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Omaha Beach by Caren Freund

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This photo was taken on Omaha Beach in Normandy. Omaha Beach is one of the beaches that the American troops used to storm the Nazis on June 6, 1944: D-Day. There were a total of five beaches that the Allies attacked: Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno. The United States attacked Omaha and Utah, England attacked Gold and Sword, and Canada attacked Juno. Omaha was the first attack, it was a surprise for the Nazis. Gold Beach was the bloodiest of the attacks because the attack occurred hours after the initial attack and the Nazis had time to prepare.             In the photo, the craters are from American cannons. The remains of the bunkers can be seen in the top left of the photo. It is astounding that the level of destruction still exists today. The land is uninhabitable, there are too many craters, ruins and shrapnel along the beach. People reside inland where the land is untouched by the cannons.             Omaha Beach really affected me. To see where so many men lost their

Normandy by Katie Gresbach

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Going to Normandy was one of the places that I was going to because of my military background. I felt like this place was key place for me to see. The tour was going to the museum, having lunch, then going to the beaches, and the American cemetery. These two pictures are of the cemetery. I was emotional as soon as we got there. I was not expecting all that was there with the wall of unknown and the statue. The bottom picture is when I lost the strength that I had. This hit home for me because this person gave the ultimate sacrifice for the world and no one can even know their name. This was when I made the decision to give my brothers and sisters of mine a profound respect. I walked all the way down to the end so that all the stones were facing me, and I turned around and with tears running down my face, I saluted them all. I can only imagine what those soldiers had to go through and I am thankful for what they did. The world would not be the way that it is today without the things

Travel Inspired Musings by Karissa Sjostrom

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Travel can be a disorienting experience whether the travel is done for pleasure or involuntarily. This reorientation can enhance the senses and the emotions increasing receptivity to new experiences. This receptivity can help to form novel, memories, or provide previous knowledge with new significance. This can account for many pleasant or strong memories associated with family vacations, road trips with friends, or even the first year away from home in college. Many people feel driven to explore and travel the world because of this possibility addicting sensation. This altered perception can account for a certain ‘magic’ one can feel in a place like Paris. I often think about the way history leaves remnants which continue to interact with society and shape the future. I am especially intrigued with the idea of ‘sacredness’ as a social and historical construct. Ancient tombs of ‘god-kings’ are meticulously plundered thousands of years after the tombs construction to