While it would have been nice to be out and about all day on the 6th, it being the actual 70th anniversary of D-Day, it was near impossible for us to get anywhere because of the traffic restrictions. There was a huge exclusion zone which you couldn’t drive in without a permit, and we couldn’t get a permit because our campsite was outside the zone. So we only attended one event on the 6th, at Utah Beach – but it was quite an event.

We had to formulate a very long-winded route from our campsite to Utah Beach, in order to avoid driving in the restricted zone, but we got there without too much of a problem. We had time for a wander around and a sausage baguette (the staple food of a busy sightseeing holiday in Normandy – I think I was turning into a sausage by the end of it), before we had to make ourselves respectable for the Band of Brothers actors’ reunion at Utah Beach. By ‘make ourselves respectable’, I mean getting changed in the car while tourists wandered all around us. We’re so classy. Jo even ended up putting mascara on some French bloke through the car window. Suitably attired, we headed over to the museum and caught a glimpse of Damian Lewis! Our hunch was right! He was the special guest Ross Owen had been talking to us about the previous day. To say we were excited was an understatement. To say there was much internal flapping when I found myself standing next to him at the buffet table is even more of an understatement.

We met up with our lovely fellow nerds, Laura and Elodie, then excitedly headed into the museum. One of the first people we saw as we went in was Scotty Gordon, son of Easy Company’s Walter ‘Smokey’ Gordon. We’ve met him before, when the crazy fool jumped out of a plane with the other Band of Brothers actors in Devon, and he’s one of the nicest guys you could meet. He greeted us so warmly, with a big hug and a shout of “My girls!” – it put the biggest smile on my face. All night I was struck by how nice everyone was to us. At the end of the day, we’re just nerdy girls who are fans of a TV show, and the people at this event didn’t have to be so nice to us – but they all were. They make us feel so welcome and it means the world to us. Scotty posed for a picture with me, Jo and Laura.

Before I go any further, I want to just say that I don’t think I’ll be doing anything with this hideous dress ever again, except for maybe setting it on fire. And as for the red lipstick, I think I might have to retire that too. It’s amazing how you don’t realise what you look like until you see photos. *shudder* Anyway, moving on…

We also had the pleasure of meeting George Luz Jnr, who was also really lovely to talk to. He gave us both a regimental coin, with all of Easy Company’s campaigns on it. It was so kind of him, and it now has pride of place in front of my Band of Brothers book on my bookshelf, which is heaving under the weight of my various collected treasures, more than it is with actual books.

Now it was time to meet the Band of Brothers actors. First up was James Madio (Perconte) and Ross McCall (Liebgott). Jimmy decided they looked like a couple on their wedding day, receiving guests at their reception. Ross’ response to that was, “I don’t like this at all.” Here is a photo of me lurking terrifyingly behind them. Also, we appear to be being photobombed by a ghostly paratrooper…

After I’d met Ross and Jimmy, I headed over to see Shane Taylor, who played Doc Roe, and Robin Laing, who played Babe Heffron. I’ve met Shane before, and he remembered me, which just illustrates what a genuinely lovely guy he is. He always takes so much time to chat to everyone, and as a consequence, the queue to meet Robin and Shane was the longest all night!

Next was Damian Lewis. I don’t really remember much of our conversation except for me spelling out my name for the autograph! It was very cool to meet him, I think he’s an exceptional actor, even if I did give up on watching Homeland (sorry!).

Finally, we met Ben Caplan (Smokey Gordon) and Nick Aaron (Popeye Wynn). It was really touching to hear Ben enthusiastically introducing Scotty Gordon to people too, these guys have the utmost respect for the men of Easy Company and their families.

I also got the chance to meet some more US veterans, including this awesome lady, May Alm, who was a nurse who landed at Omaha Beach. She seems like she had a real sense of adventure when she was young, and I hope I have half her energy and get-up-and-go if I’m lucky enough to live to 93!

With my special Band of Brothers nerd album now full of new signatures, we spent the rest of the evening, rather than milling about, sitting in a corner with our fellow geeks Laura and Elodie, chatting. It was such a great evening. I was struck once again by how nice everyone was, when at the end of the night Robin and Shane came over to say goodbye. They really are very patient and lovely with us. Jimmy Madio was making a very impressive effort to get all the actors out of the door and off for dinner, but with limited success. It was a bit like herding cats, and every time he got one guy ready to leave, another one would wander off. Then Jimmy would come back saying, “We’ve gotta go, we’ve gotta rock and roll now,” and then dart off to try to round somebody else up. He must have been hungry!

The next morning, on about four hours’ sleep, we got up at the crack of dawn, in the pouring rain, and drove over to the Winters Memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony. I ended up completely mis-judging the weather and had to get changed in a grotty service station while Jo drank the world’s strongest coffee. It really was a very early start.

