The Central Connecticut State University group before departure.
Written by Acadia Otlowski and Sean Begin
Seventy years ago Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy with the goal of liberating Paris and France from Nazi control.
On Wednesday, a group of 21 Central Connecticut State University journalism, history students and faculty members arrived in Paris and headed toward the coast to cover the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
Due to the historic nature of the event, hotels were full. So the group is staying at an alternate location.
“The farm we are staying at is really beautiful and really old … we don’t we don’t have Wi-Fi, but we are going to make the most of it,” said Kiley Krzyzek, 19.
Visiting the Bayeux Tapestry
The lack of internet access makes the journalism work the group is trying to do difficult, but it is possible with the use of local hotspots.
Upon arrival in France, the group traveled on a bus for four hours through Paris traffic and then into the countryside to visit the Bayeux Tapestry. The tapestry depicts the historic landing of Duke William’s troops during the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The tapestry has been called one of the supreme achievements of the Norman Romanesque; the fact that the tapestry is still intact despite its age is part of what makes it so impressive.
“Even though we had audio devices to hear the history of it, we didn’t need those because we could understand the storyline because of how beautifully detailed the tapestry was on its own,” said Morgan Skovich, who has travelled to Paris before with the university, but never to the Normandy region.
Traveling through the French countryside
Slight plane delays leaving John F. Kennedy Airport and the traffic leaving Paris forced the group to skip a trip into Arromanches, a sea resort that was a priority target for the Allies to set up an artificial port. The harbor still contains the remains of the war, which makes it a popular tourist attraction.
As the students have travelled from destination to destination, the students have been able to take in the French countryside, a sight that many visitors to France do not get to see.
“I think that travelling through France and being able to look out the window of the bus is life-changing,” said Matthew Knox, 21, who is travelling abroad for the first time. Knox, like other students on the trip, has researched the history of the area.
The students arrived at the historic beaches on Thursday, not only taking in the scenery, but also interviewing veterans and others who had come to the location for the events.
‘Today was extremely breathtaking. Actually standing on the beaches where so many sacrificed their lives is indescribable. Seeing a U.S. veteran standing on a beach he fought on, seventy years ago, and hearing his story was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Kassondra Granata, 21. We feel “extremely humbled and privileged to retell the story of those whose lives were changed forever.”