JUNE 6, 1944 D-DAY

Amen, sister.

God bless our veterans. We talk about their bravery and sacrifice every day in our house. I want my kids to grow up grateful for our freedoms.

Superb photos. At some point, images like these will be the only witness to it all.

thank you, indeed.













(and thanks for the thread bump, reg)

Being part of the British Empire, during WWII South African armed forces were in the thick of it. My father joined the army in 1939 and fought both in Italy and North Africa. He was one of the few South Africans that joined the Eigth Army in the battle of El Alamein.

He survived, but was traumatized for life and could never stop talking about his experiences. Those days lived with him always.



"All that is necessary is that each and every officer and men should enter this battle with the determination to see it through, to fight and kill, and finally to win. If we do this, there can be only one result - together, we will hit the enemy for six out of Africa." - General Bernard Montgomery's message to the troops before the battle of El Alamein.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/battle_of_el_alamein.htm

Bump...

I have paused through the day to remember the veterans.

Thank you to all of them.

I met one at the doctor's waiting room this week (he had a WWII Navy ball cap on). He had to run ammunition to the ships out in the cold North Atlantic. He said he was afraid every minute of it.

This just out: D-Day 68th Anniversary Anthology. (Okay, I've got a novel excerpt on pg. 45.)

Awesome thread. I'm glad it gets bumped up every year.

The way I commemorate this day: it marks the beginning of the end of Germany's darkest chapter. So thanks for that!

My thanks to all those who have served in war and peace. I put the flag out earlier and will play Highland Laddie, The Road to the Isles and Mist-covered Mountains later tonight in honor of WW2 Piper Bill Millin and all the men and women who have ever served.

I think I will play the Marine anthem.

regdog said:

I can't imagine how scared s***less those guys must have been in those landing craft.

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Regdog, me either. Saving Private Ryan gave me a little taste of what it must have been like. My dad was a staff sergeant in the Army Air Force and served in the Pacific Theater.

This is the first mention I've seen today of the anniversary. Thank you for the remembrance.

My husband's grandfather is one of these heroes. There are far too few of the good men in his battalion left. I wish I could thank them every day for their bravery and their service. They are the greatest men I have ever known and will ever know, and they will never be forgotten.

My dad served in the U.S. Navy 1939-1959. He was at seaman at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and by D-Day was chief in the Samoan Islands. He remembered his crew cheering at the news of 70 years ago.

Half-light. Artillery. Aircraft. Small Arms. Machine guns. Noise. Heavy equipment. Comrades falling. Sand. Is the water less than chest high? Man, oh man - truly terrifying.

One of the most moving phrases for me is- Tell them that for their tomorrow we gave our today.


I salute you all.

regdog said:

I can't imagine how scared s***less those guys must have been in those landing craft.

Click to expand...

My dad served in WWII and went on to make a career of the Navy. An uncle was at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, another uncle was a POW in Germany (the family found out he was still alive when he showed up in a newsreel airing at the local theater) and my mom's cousin was a paratrooper on D-Day.

Right now I'm listening to Radio Once More's coverage of D-Day as it happened. Fascinating to hear exactly what radio audiences heard 70 years ago today, complete with interruptions of regularly scheduled shows for invasion updates and announcer caveats of "so far as we know." I had no idea that most of the first invasion news came from German media, not Allied reports.

Ken said:

... "the greatest generation," to be sure.

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Yes, but only because the challenge they were presented with was great, just, honorable, and heroic.

Had a great uncle at Normandy on D-Day who stepped on a land mine and nearly lost a leg. Walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

As always, Americans serve with valor, regardless of the challenge they're presented with. If anything, we were late to this dance.

My respect and gratitude to all U.S. servicemen.

I have my dad's personal pics of WWII in South Pacific. There were entire islands with not more than one or two trees.. sticks, really.. left standing where thick jungles had been. It's heart breaking to think of all those young guys who didn't return. They were all good men.

And women! Here is what I found: "Approximately 543 military women died in the line of duty during World War II, including 16 from enemy fire, and others from a variety of causes including aircraft and vehicle accidents and illness. Seventeen military nurses died during the Korean War, most from aircraft crashes. Eight military women died while serving in Vietnam, one from enemy fire, and 16 died during Operation Desert Storm."
- Taken from http://www.womensmemorial.org -

Some fantastic stories on the Beeb coverage today

The granddaughter of a veteran who couldn't work out why she was being treated like a princess, or why the town had statues to her Grand Dad everywhere. Turns out he was the only Brit to receive a VC for actions on D-Day (inlcluding IIRC rescuing 40 prisoners/hostages from the town) She had no idea!

The guy storming a beach who heard his brother had been hit up the beach so he stole a bicycle and rode it (under all that mortar fire!) until he found him, encased in sand from a mortar strike and saved him

And a fave -- a veteran from a nursing home quite close. He was told not to go (too ill/frail) so he snuck out, decked himself in full uniform and went anyway. The police (alerted by the home) found him and told him to get on with it