D-day

[DonRSD]

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

give a quick look at THIS ARMY LINK
acknowledge your history and become informed on what was possibly the greatest day in american history!

and watch 'Band of Brothers' at least once in your lifetime

http://www.britannica.com/dday

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by DonRSD

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

give a quick look at THIS ARMY LINK
acknowledge your history and become informed on what was possibly the greatest day in american history!

and watch 'Band of Brothers' at least once in your lifetime

http://www.britannica.com/dday

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it was a Great Day in History for far more than the U.S.

[brettallica]

I love the United States. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

[DetroitSportsFan]

I support our armed forces. Sometimes we take for granted what they do for us.

[dpomp]

greatest generation. ever!

[Fors*]

Nice thread Don. And as a veteran of the U.S. Army, I would like to thank my brothers in arms for everything they have done and are doing for us!

[Bigdog]

Could not imagine what that scene must of been like when the gate of that boat dropped, it must of been complete chaos.

R.i.p. to all the men lost on that day 65 years ago, lets hope we have to never see something like that again!

[Grumpz]

I can't imagine a Nation being able to pull off what the Nazi's did, today.

I can't even get my head around the idea that Hitler as smart as he was, was able to create such an army while the world watched.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Thanks to that generation for saving the entire world, literally. And thanks to all of the men and women who serve or have served in the military.

I would also like to add that the people who fought in and survived WWII are an endangered species. If you haven't yet, I would seek out these folks and just talk to them, hear their stories, and thank them for their service. You will thank yourself tremendously after spending an afternoon with one of these heros, and they will be so happy you took the time to show that you appreciate what they did for us and the world.

One of the most touching moments of my life came from spending an afternoon in a nursing home with a WWII vet. We both laughed, we both cried. I'll never forget it.

[JJ]

I love history. Time to pop in "The Longest Day" and "Saving Private Ryan" tomorrow. Well, later today.

Grumpz, read up some history. Your statement could have be blabbing for hours! Curse me and being a history buff. But I prefer to blab in person, anything I could tell you here, you could find on the interwebs!

[uk-guy]

Originally Posted by DonRSD

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.

give a quick look at THIS ARMY LINK
acknowledge your history and become informed on what was possibly the greatest day in american history!

and watch 'Band of Brothers' at least once in your lifetime

http://www.britannica.com/dday

greatest day in American history?? might i add On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British): 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, and 7900 airborne troops.

i think it was more than just a American operation please remember other nations sacrifice

[Grumpz]

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

I love history. Time to pop in "The Longest Day" and "Saving Private Ryan" tomorrow. Well, later today.

Grumpz, read up some history. Your statement could have be blabbing for hours! Curse me and being a history buff. But I prefer to blab in person, anything I could tell you here, you could find on the interwebs!

Originally Posted by uk-guy

greatest day in American history?? might i add On D-Day, the Allies landed around 156,000 troops in Normandy. The American forces landed numbered 73,000: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 airborne troops. In the British and Canadian sector, 83,115 troops were landed (61,715 of them British): 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, and 7900 airborne troops.

i think it was more than just a American operation please remember other nations sacrifice

Originally Posted by Grumpz

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it was a Great Day in History for far more than the U.S.

Like I said JJ....sheesh.

I do know my History and had my Grandfather not been sent home with Polio that destroyed hit left leg, there's a good chance he'd be a stat in the NON-US numbers provided by uk-guy.

Let's not make this an argument or debate. It was a "World War".

[uk-guy]

Having just watched Obama and Sarkozy being received. why no British representation and national anthem on behalf of the United Kingdom and The Commonwealth soldiers who fought and died on those beaches this day ,sixty five years ago. All due respect to the French who we liberated but i am not aware of any French soldiers jumping from landing craft that day. Well done to France and their people for coming through it all, but lets not rewrite history. Any child watching that little snippet today would rightly think it was purely a Franco-American operation. The War Cemeteries show this clearly was not the case. It would appear that our government had other things on their minds other than ensuring our war heroes received the respect they deserve.

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by Purplegrasshopper

Thanks to that generation for saving the entire world, literally. And thanks to all of the men and women who serve or have served in the military.

I would also like to add that the people who fought in and survived WWII are an endangered species. If you haven't yet, I would seek out these folks and just talk to them, hear their stories, and thank them for their service. You will thank yourself tremendously after spending an afternoon with one of these heros, and they will be so happy you took the time to show that you appreciate what they did for us and the world.

One of the most touching moments of my life came from spending an afternoon in a nursing home with a WWII vet. We both laughed, we both cried. I'll never forget it.

that is fantastic!
how can i find a WWII vet in my area to speak to?

[JJ]

Originally Posted by DonRSD

that is fantastic!
how can i find a WWII vet in my area to speak to?

Easy enough. Contact your local veteran's organization - they will be able to help you out. My only regret is that I was born too late to send letters to leading men on both sides of the battle - would've loved to be able to to talk to General Anthony McAuliffe and Admiral Karl Doenitz.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by DonRSD

that is fantastic!
how can i find a WWII vet in my area to speak to?

VA hospitals. But ya...call your local VA and they will assist you.

D-Day is a great day to honor our troops. They gave so much for this Country. The Nazi's had the high ground and they right out onto the beach.. True patriots.

[OrlandoEastwood]

My Grandfather was at Normandy. He was operating one of the alligator boats that had all the soldiers all holed up. Sadly, today, he might pass on. He's in a hospital in Delaware and he's in bad shape. Smoking and Old Age will do that to you.

[Blu-Ron]

Originally Posted by OrlandoEastwood

My Grandfather was at Normandy. He was operating one of the alligator boats that had all the soldiers all holed up. Sadly, today, he might pass on. He's in a hospital in Delaware and he's in bad shape. Smoking and Old Age will do that to you.

Sorry to hear that.

[OrlandoEastwood]

Yeah, he told me old war stories when I was little. He spent a lot of time in Europe afterwards, he was at the base in France and spent several years in Germany in the 50's and 60's after the war.

[rebfandan]

A must-read, IMO. And he also wrote "Band of Brothers", the basis for the miniseries; it's spectacular and a very quick read for the amount of research that went into it. Anyone interested in WWII or American histroy in general should read both.