Justin and I saunter along the very beach where 338,000 Allied soldiers evacuated during WWII. Today, a marble memorial stands in Dunkirk, with the following inscribed in French – to the glorious memory of the pilots, mariners, and soldiers of the French and Allied armies who sacrificed themselves in the Battle of Dunkirk, May – June 1940.

The movie Atonement depicted Dunkirk beach as a fallen paradise. Drunk in the delirium of complete despair, stranded Allied soldiers drank to abandon. Horses ran wild. Buildings were burned to rubble against the backdrop of an abandoned Ferris wheel. Today, there is little evidence of WWII sorrow. Charming houses add a riot of playful colors to the beach. The beach is starkly beautiful and serene. The waves have long washed away the remnants of war.