by Herb Moore (Author) Spring in coastal Normandy along the French beaches was a magical time unless it was 1944. There were no gleeful noises of vacationers along the Normandy beaches that spring. Hitler had invaded France several years earlier and the French people were then under the tyrannical influence of German troops, who had taken up residence in the nearby towns and villages around Normandy, building gun turrets and fortifications to bolster the coastal region defenses facing the English Channel. Magic times appeared gone forever. French citizens spoke in hushed tones lest a German sympathizer hear or mistake a comment that could lead to arrest.