Sixty seven years ago today was the D-Day invasion at Normandy:
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.
Watching the grainy footage, the courage of the men in the landing parties is simply stunning. They were assaulting a beach - an open, unforgiving terrain with little to no cover - while German soldiers sat entrenched in hardened concrete bunkers with 8mm belt-fed machine guns. Most of the first waves perished within seconds - the men first off the amphibious assault craft surely must have known they were marching to their doom. Yet they marched still.
10,000 or more casualties. 2,500 to 4,500 killed in the invasion. Wave after wave of soldiers stormed the beaches under withering machine gun fire, bombardment, and aerial assault. The D-Day invasion was the largest amphibious assault in human history, and stands likely to retain that record as modern warfare changes. The invasion was a success because thousands of men gave their lives so that a madman would not triumph in Europe.
And yet Google chooses not to celebrate this anniversary (although they did honor the 92nd birthday of children's author Richard Scarry...)
That is all.
4 comments:
I always catch myself re-reading the Peanuts strips for D-Day. Posted above my desk at work (yes, it stays there year-round) is the famous Sunday-sized Peanuts strip with Snoopy on the beach. Just use Google Images to look for "Peanuts D-Day" to find some of them.
June 6, 1944 "To Remember"
I had the pleasure of visiting the D-Day beaches and touring the D-Day memorial museum in Caen, France. The cratered ground was covered over in grass and the concrete bunkers were devoid of weaponry but there remained a presence from the battles waged there - like the events that occurred could never be distilled from the land itself. I hope that presence never fades so future generations can be touched by the bravery and sacrifice of the soldiers who fought there to secure their freedom.
Let us not forget that over in the Pacific, just two years before, another battle where many risked all and gave their all had been waged.
I am, of course, talking about the battle of Midway, 4-7 June 1942.
It was the turning point in the Pacific war, but is somewhat overshadowed by the anniversary of the Normandy landings.
There was heroism in both battles, but be sure and look up the exploits and sacrifices of Torpedo Squadron 8.
It IS a presence even today (screw Google)... And well worth the trip if one can make it. Sent chills up my spine standing at the top of Omaha Beach.
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