AAPA members (15 in all) took a day trip to Normandy, April 23, 2024, in advance of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings June 6, 1944 — the  beginning of the end of W orld War II in Europe. Intent on learning about how the day unfolded and what occurred in the weeks and months following the landings, we visited key sites and met with officials in charge of the Normandy D-Day anniversary celebrations:
We had a tour in English with guide Pierre Alain Lebreton of the medieval Abbaye aux Hommes  — currently the Caen city hall, but in 1944 the center of administrative activities after the Allies’ landing.
Then to the Hôtel de la Préfecture, where the Liberation Mission hosted us for lunch and organized a meeting with the Prefect of Calvados, Stéphane Bredin; the President of Mission Libération, Ambassador Philippe Etienne, and the President of the scientific council working with the Mission Denis Peschanski, an historian specializing in WWII.

Finally, a private guided tour with knowledgeable guide Gwenael Pierre of the British Memorial, Omaha Beach, and the American Cemetery before heading back to Paris.