One of the most rewarding flights I have done this year was to take three American war veterans on a tour of the World War Two, D-Day invasion beaches in Normandy.

I picked up the gentlemen from Fairoaks airport on the outskirts of London and we flew over the channel to Pegasus Bridge at the mouth of the River Orne, near Caen. This bridge was made famous during a heroic glider assault on the morning of June 6th 1944 and by being one of the first objectives to be be captured by Allied troops during Operation Overlord.  

After circling the site, we cruised past the harbour at Ouistreham and along the Normandy coastline observing, from low level, detailed views of the famous beaches coded SWORD, JUNO, GOLD, OMAHA and UTAH.

On the way were able to clearly see the remains of the floating harbour at Arromanches.

By special request, we circled the American war cemetry near OMAHA beach.

Proceeding along OMAHA beach passing the Point du Hoc, by air you could clearly see where the major German gun emplacements once stood.

The airborne tour continued along UTAH beach, before proceeding past the town of Saite-Mere-Eglise and on to Cherbourg Airport. After landing, the veterans continued by taxi to pay their respects to fallen comrades at several cemetries in the area.

During the 50 minute return flight to London, the veterans quietly reminisced on the meories invoked by this tour. It was clear to me that they had had a really special and rewarding day.