St. Mere Eglise certainly is touristy now with museums and restaurants catering to D-Day tour groups. But the town’s ancient church and the huge square surrounding it remain. A parachute is posed on the church’s tower representing that of John Steele (Red Buttons in the Longest Day movie) the paratrooper who landed there on the early hours of D-Day. He was captured, but later escaped the Germans. Incidentally, our guide said Steele actually was stuck on the opposite side of the church, but this works better for tourists taking photos!