Day 3 The Preparation.

Today we began our preparation for the channel crossing by visiting some historical significant sites that told about the planning and dedication of our American Servicemen and women. In the morning we visited St Paul's Cathedral, just a stone's throw from the Thames. Anne wanted to make sure everyone knew this is where Diana and Charles were married in 1981! This 1400 year old church survived 3 direct hits during WWII. The interior has 3 massively ornate domes, each one larger as you descend from the top of the church. There are numerous chapels and alcoves that are exquisitely formed and painted. Unfortunately no pictures are allowed inside the church. At the base of the church is a crypt where many famous English are interred. At the East end is a tribute to the American dead of WWII that was built out of the bombed out rubble that took down that part of the church. Inside is a "Book of Remembrance" with the names of 28,000 American servicemen stationed in England who died in WWII. Eisenhower delivered this book in person. A page is turned each day. On the wall backdrop is the only stained glass in the church, depicting many angels, biblical characters, the flags of the 48 states at the time, significant dates in the history of both America and Britain, and the 1st Commandment in latin.
We went down to the crypt and immediately entered the tomb of the Duke of Wellington. In the alcove of the tomb is a tribute to the British Field Marshals of WWII .. including Montgomery, Waverly, Alexander.

Next we went to the Imperial War Museum and visited the WWII display. It was very impressive with many original documents such as Eisenhower's message to the troops on D-1, the Top Secret minutes of the staff meeting just prior to D-Day, Rommel's death certificate and Hitler's Poland Invasion Directive with his signature.

Lastly we visited the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum as it was set up and utilized during the war, from 1939. Especially impressive were the many Churchill speeches that you could listen to while touring the museum. The picture here is Fred with our London Guide, a retired British cold war pilot and wonderful historian.

Tomorrow we are off to Portsmouth, one of the points of embarkation for the D-Day landings.