Historic Pointe du Hoc Site Open For Visitors, Principals Say

Researchers from Texas A&M University who have worked on restoring the historic World War II battle site Pointe du Hoc in France joined federal backers Wednesday to announce that the site has reopened for visitors after being closed for nine years.

Plans call for dedicating a visitor center at the site on June 6, 2011 – the anniversary of D-Day.

Robert Warden, director of the Center for Heritage Conservation at the College of Architecture, and student researcher Sarah Ackboy joined U.S. Representative Chet Edwards at a news conference Wednesday morning. American Battle Monuments Commission* (ABMC) Secretary Max Cleland joined the conversation via conference call.

“It was the energy of the people of Texas A&M that first showed that the point could be saved, and that got this going,” Cleland said.

The site has significance in Aggie tradition and American history. Pointe du Hoc is the historic battle site in Normandy, France where Earl Rudder and the Second Ranger Battalion scaled cliffs to defeat Nazi Gunners and secure victory on D-Day in 1944. Rudder later became president of Texas A&M.

“Once again the people of the world will be able to visit the this historic site and its monument dedicated to Lt. Colonel Earl Rudder and the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion Rangers,” Edwards noted.

Six years ago, the site was deemed beyond repair — and David Woodcock said he couldn’t disagree when he first saw it.

“Just looking at the cliffs, it does look like a mission impossible,” said Woodcock, an architecture professor. Woodcock said he knew of Rudder’s role in Normandy, and when he first arrived at Texas A&M, Rudder was president.

Six years ago, experts testified before the Military Construction Appropriations subcommittee that preserving the site from wind and coastal erosion was not “practical.” Edwards, who headed the subcommittee, disagreed, and secured $300,000 to begin initial studies at Pointe du Hoc in 2005 and $500,000 in 2006.

The ABMC selected Texas A&M’s Center for Heritage Conservation at the College of Architecture to perform initial studies, record its history and recommend how to stabilize and preserve the site.

Edwards supported Texas A&M’s application to head the project, coordinating letters of support to the ABMC from the U.S. Army Rangers and the Rudder family. The study confirmed that Pointe du Hoc could be saved.

The Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the American Battle Monument Commission, then added $6 million for work to stop erosion at the base of the cliff and ensure the bunker’s stability based on recommendations made by Texas A&M engineers. The ABMC will also utilize $2.5 million to enhance the visitor center and build a walking tour of the battle site keeping intact its unique history once preservation is complete.

Cleland said a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on June 6, 2011, to commemorate the reopening of the monument and the opening of new interpretive sites surrounding it.

“Pointe du Hoc is an iconic symbol of American courage and sacrifice,” he said. “We are grateful to Chet Edwards for his leadership in obtaining the $6 million appropriation that has enabled us to preserve this historic D-Day battlefield and open it once again to the public. We all have a responsibility to tell its stories for generations to come.”

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