Holy Mary of the Mount Historic Village (Sainte-Marie-du-Mont)

Sainte-Marie-du-Mont is a small Norman village that claims to be the first metropolitan French commune liberated on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Located just 5 kilometers inland from Utah Beach, the village was at the southern edge of Drop Zone C where American paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division landed in the early hours of the invasion. The 11th-century Church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption dominates the village with its 65-meter bell tower, which German forces used as an observation post during the occupation. Fierce street fighting erupted when paratroopers landed in the village center at night, and the church changed hands multiple times before liberation came in the early afternoon when Sherman tanks from Utah Beach linked up with the airborne troops. Today visitors can walk the atmospheric streets where 1940s architecture remains largely intact, visit the historic Bar du 6 Juin café with its D-Day frescoes and small museum, and see the Liberty Highway Marker 00 nearby. The village serves as an excellent base for exploring Utah Beach and the nearby Brecourt Manor site where Easy Company conducted its famous assault on German artillery positions.