Utah Beach, Normandy

(2004 photo by Don Dale)

Utah Beach could not have been more peaceful or serene on the September morning in 2004 when we arrived on the Normandy coast. The tide was out, leaving an immense expanse of smooth sand leading up to the tall green grass that waved in a chilly, light breeze.

A horse drawing a sulky and driver made his way slowly along the water's edge, picking his way around tidal pools. Not another soul was in sight.

Utah Beach was a far different place on the morning of June 6, 1944, as Operation Overlord -- the Allied invasion of Europe -- began. Utah was the name given by war planners to the right flank, the westernmost, of the Allied landing beaches.

At a few minutes after 6:30 a.m., the first wave of Allied landing craft lowered their ramps, and American soldiers waded about 100 yards to the beach. Led by Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., they were about 2,000 yards south of their intended landing zone. Undeterred, Gen. Roosevelt told his men "We'll start the war from here." (Gen. Roosevelt was later awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that morning.)

At the end of the day, the men who landed on Utah Beach counted themselves lucky. Some 23,250 troops landed safely, along with 1,700 vehicles. There were about 200 casualties. Unlike other D-Day beaches, Utah was not heavily defended, and a pre-invasion Allied bombardment had eliminated many fortified positions. American bombers flew low to provide air support. And, significantly, 13,000 glider and paratroop forces from the 101st and 82nd U.S. Airborne Divisions that had dropped inland hours before the coastal assault had been fighting their way toward the beach, clearing enemy positions and preventing any significant German counterattack.

Utah Beach was the first of the Allied invasion sites we visited that day. We walked quietly along the pristine beach. A few of us used film canisters to scoop up sand to take back home.

And we tried to imagine what it must have been like 60 years before.