The wreath-laying was very poignant, especially since they got PeeWee Martin, a 101st Airborne veteran, to place the wreath. Damian Lewis spent a lot of time speaking with him, which was lovely to see. It was also a touching sight to see Damian Lewis paying such respectful tribute to the man he portrayed so well on screen.

After the wreath-laying, there was another ‘herding cats’ operation as the designated adult tried to get all the actors back into their mini-buses, which was pretty funny to watch. Also, star of the show was George Calil (who played Alley), who had had a *few* wines the previous evening (he turned up late so I didn’t get a photo), and was expected to have a stonking hangover. He didn’t appear to, and was the perkiest of the bunch, running around in the freezing wind and rain in just a T-shirt. Shane told me George is the noisiest roommate too, they were supposed to be sharing but he had to switch rooms to get some sleep! Robin came over to say hello, and he’d remembered my name from the previous evening. There were 500 people at that event, so for him to make a point of remembering my name was really nice. They really are a genuinely lovely bunch of guys.

The sun was starting to try to make an appearance as we headed to our next stop, the Thomas Meehan Memorial. It’s by a church in a tiny village, and it is in remembrance of First Lieutenant Thomas Meehan and his men, who tragically never made it out of their plane on D-Day, thus giving command of Easy Company to Dick Winters. I think it’s important to remember the part Meehan played in making Easy Company what they were.

We headed onwards to St Mére Eglise, made famous because of paratrooper John Steele’s unlucky landing on the church roof on D-Day, where he had to play dead to avoid being shot at. They still have a paratrooper up there today.

We visited the 101st Airborne Museum. It was so packed, we pretty much had to shuffle around the whole place in single file. I did buy a most excellent sweatshirt from the gift shop though and I think it’s going to be my new favourite, it has the Screaming Eagle on the front.

My favourite part was where you walk through the fuselage of a C-47 plane and you can hear the men sounding off for equipment check. Then you walk out of the door on to a glass walkway above a model of the Normandy countryside, surrounded by paratroopers in the air, with flashes and gunshots all around you – it’s very atmospheric. St Mére Eglise was a hive of activity, with re-enactors and a lot of actual military personnel all over the place. We found a pizzeria, shared a pizza, and watched the world go by for a while.

By the time we got to Dead Man’s Corner Museum it was turning into a scorcher, unrecognisable from the freezing cold rain in the morning. Dead Man’s Corner Museum was a German command post in a house, so named because a soldier was killed as he emerged from a shot-out German tank outside the building, and remained there for several days, becoming a sort of geographical marker (“You turn left at the corner with the dead man.”). It’s only a tiny museum, but it’s a real gem, with well-presented displays and information. The highlight for me was their collection of Easy Company artefacts, including Winters’ uniform.

The star of the exhibit, though, is this letter from Captain Speirs to Forrest Guth, which we could just about read through the glass. The letter was written at the end of the war, bringing Guth up to speed on all that had happened since Bastogne. Speirs actually told him that Easy “hadn’t done much”. Not done much? They’d liberated Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest! It really tickled me, only a badass like Speirs could consider that unremarkable.

Before we headed to Carentan, I had to get changed into more appropriate clothing for the baking heat: cue me stripping off on a grass verge as about 200 paratroopers marched past me. They all got a look at my M&S undercrackers, but I was past caring by this point, it was so hot. They got their revenge for the almighty scare it must have given them by marching very slowly to Carentan, with us stuck behind in the car.

We eventually stopped off at the road into Carentan, where Winters took off his helmet and ran up and down shouting at his men to get out of the ditches and fight. It’s odd to think of that taking place on this quiet road.

We didn’t actually stop in Carentan because it was hot, we were tired, and the traffic was horrendous. I think we only missed a photo opportunity of the town square. We didn’t stop at the Memorial of the Battle of the Bloody Gulch either (the battle featured in Band of Brothers, where Blithe shoots the German soldier and takes some edelweiss). I figure we have to leave a couple of things for when we go back again! To finish the day we visited the Airborne Memorial.

It was an incredible experience to have the privilege of meeting the Band of Brothers actors, family members of the men of Easy and some US veterans. I’m so glad we attended this event. In my humble opinion, Band of Brothers is the greatest TV series ever made – it was a truly unique show which was absolutely a fitting tribute to the heroic men it portrayed. Visiting the places they fought, and seeing their uniforms and letters feels like an enormous honour, especially given the anniversary. This was a couple of days I’ll truly never forget.

Posted by Lindsey Bannister in Blog Tags: 101st Airborne, band of brothers, D-Day, Easy Company, France, normandy, travel, WWII