Michigan Wolverines in Paris: Day 3
4/29/2018 6:54:00 PM | Football, Features
The Wolverines rose early on Sunday for their emotional and historic trip to Normandy. After a 6 a.m. wake-up and breakfast, the travel party buses rolled out for the three-hour bus trip to the northern coast of France.
The team and families watched the movie "Saving Private Ryan," set during World War II, on the bus ride. The film featured the Niland brothers, who are relatives of Michigan men's basketball head coach John Beilein. He spoke to the football team prior to the trip about his family heritage and provided a historical perspective on D-Day that made today's visit even more impactful and personal for the team.
Arriving at 10:30 a.m., Michigan entered the Caen Peace Memorial Museum to learn about the history of World War II. They broke off into six groups and followed guides for an hour-long discussion and sightseeing tour of the museum that concluded with an emotional 20-minute movie about the war and its impact on all of the countries associated with it. The film was dedicated to the 20,000 civilians and 90,000 soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of Normandy, which lasted over three months.
After lunch, the team traveled to Arromanches on the coast of Normandy to see Mulberry Harbour, where supplies were delivered to the Allied troops. The hillsides provided an exquisite view of the body of water below.
The Wolverines arrived in Colleville-sur-Mer and gathered in the parking lot before walking into the American Cemetery in Normandy. The group entered in rows of four, led by players and staff carrying two American flags and a University of Michigan flag.
A moving experience at the Caen Peace Memorial Museum. @UMichFootball learns the history behind World War II.#BonjourBlue pic.twitter.com/ti1N6V0SXe
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) April 29, 2018
U-M proceeded to Memorial Area near the Wall of the Missing, where it held a wreath-laying ceremony in a slight drizzle at 3:30 p.m. Student-athletes Grant Newsome and Ben Bredeson, who each had a relative buried in the cemetery, presented a wreath in front of bronze statue, "Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves."
A woman from the cemetery spoke to the group and Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh said a few words on behalf of the program. All turned to face the flag as "The Star-Spangled Banner" was played, followed by a military salute and the playing of "Taps."
After the moving ceremony concluded, players and staff were given the opportunity to walk the grounds and see the graves of any individuals that might have come from their hometown and/or state. Members of the staff laid flowers at the gravesites of the Niland brothers, Preston and Robert, to pay their respects to the Beilein family relatives. Others distributed their flowers at the sites of individuals from their home state and some members of the travel party put flowers at the two large flagpoles at the entrance to the cemetery area.
The team left the cemetery in the late afternoon and headed to Omaha Beach to see one of the landing spots for the American troops in World War II, and the site with the largest number of casualties. It was low tide when the team arrived and the walk from the street to the water was nearly half a mile. Everyone was able to collect a vial of sand to return home with as a remembrance of this most sacred and historic location.
On its return to Paris, the four buses stopped in Honfleur to have dinner at Le Bistro Du Port before driving the final two hours of the full-day trip.
