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Havre that were heavily fortified by the Atlantic Wall, a series of fortresses, coastal artillery batteries, beachhead defenses and barriers built either on the beaches themselves or inland, manned by more than 700,000 troops. 4,000 Allied soldiers and more than 2,000 Americans died in the invasion. The museums and memorials in Normandy dedicated to D-Day and to wartime France are remarkably well done. The towns and countryside are incredibly lovely, bur the warfare and loss of life during that summer 70 years ago were so horrific the visitor is humbled. The 170-acre cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach holds 9,387 Americans. You walk up from the sun-drenched blue of the Atlantic and the white crosses seem to stretch out on green carpet into infinity. It is a powerful place of grief and reflection. There is also a German cemetery holding 21,000 graves and a British cemetery holding 4,648 graves. Ir took three months for the Allies to secure Normandy and the death toll was high. I was prepared for the gravity of my visit, but not the magnitude of sacrifice. When you visit, go at least to Omaha Beach, Juno Beach, the bunker at Pointe du Hoc, Sainte-MereEglise and the US Airborne Museum, the Caen Memorial, the Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches and the American Military Cemetery.
National Museum of the Royal Navy
Chairman Emeritus and Treasurer Howard Slotnick and President Burchenal Green are presented to HRH Princess Anne, The Princess Royal and discuss modern technologi-es used in the National Museum ofthe Royal Navy's new exhibit, HMS-Hear My Story, that inspires young visitors to learn their maritime history.
Portraying the vital role of the Royal Navy in the shaping of Britain, the National Museum of the Royal Navy now comprises the National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth, the Royal Marines Museum, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, the Fleet Air Arm Museum, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, the Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower, and HMS Victory. Victory is the oldest commissioned naval ship in the wo rld and the flagship of the Commanderin-Chief Naval Home Command. While she is undergoing vital restoration, there are still informative tours, and the museum does an impressive job of depicting the brutality of battle faced by 820 men pressed together with the noise and devastation of the h eavy guns blasting tons of iron, shattering hulls and splintering masts and yards. The museum's vessel collection includes HMS warrior of 1860, the world's first iron-hulled, armored warship; HMS Alliance, the fully restored WWII submarine; and H enry VIII's Tudor 1510 warship Mary Rose, which was recovered and restored in a unique and engaging exhibition. The museum is currently restoring Monitor M33, one of only two British warships to survive from WWI, now dry-docked in the historic dock next to Victory.
Annual Meeting in Erie, Pennsylvania Connected by W'tzter, the Joint Conference of the Canadian Nautical Research Society, the North American Society for Oceanic History, and the National Maritime Historical Society, was held at the Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, Pennsylvania, May 15-1 7. Over one hundred scholars in every field of maritime history gave over 50 presentations on a myriad of topics. Highlights of the conference were the large number of graduate students attending and the high caliber of their presentations, and the excellent presentations on the War of 1812. Captain Walter Rybka, Erie Maritime Museum's administrator and the senior captain of the brig Niagara, spoke on the Bartle of Lake Erie and on the important lessons of the War of 181 2, and gave demonstrations aboard Niagara. Participants got to visit the only three lighthouses of the Western Peninsula of Lake Erie: the Erie Land Lighthouse, the North Pier Light and the Presque Isle Lighthouse. -Burchenal Green, President
SEA HISTORY 148, AUTUMN 2014
During the Annual Meeting (from right to left) Adam Stanisz, j erry Roberts, Lou Norton and fo e Meany haul on the lines aboard the brig Niagara.
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