D-Day - 6 June 1944

[greenberetTFS]

68 years ago today.

Time again to watch "The Longest Day",I like the one where each country speaks in their native language and now it's also in color.........

Big Teddy

[glebo]

God bless'em all....brave souls they were..

[MR2]

Just sit back for a minute and contemplate all the things that went into the conduct of that invasion...

Quite a lot...




...and the enormity of that effort pales in comparison of the fortitude, determination, and just plain guts of the guys who went across those beaches that day.

May God bless them and I pray we never ever have to do such a thing again.

[PRB]

Good day to watch 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'Band of Brothers'

[Richard]

A commander and his men.

Richard

Everybody's seen the pics like this one of Ike visiting with the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division as they are preparing to depart to jump into Normandy as a part of the D-Day operations; here's a bit of information about that event some might find of interest.

Leaving headquarters at Portsmouth, Eisenhower first visited the British 50th Infantry Division and then the U.S. 101st Airborne at Newbury; the latter was predicted to suffer 80 percent casualties. After traveling 90 minutes through the ceaseless flow of troop carriers and trucks, his party arrived unannounced to avoid disrupting the embarkation in progress. The stars on the running board of his automobile had been covered, but the troops recognized "Ike," and word quickly spread of his presence. According to his grandson David, who wrote about the occasion in Eisenhower: At War 1943-1945, the general wandered through the formless groups of soldiers, stepping over packs and guns. The faces of the men had been blackened with charcoal and cocoa to protect against glare and to serve as camouflage. He stopped at intervals to talk to the thick clusters of soldiers gathering around him. He asked their names and homes. "Texas, sir!" one replied. "Don't worry, sir, the 101st is on the job and everything will be taken care of in fine shape." Laughter and applause. Another soldier invited Eisenhower down to his ranch after the war. "Where are you from, soldier?" "Missouri, sir." "And you, soldier?" "Texas, sir." Cheers, and the roll call of the states went on, "like a roll of battle honors," one observer wrote, as it unfolded, affirming an "awareness that the General and the men were associated in a great enterprise."

From a message sent to General Marshall at 0800 on 6 June 1944:

"...last night saw a great portion of a United States airborne division just prior to its takeoff. The enthusiasm, toughness and fitness of every single man were high and the light of battle was in their eyes."

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/d-day-memo/

[Sdiver]

Originally Posted by PRB

Good day to watch 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'Band of Brothers'

.... or "The Longest Day".

[Sdiver]

"Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."

... General Colin Powell

[tunanut]

No time to honor those who fought for our country today, got's me a busy day of campaigning to do.~ Barack Obama

At least there's a mayor of a little Dutch town that isn't going to let his people forget about us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=TEfzVljjuOg#!

[MR2]

Originally Posted by tunanut

No time to honor those who fought for our country today, got's me a busy day of campaigning to do.~ Barack Obama

At least there's a mayor of a little Dutch town that isn't going to let his people forget about us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...v=TEfzVljjuOg#!

Nice video and great tribute to those members of the 82d who took the bridge at Nijmegen in Sep. 1944 as part of Operation Market Garden - not Overloard (D-Day).

[tunanut]

Yes, I know. At least he's making an sincere effort to remember the sacrifices of US soldiers for their city, which is a hell of alot more than our president is doing. I think that we'd be more welcomed in Nijmegen than in DC today.

[greenberetTFS]

I was in the 82nd ABN(Almost Airborne)and my smart ass buddy was in the 101st ABN(Puking Buzzards),we would sound on each other over who was in the best airborne unit............ It was finally decided by me when I was shipped to the 11th ABN(Hells Angels)in Germany......... I forgot what our kassern looked like because we spent so much time training in the boondocks for the potential(mid 50's) Russian invasion that never happened,and if it did,for however time it would have lasted,the 11th ABN was more than ready........

Big Teddy

[Pete]

Soldiers and veterans of 82nd Airborne in France to mark D-Day anniversary

http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012...ac=fo.military

"The French woman serving Cpl. Kristin Tobey and two other Fort Bragg soldiers a home-cooked, five-course meal was alive 68 years ago when Allied forces attacked the Germans in Normandy in what is universally known as D-Day.

What do you remember about that time? Tobey asked, typing her question into an Internet translating service for the woman to read in French.........."

How to do it right.

"..........................Staff Sgt. Justin Butler, an 82nd Airborne Division cavalry scout whose deployment to Afghanistan ended in March when his knee blew out during an ambush, had two grandfathers who fought in Normandy. One landed on the beach at Omaha, the other at Utah.

He remembers as a child hearing his grandfathers' description of the chapel at St. Mere Eglise. This week, he saw it with his own eyes. He walked where they walked and tried to imagine what those days must have been like......................"

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Pete

"...Staff Sgt. Justin Butler, an 82nd Airborne Division cavalry scout whose deployment to Afghanistan ended in March when his knee blew out during an ambush, had two grandfathers who fought in Normandy. One landed on the beach at Omaha, the other at Utah.

He remembers as a child hearing his grandfathers' description of the chapel at St. Mere Eglise. This week, he saw it with his own eyes. He walked where they walked and tried to imagine what those days must have been like..."

Here's the rebuilt chapel's stained glass window which commemorates the 505th PIR's drop at Ste. Mere Eglise. Ste. Mere Eglise was the first village to be liberated under Operation Overlord.

I took my sons there when we were living in Europe to visit the church and museum across the square from the church, and to visit the area just south of there where my ancestral family name originated, the La Haye area near where the 507th jumped along the Mederet River. I also took them to the American cemetery and down to the beach where their grandfather came ashore with the 5th Engineer Special Brigade who was engaged in obstacle clearing during the initial landings. My sons still remember that trip.

And so it goes...

Richard

[bluebb]

I would like to salute the "Greatest Generation" for all they did especially on D-Day. I would also like to salute the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of that generation that are carrying on the fight today. Salute.

Blue

[mojaveman]

Hats off to everyone who participated in Operation Overlord.

Some years ago there was an older gentleman who frequented the American Legion I was a member of who fought in Normandy. He ended up shooting a few Germans and after a few beers he would always tell everyone how guilty he still felt about it.