Never forget !
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My father crossed after they had taken enough ground to set up air fields for medium range bombers. He had very vivid memories of the whole thing from preparation to execution to completion. I am very thankful I got to hear the stories. I still can't get my head around what it was like approaching the beaches in those landing craft with a million bullets whistling all around. Unimaginable courage from so many.
On Sunday I went into a restaurant to pick up a to-go order. In the last booth, sitting by himself was a small man wearing a baseball cap that said WWII Veteran. Couldn’t have been over 5 feet tall, 100 pounds max. I thanked him for his service, and he replied with “We just did what we were supposed to do.” A few minutes later, he went out of his way to come find me and shake my hand. Iron grip. I watched him walk without the assistance of a cane, get into his car, and drive off. They don’t make them like that anymore.
Some amazing photos in this article.
and to think we now have “safe spaces” for people with hurt feelings
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/...f-the-world-are-marching-together-to-victory/
and to think we now have “safe spaces” for people with hurt feelings
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/...f-the-world-are-marching-together-to-victory/
Watch that video above in my previous post. Charles Durning tells that guys who were hit, and knew they wouldn't make it, were crawling over in front of those that would live, sacrificing themselves as shields. That kind of bravery gives me chills just typing it.
Yes they do. Every man is made like that when that is your only option. Like he said "we just did what we were supposed to do". Every generation is the greatest generation but the WW2 vets are up there as some of the greatest American soldiers and men of all-time and I'm grateful for their sacrifices for our country.
June 6 makes me shed a tear every year anymore. These men are in their mid 90's and above. We lose 300 of these men every day. Look them in the eye, thank them while we still can; if we all tried a little harder to imitate their work ethic and quiet dignity this world would be quite different.
These men are to us (in age) what Civil War Vets were to them. Kind of cool when you put it in that perspective.
Whenever I'm around a WWII vet (being a service-member myself) I'm awe struck. We speak about quiet professionalism now....we don't know service, sacrifice, adherence to duty, or professionalism like these gentlemen do. Sure, our current members are fighting an invisible enemy in austere conditions at some points but these men were GONE for up to 4-5 YEARS. Currently, our rotations are 9 months. They were gone until the job was done. They did not have the luxury afforded to our soldiers, sailors, and marines now, but it is because of these men that it is afforded to them. It is because of these men that the American Servicemember is a legendary entity to people from other countries. It is these men that I wanted to emulate growing up.
Hell, somebody's cutting onions in my office as I'm writing this thinking about what that generation endured.
But I am thankful for every last one of them. I wish others within my generation would be as grateful.
Let them know your appreciation while you can, they'll be gone soon...regrettably. But honor them by not letting their efforts be forgotten.
Whenever I'm around a WWII vet (being a service-member myself) I'm awe struck. We speak about quiet professionalism now....we don't know service, sacrifice, adherence to duty, or professionalism like these gentlemen do. Sure, our current members are fighting an invisible enemy in austere conditions at some points but these men were GONE for up to 4-5 YEARS. Currently, our rotations are 9 months. They were gone until the job was done. They did not have the luxury afforded to our soldiers, sailors, and marines now, but it is because of these men that it is afforded to them. It is because of these men that the American Servicemember is a legendary entity to people from other countries. It is these men that I wanted to emulate growing up.
Hell, somebody's cutting onions in my office as I'm writing this thinking about what that generation endured.
But I am thankful for every last one of them. I wish others within my generation would be as grateful.
Let them know your appreciation while you can, they'll be gone soon...regrettably. But honor them by not letting their efforts be forgotten.
My Dad was there. Omaha. Fortunately, not in the first two waves.
He was with the Army Combat Engineers. Mostly bridge construction and demolition.
During the Normandy breakout he got a minor promotion. Assistant truck driver. So most of the time he got to ride instead of walk.
He didn't know it at the time, but he was behind enemy lines for a couple days during the Battle of the Bulge. He and 3 others were put on a checkpoint and told they would be relieved the next day or day after. It ended up being 4 days, and during that time the lines had moved past them, then moved back.
Boot camp graduation, Camp Van Dorn, MS 1943 -
Somewhere in France, 1944
He was with the Army Combat Engineers. Mostly bridge construction and demolition.
