-Service Grocery
Tel. 02 31 51 08 05
Household Waste:From 1er June to September 15, removal early on Tuesday morning and Friday morning. From September 15, return to the winter diet, on Tuesday morning only.
Waste sorting and recycling
Containers are at your disposal, rue de la Chasse aux Prix, for glasses, paper and plastic and metallic packaging.
Take care to respect the sorting, because sorting errors result in additional costs charged to our taxes.
In addition, make sure not to deposit household waste on the space reserved for containers.
Library
It is open to all on Mondays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., at the City Hall. The secretariat will take the registrations.
Municipal Social Action Center
The 2003 accounts and the 2004 budget were approved on 30 March 2004.
The extension work of the housing of the CCAS located on rue du Hamel aux Prêtres will be carried out from autumn 2004. The project is funded within the framework of the OPAH, with the help of the Commune.
Exit scheduled for the alumni on June 25, direction Saint-Malo.
Computer information
A lot of tourist, geographical, administrative and historical information is available on the website http://vierville.free.fr
You can also consult and print extracts from the cadastral plan of Vierville sur Mer on the General Council's website: http://www.cg14.fr
Viervillais Educational Leisure
Contact: Georgette RACINE, tel. 02.31.22.40.83
From September to June, manual activities every Tuesday from 2pm to 5pm
D.Day Omaha Museum open from 1er April to November 11 and on request from groups, off-season
Contact: Mr. Brissard -
Tel.: 02.31.21.71.80 - Fax: 02.31.21.71.80.
Website: http://www.dday-omaha.com/
Email: dday-omaha@day-omaha.com
Hotels-Restaurants
Casino Hotel:
Tel.: 02.31.22.41.02 - Fax: 02.31.22.41.12
Restaurants
La Plage d'Or, Brasserie Tel.: 02.31.22.40.30
Crêpe shop: Tel.: 02.31.22.44.47
Camping: Mr. and Mrs. Chitel, Tel.: 02.31.22.41.73
Cottages, Bed and Breakfasts, Furnished: according to the list available at the Community of Municipalities.
Shops:
Grocery store, bread deposit: Episervice, M. GODARD -
Pavée Street - Tel.: 02.31.51.08.05
Buchery-charcuterie: M. LEMAROIS -
Paved Street - Tel.: 02.31.22.40.07
Garage / service station / breakdown: Mr. and Mrs. GICQUIAU - Route de Port-en-Bessin -
Tel.: 02.31.22.40.18
Bazar de la Plage d'Or (beach and fishing articles, souvenirs, press): Mr. and Mrs. HAMEL - 14, bd de Cauvigny - Tel.: 02.31.22.40.30
News from the Intercom
The Maison de la Communauté is now open in Formigny. It also houses the Maison des Associations and the Tourist Office.
The new Topoguide du Bessin is on sale there at the price of 6E. It presents fifteen loop hikes, commented and marked. Circuit No. 2 takes you through the municipalities of Vierville, Louvières, and Asnières by discovering churches and castles hidden in the grove.
The competence "sanitation" is transferred to the Community of Municipalities. The SOAF(02 31 39 87 95) is your technical contact.
The lagoon treatment plant is in service. A large number of properties have already been connected. It is essential to obtain the classification in A of our bathing waters, that all the houses located in the collective sanitation area are connected.
For other homes, a Non-Collective Public Sanitation Service will be created to ensure the technical control of individual installations.
The Friends of the Beach
Contact: Danielle GUILLOTTE, tel. 02 31 22 60 41
On June 26, fire of Saint-Jean, in front of the beach.
On July 13, popular ball and fireworks.
August 8, fair to everything.
December 31, evening with dancing meal.
Veterans
Contact: Henri Guédon, tel. 02.31.22.49.83 -
D-Day Omaha Association
Safeguarding and promoting the historical heritage of the Second World War
Contact: Mr. Brissard - Tel.: 02.31.21.71.80 -
The Association's volunteers are currently completing the reassembly in Vierville of 5 footbridges of the former American port of 1944, in a grasslage along Bedford Avenue (VA). They will be inaugurated on the evening of June 9 as part of a musical show.
OMAHA-BEACH BEDFORD Association (VA)
From June 5 to June 8, 2004, the Association will receive a delegation from Bedford. (see program of the Commemorations of the 6th Anniversary).
Some young Americans with their French teachers will join this visit (they will then visit Paris from June 8 to 11, and the Bayeux region from June 14 to 20). They will participate with young Germans (from Altena) and French (from Bayeux) in the various events of the Remembrance.
To join this association, contact: Philippe YGOUF.
Phone: 02 31 21 30 98 Fax: 02 31 22 25 49.
E/mail: philippe.ygouf@laposte.net
Vierville-St-Laurent Hunting Society
Contact: René LENOURICHEL 02.31.22.40.27
A little history of Vierville: the longest day of GI Harold Baumgarten,
Belonging to company B/116 of the 29th division, he landed around 7 a.m. on June 6, 44, after company A/116, just before the descent of Vierville, in the middle of the undermined obstacles.
