We, of course, are history’s observers, but for the day that’s in it, here’s how to beat battlefield fatigue on a Normandy landings tour.
Dermot, our legendary tour guide, defined the phenomenon for us.
Which some, but certainly not I, were feeling on our coach.
In Flanders and in the Somme on our GTI pilgrimage back in the day.
As we covered battlefield after battlefield, cemetery after cemetery, for the centennial anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
It is Normandy’s turn today to face the glare of the world’s gaze as we mark eight decades since 150,000 Allied troops landed in France.
Big round numbers fix our concentration but, of course, every year, every month, every day, our ancestors move that little bit further away.
That they don’t disappear altogether is entirely because of organisations like the Commonwealth Graves Commission.
And tour companies such as GTI which runs a four-day tour from €859pp.
You will arrive in Paris and transfer to Pegasus Bridge Memorial before being taken to your hotel.
Well rested, a luxury not afforded to the soldiers of 1944, you’ll be escorted the next day to the landing sites.
Those you have seen and heard of from Hollywood blockbusters, Sword, Juno & Gold.
It is important to remember too the bravery and sacrifices of ordinary German and Axis troops joined the battle.
Visit Longues-sur-Mer the WW2 artillery battery that formed a part of Germany’s Atlantic Wall coastal fortifications.
And take in the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-Sur-Mer documenting the 14,000 Canadian troops that landed in 1944.
And also visit the Arromanches Landing Museum and Ranville War Cemetery.
Day 3 will take you to the iconic Utah and Omaha sites.
And La Cambe German Cemetery near Bayeux and the St Laurent-sur-Mer American Cemetery.
And take in beautiful Sainte-Mère-Église, one of the first towns liberated.
Now in a reminder that the English Channel or La Manche has long been a corridor of war your last day will see you explore Bayeux.
The Bayeux Military Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War in France.
Its memorial bears the 1800 names of forces who have no known grave.
While there will be plenty of free time in Bayeux with an option to see the Bayeux Tapestry story of William the Conqueror’s liberation of England.
Before returning by executive coach to Paris Airport for your return flight to Dublin.
GTI run a range of dates including this October and across the Normandy Landings dates next year.
Safe in the knowledge that there will be a tour guide just like Dermot.
To beat battlefield fatigue on a Normandy landings tour.