During the Normandy breakout he got a minor promotion. Assistant truck driver. So most of the time he got to ride instead of walk.
He didn't know it at the time, but he was behind enemy lines for a couple days during the Battle of the Bulge. He and 3 others were put on a checkpoint and told they would be relieved the next day or day after. It ended up being 4 days, and during that time the lines had moved past them, then moved back.
Boot camp graduation, Camp Van Dorn, MS 1943 -
Somewhere in France, 1944
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Not to sound unpatriotic or anything, but there were a lot more than just Americans. Americans actually comprised less than half of the troops, as well as a big minority of the navy / air support. There were tremendous young men around the world that made the ultimate sacrifice that day. Greatest World Heroes would be a more accurate description.
Dude when are you gonna drop this not the greatest generation crap. Every generation may have the potential to be the greatest but the fact is they're not. If that were so then wars wouldn't have been lost and some of the evils of history not toppled if the all generations were the greatest. Were you not hugged enough that you can't handle someone else being the greatest and you need a trophy?
There are tons of great basketball players but MJ is the greatest. A lot of basketball players have the potential to be the greatest but until they step up and do it, they're not the greatest. That's what that generation did, stepped up and did it. If your or my generation steps up and saves the world from evils such as those faced then we might be in that discussion. Until then, we aren't.
There are tons of great basketball players but MJ is the greatest. A lot of basketball players have the potential to be the greatest but until they step up and do it, they're not the greatest. That's what that generation did, stepped up and did it. If your or my generation steps up and saves the world from evils such as those faced then we might be in that discussion. Until then, we aren't.
Amazing. I spent an extended weekend in Normandy almost 25 years ago when I was a grad student at Southern Miss. My class toured different notable places related to the Normandy invasion: Pegasus Bridge, the beaches, pillboxes, the Normandy American cemetery (which overlooks Omaha Beach), St. Mere Eglise, hedgerows, and a German cemetery. Seeing Omaha twenty-five years ago, I was amazed how high the cliffs are there.
This is my favorite speech by President Reagan, which he delivered thirty-five years ago today:
This is my favorite speech by President Reagan, which he delivered thirty-five years ago today:
yeah. But we’re ******* American...get it?
not to mention, The American LZ was the most deadly.
To be accurate....
US troops made up a slight minority of the units in the initial waves of landings, but a slight majority of the troops assigned to Operation Overlord.
The USN was roughly 33% of the naval vessels, but for combat aircraft assigned to directly support operations on June 6th, the 9th Air Force was probably 1.5 times the size of the assigned British equivalent, 2nd Tactical Air Force. That's based on squadrons of combat aircraft. If you want to expand the conversation to include strategic bombers, that would require more research.
Anyway, I'm fine with celebrating heroes from all the Allied nations, but America's accolades for her contribution are well deserved.
US troops made up a slight minority of the units in the initial waves of landings, but a slight majority of the troops assigned to Operation Overlord.
The USN was roughly 33% of the naval vessels, but for combat aircraft assigned to directly support operations on June 6th, the 9th Air Force was probably 1.5 times the size of the assigned British equivalent, 2nd Tactical Air Force. That's based on squadrons of combat aircraft. If you want to expand the conversation to include strategic bombers, that would require more research.
Anyway, I'm fine with celebrating heroes from all the Allied nations, but America's accolades for her contribution are well deserved.
Without a doubt. That was never up for debate, especially from me as my grandfather was also a vet who fought in France prior to D-day.
But as someone who has studied a lot of WWII history, it’s always been a bit of a pet peeve of mine how many people take an American-centric point of view on D-day and WWII in general, like we are the ones who just waltzed in and saved the day while making the biggest sacrifices along the way. A lot of people don’t realize that just about every other country involved lost as big or a larger percentage of their population in the war. We weren’t fighting as Americans or to save America. We were fighting as part of the Allied Powers in an effort to save the world. There was a much bigger purpose in play. That was the point of my original post. It’s almost underselling it to say they did what they did “for America”.
I'll drop it when baby boomers stop 17ing up our country. Calling everyone's parents the greatest ever created another generation that 17ed everything up and are a bunch of spoiled brat hoarders.