Immediately targeted by machine guns, while he was still wading in the water, he saw most of his boat companions die by his side. In his immediate vicinity, 2 tanks were shooting at the German blockhouses.
It was then that he received a first bullet that was cushioned by the magazine of his rifle and did not hurt him. He fired a first rifle shot at the German trenches, but his damaged rifle immediately broke in half.
The tide rose quickly (25 cm every 10 minutes) and a shrapnel hit him like a stick, under his left eye, tearing off his cheek, gums and teeth. The cold water of the sea washed his wound and he then crawled towards the dike, half hiding in the rising sea.
The shock had made him furious but he also thought he would die soon. He had had trouble getting rid of his rescue bra, he had no more equipment except his rescue kit hanging on his leg.
Arriving under the dike, he noticed its still current shape: vertical then inclined, it was surmounted by barbed wire, but poorly protected from lateral shots coming from its right.
The soldier Surro of the A/116, leaning against the wall, looked at him with horror and went to the right to look for help. But Baumgarten quickly realized that he should not stay there, he picked up the gun from a dead man and followed Surro who was killed by a bullet through his helmet. He found himself further to the right in a slightly sheltered corner under the main blockhouses of Vierville. Behind him, everywhere dead and wounded on the beach, pushed by the tide, sinister vision for a young soldier.
Later, perhaps around 9 or 10 o'clock, still sheltered behind the dike, he saw coming towards him, coming from the left, Sergeant Cecil Breeden, one of the 3 nurses of Company A/116, comforting the dying and caring for all the wounded he met along the dike. He remembers it: "an angel of goodness", who treated him, gave him morphine, without worrying about the mortar shells that burst in the neighborhood. Cecil told him: « You are hurt now. When I'm hurt, you can help me." Cecil left, he didn't see him again, but he will remember it all his life.
A little later, while he was shooting a wounded soldier in the shelter of the wall, a shell sent him 3 splinters through his helmet, a new wound.
"In front of the wall, there were about four rows of wounded and dead, or about forty soldiers. There were six or eight nurses to take care of it. They had red crosses on their helmets. One of them advised me to join the Saint Laurent sur Mer sector to be evacuated by boat. I said to myself "Why not give up the fight" and then I told myself that I should not stop. However, feeling that death was near, I prayed,".
He stayed, his head was spinning because of the morphine.
In the middle of the day, he saw General Cota on the dike, returning on foot from Vierville by road, accompanied by some guards and 2 or 3 officers. The General encouraged the survivors to leave the beach and made arrangements for the Genie to blow up the anti-tank wall. Baumgarten could not speak " but some guys called the General to come. It was reassuring for us to see this brave man on the beach, despising the snipers"
Baumgarten joined a group of soldiers from the 29ème, half of whom were wounded, but able. They then left the beach, climbing along the cliff, side by side with German trenches with dead soldiers, heading West, the objective of their unit. They went through the field towards the houses on the Grandcamp road. Baumgarten felt remarkably strong, despite his double injury, and excited by the action and morphine, he felt no pain. A grenade throw (the Americans were very trained by their baseball practice) eliminated a group of Germans and they did not make prisoners, but there were only 7 of them to continue, all "ambulatory" wounded.
They finally reached the road from Vierville to Grandcamp, crossed it and that's where Baumgarten received a 3ème injury, a bullet went through his left foot. He sprinkled the wound with sulfamides, put on his shoes and continued limping under shell fire. It was late in the afternoon, they saw no one and stayed a long time, all seven, to rest. Night has fallen, the full moon has risen, bright. Shells falling again, they made the wrong choice to cross the road. A burst of machine gun surprised them and swept them all. They all fell on each other in a ditch, the wounded screaming or moaning. It didn't last long, his comrades died and he was injured a 4th time on his left lip, still losing teeth and gums
He expected to see the Germans arrive to finish it, but no one came. He lost consciousness, and had hallucinations.
Maybe around 3 a.m., he felt himself dying, he was cold, he didn't smell anything (he had still got morphine injections under the skin of his left hand). He drank the water from the gourds that the owners no longer used. And then, miracle, an American ambulance passed by. Unable to speak, he shot a burst of Thompson Gun. The car stopped, and the nurses sat him on the floor and he dozed off when he heard them say "this guy just died".
He found himself on the beach in St. Lawrence, lying on a stretcher, summarily cared for. Around 11 a.m., snipers injured one of the nurses and he received his 5th knee injury. His turn had not come. At 3 p.m. he was embarked on a large boat, the longest day of 32 hours was over for him.
After the war Harold Baumgarten resumed his studies and he became a doctor.
The commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the landing in Vierville
The ceremonies
May 30, 2004, at 3:00 p.m.: Ceremony and flowering of the stele in memory of Roger Sainteny, at the bottom of Bedford Avenue.
June 3, 2004, at 10:30 a.m.: Welcome of veterans and families of the 29th US division, at the bottom of Bedford Avenue.
