Our time spent at Point du Hoc produced the most vivid exposure to the realities of D-Day. The unchanged landscapes gave a stunning snapshot of the destruction of war, as craters shaped from artillery barrages and damaged bunkers lined the cliffs. When you look down at how small the beachheads are below the cliffs, you begin to realize that what historians tell you of the gargantuan task the U.S. Rangers faced was even more impossible than anything you could have imagined.