75th Anniversary of D-Day

[Brill]

Not many of the original assaulters left so I think it’s fitting to use much of the next 96 hours to have a place where we can house a collective body of work dedicated to the sheer courage of the men that just moved forward under unimaginably difficult conditions.

I was 42 the first time I was shot at by a dude in flip flops. I was wearing body armor and surrounded by the best medics the military can produce and they had high tech comma gear to summon MEDEVAC if needed.

These guys hit the beach with WOODEN rifles, wore simple jackets, and were met by an well armed enemy that occupied key terrain.

From Reagan’s speech:

www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-d-day.htm

You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

Nothing Prepares You for Visiting Omaha Beach

 

[Brill]

Article on intel support to the landing.

A Look Back ... Intelligence and the Invasion of Normandy — Central Intelligence Agency

 

[Gunz]

My dad, my friends' dads, were all WW2 vets. My dad went into Southern France in the Dragoon operation in August '44. I grew up in awe of these guys. In particular, Marines in those meat grinder Pacific battles, the Airborne guys who jumped into Normandy in the dark, and the guys who waded ashore under fire on June 6th, 1944.

About the last thing you want to face is predetermined defensive fire from machine gun and mortar positions when the landing craft ramp comes down. No flak jackets, no body armor, just soft tissue...and this after puking your guts out on the LCVP.

No way, brother.

 

[Brill]

About the last thing you want to face is predetermined defensive fire from machine gun and mortar positions when the landing craft ramp comes down. No flak jackets, no body armor, just soft tissue...and this after puking your guts out on the LCVP.

And not think anything about it: Just finish the job so others wouldn’t have to. Incredible.

 

[Devildoc]

It was such a momentous and significant event, it's hard to wrap your head around it. I had a couple uncles, my mother had some cousins that served in world war II. My mother had a cousin that retired from the Marines in the early seventies, Master Gunnery Sergeant, saw action in World War II Korea and Vietnam. These are men of which legends are made.

 

[Brill]

Each generation is tested, from the Army Rangers of D-Day to the college graduates of 2019.

Keep your faith. If you lose it, get it back. It is the thing you will need most, the thing without which nothing is real. “Everything good in your life will spring from it.”

Opinion | ‘Which Way to Pointe du Hoc?’

 

[Brill]

Ike’s address to the joint forces:

I guess this is what Americans woke up to that day.

newsreels:

POTUS’s address to the American people:

 

[AWP]

Overlord is mind boggling in it's own right, but consider that only two years prior German U-boats owned the eastern seaboard of the US and the Luftwaffe was the undisputed king of Europe's skies. The Allies not only defeated those threats, but also gathered enough strength to make the landings possible... in less than 2 years.

 

[Devildoc]

To piggyback @AWP , it was not as if Husky and Torch were exactly shining examples and successful operations. They had a very steep learning curve and really learned a lot of lessons the hard way.

 

[Devildoc]

Just read this over lunch. Note paragraph 6. The numbers are simply staggering.

D-Day 1944 - The Sausages are Stuffed | Small Wars Journal

 

[Gunz]

Just read this over lunch. Note paragraph 6. The numbers are simply staggering.

D-Day 1944 - The Sausages are Stuffed | Small Wars Journal

The number of aircraft involved, including gliders, in both Overlord and Market-Garden just boggles the mind. There's no way guys from later wars can relate to the sheer scope of these monumental shifts of men and material.

And after the breakthrough, the maneuver not of divisions, not of corps of divisions, not of armies, but of army groups.

That's why I'm fascinated by WW2. The scale of everything was just off the charts.

Those were truly The Days.

 

[Devildoc]

The number of aircraft involved, including gliders, in both Overlord and Market-Garden just boggles the mind. There's no way guys from later wars can relate to the sheer scope of these monumental shifts of men and material.

And after the breakthrough, the maneuver not of divisions, not of corps of divisions, not of armies, but of army groups.

That's why I'm fascinated by WW2. The scale of everything was just off the charts. In the Pacific by 1945, the Navy had almost 30 aircraft carriers. And we had atomic weapons.

Those were truly The Days.

I have a book about the Navy and the Cold War, and it starts in Tokyo Harbor with the surrender, and quantifies the number of ships at the end of WWII. In December 1944 we had over 6,000 ships, with 23 battleships, and 90 carriers (fleet and escort). My mind struggles to comprehend.

 

[AWP]

I have a book about the Navy and the Cold War, and it starts in Tokyo Harbor with the surrender, and quantifies the number of ships at the end of WWII. In December 1944 we had over 6,000 ships, with 23 battleships, and 90 carriers (fleet and escort). My mind struggles to comprehend.

Our navy at the end of WWII had more ships than the entire rest of the world combined.

 

[Centermass]

Our navy at the end of WWII had more ships than the entire rest of the world combined.

As for watercraft, the Army had the largest seagoing fleet in World War II

 

[Devildoc]

Very sobering, profound read about Omaha Beach:

First Wave at Omaha Beach

And nice story about a 1st ID medic participating in observances at Normandy. Interesting note in the story: There are only about 480,000 WWII vets still alive (out of 16,000,000 veterans), and given their age, this is likely the last time many of them will be participating in observances.

One of the Few Surviving Heroes of D-Day Shares His Story

 

[Devildoc]

Awesome pics of then vs now:

D-Day Landing Sites Then and Now: Normandy Beaches in 1944 and 70 Years Later

 

[Centermass]

The Regiment is scaling the cliffs again this year.

The boys in action.

 

[Devildoc]

Local buddy of mine, a teacher, raised money to send some students and two D-Day veterans to Normandy. It made NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=817656348605414

 

[Cookie_]

Saw this onFacebook. If only I could be as badass if I reach his age.

https://www.facebook.com/242181938605/posts/10157681447038606

 

[Brill]

The Regiment is scaling the cliffs again this year.

The boys in action.

Glad to see them honoring their heritage but sad to see Mr Safety showed up.