June 5, 2004, from 8:00 p.m.: Big-Band Concert "De Zendmasters": at the foot of Bedford Avenue
At 9:00 p.m.: Ceremony at the National Guard monument of the United States
The Big-Band concert will resume from 10pm to 11:15pm
From 11:20 p.m. to 11:35 p.m.: Fireworks at Vierville beach (shot from the estacade), and simultaneously on all landing sites.
Allow interrupted traffic on Bedford Avenue and Rue de la Mer from 7:30 p.m. to midnight. A car park will be installed on the cliff, car access through Rue du Mont Olive and pedestrian access on Rue de la Mer.
June 6, 2004: 3:30 p.m.: Ceremonies at the Monument of the 29th Division, then at that of the National Guard.
5:00 p.m.: Ecumenical religious ceremony
5:30 pm: Concert given by a fanfare from Georgia
6:00 p.m.: Parade of 67 Harley-Davidson motorcycles paved in the colors of the Allies.
Expect interrupted traffic on Bedford Avenue and Rue de la Mer between approximately 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. A car park will be installed on the cliff, car access through Rue du Mont Olive and pedestrian access on Rue de la Mer.
To ensure the safety of the ceremonies, traffic will be regulated in Vierville and in a large area of Caen to Isigny, on June 6, from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Only vehicles with a special badge issued by the administrative authorities will be authorized. It is possible that the end of traffic restrictions will be advanced by several hours in the western part of the restricted area.
June 9, 2004: Inauguration of the exhibition of 5 footbridges of the Mulberry artificial port of Omaha Beach, along Bedford Avenue.
From 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm: concert
From 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.: original show on World War II and the Landing, with songs, poems, accompanied by an orchestra and projections on a giant screen.
The demonstrations
Every day, from 9am to 7pm, opening of the Museum D-DAY-OMAHA, Grandcamp road
From May 31 to June 11, 2004, exhibition of military vehicles by the Military Club of Normandy, in front of the castle
From 1er to June 9, 2004: organized with the twinning of the Basse-Normandie and Basse-Franconie Reservoirists: Exhibition of rolling kitchen and rolling bakery (1950 equipment, German Army), with a demonstration of bread making, in partnership with a French baker.
From June 2 to 6, 2004, military vehicle exhibition by the CVMA club, market place
From June 2 to 9, 2004: exhibition of 160 military models and figurines, recalling the battle of Normandy, by Jean Heesen, of Watreloos (59) : at the party hall, facing the sea, at the beginning of Boulevard de Cauvigny
On June 3, 2004, Militaria Exchange organized by the CVMA club, in the courtyard of the old school in front of the town hall
From June 3 to June 10, 2004, exhibition of heavy military vehicles and a field hospital by the MVCG Paris Ile-de-France club, opposite the town hall
From June 3 to June 8, 2004: on 8000m2, CAMP CECIL BREEDEN, (after the name of a nursing GI who distinguished himself on June 6, 44 from the first hour on the beach of Vierville), by the GI 44 club: Reconstruction of an American camp, open to the public, inauguration on June 3, along Bedford Avenue:
Daily life of soldiers - Infirmary - Field hospital - Battery of mortars of 60 - Machine gun position of .30 and .50 - Military Police Post - Signal Corps Telephone Center and PC Radio - Armory - Repair shop - PX
June 3 Inauguration of Camp Cecil Breeden, schedule to be specified
From June 3 to 9, 2004: exhibition of sailing models of the equipment used during the Landing: at the old school in front of the town hall
June 5, 2004, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and June 6 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Exceptional Temporary Post Office, Place de la Mairie
June 5, 2004, around 6:45 p.m.: Arrival of a group of Bedford residents and their mayor, Place de la Mairie, for a three-day stay in families.
June 7, 2004, from 9:30 a.m.: March of the Rangers, organized by the GI 44 club, over 16 km, from Vierville to Louvières, Formigny, Saint-Laurent, Colleville and return to Vierville. Route through the grove. Information, registration: Réal Desmarets, Tel. 003256558720.
June 8, 2004: at 8:30 p.m., Concert given by the Dallas Police Choir, at the church, traditional songs of the United States
June 12, 2004: at 2:30 p.m. "My village is told 1939-45" successively in Vierville, Saint-Laurent and Colleville, testimonies on the life of the villages during the war
Call to Residents:
The inhabitants are invited to participate in these ceremonies and we would like to reserve the warmest possible welcome to the 62 veterans of the 29ème from the morning of June 3 at 10:30 a.m., National Guard monument - come in large numbers to this 1er appointment. ! (Be accompanied by your friends).
Young people (from about 14 to 20 years old) who would like to take an active part in the ceremony on June 5 at 9 p.m. can make themselves known without further delay at the town hall.
Children (from about 6 to 14 years old) are expected at the ceremony on June 6 at 3:30 p.m. with a bouquet of flowers from their parents' garden: they will be called to deposit these flowers at the monument of the 29th at the closing of the ceremony.
And more generally, all goodwill is welcome to strengthen the small teams of volunteers who will work on the preparation of the ceremonies of June 3, 5 and 6, 2004.
Thank you for your support.