Well to be fair, we havn't really been a conflict as cut and dry as WWII since then. I wonder who it was that was getting us into all those directionless, needless wars?
Another tip of the hat to the Greatest Generation. They didn’t waltz in and save the day. They stepped up and and saved the day through honor, duty, courage, and bloody sacrifice. Damn Axis powers didn’t have a chance. Just took them a while to understand what they had started.
Got to fight in the Pacific and Europe at the same time? No problem, the Greatest Generation stepped up. Fight Rommel in the desert with green troops and inferior armor, got it covered. Daylight precision bombing of occupied Europe? We’ll pay the price. Island hop from bloody fight to bloody fight through tropical jungles, beaches turned to killing fields and kamikaze pilots? Hey we’ll get it done. Take the hard ground in Normandy? Hell yeah we can do it. Did the Greatest Generation save the day? Bet your *** they did, over and over.
Some of you guys make me want to puke.
HD
Got to fight in the Pacific and Europe at the same time? No problem, the Greatest Generation stepped up. Fight Rommel in the desert with green troops and inferior armor, got it covered. Daylight precision bombing of occupied Europe? We’ll pay the price. Island hop from bloody fight to bloody fight through tropical jungles, beaches turned to killing fields and kamikaze pilots? Hey we’ll get it done. Take the hard ground in Normandy? Hell yeah we can do it. Did the Greatest Generation save the day? Bet your *** they did, over and over.
Some of you guys make me want to puke.
HD
What inkling of proof do you have that calling them the greatest generation had any effect on the baby boomers? I'm not even aware that the phrase was even used to describe them until the 80's or 90's when the baby boomers were already in their 30's-40's. A lot of the greatest generation never saw their 20th birthdays and left a world so safe that it allowed the baby boomers to make dumb decisions. The baby boomers that lined up and spat on the boys returning from Vietnam, did the phrase "greatest generation" cause them to do that? That's the same generation in charge today, so they were being dumb before the phrase even became common place, if it had been used at all. Who let's not being called the greatest effect them for the rest of their of their life? You're putting blame on the phrase, not the people.
^^****, man getting misty all over again.
I'm always comparing myself to my grandfathers. And I fall short no matter what I do.
They grew up in the great depression. They had to grow it, feed it, or earn something to trade or else they didn't eat. They had a simplistic, bare bones approach to their lifestyle. And yet they were happier. More practical. You better wear your hat to work, and take it off at the dinner table. Pray before you eat. Yes ma'am, yes sir, or a smack. Family first. Help your fellow man.
Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. This bunch nowadays has lost their way.
I'm always comparing myself to my grandfathers. And I fall short no matter what I do.
They grew up in the great depression. They had to grow it, feed it, or earn something to trade or else they didn't eat. They had a simplistic, bare bones approach to their lifestyle. And yet they were happier. More practical. You better wear your hat to work, and take it off at the dinner table. Pray before you eat. Yes ma'am, yes sir, or a smack. Family first. Help your fellow man.
Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. This bunch nowadays has lost their way.
Well said, my grandfather island hopped and was in the Pacific for 4 years. He joined knowing he would miss the birth of his first born, knowing he may never see her on this side of the grave. Unfortunately he died when I was 9 and before I had any clue about his service and could talk to him about it. My dad said in his whole life he wouldn't speak of the war, only to say that "we saw things we didn't wanna see, ate things we didn't wanna eat, slept in places we didn't wanna sleep, and did things we didn't want to do." I just wish I could have thanked him.
The Google machine confirms that the WWII generation were not called the greatest generation until Tom Brokaw's book by that title came out in 1998. So your claim that that title is the blame for decisions made by baby boomers has no merit.
****. Facing a similar scenario today, you would never get enough men to volunteer and do what they did. You MIGHT get enough guys to fill maybe ONE wave of Higgins boats to storm towards multiple machine gun nests on a cliff. They are literally trying to ban dodgeball in schools now.
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I agree that multiple nations participated in the invasion, but the vast majority of the troops were US (812,000), British and Canadian (640,000). By Aug 21, over 2 million Allied troops had come ashore at Normandy. During that time the US had 124K casualties and the British and Canadians had 83K, representing most of the casualties. The support Navies were predominantly British but this makes sense since the US fleet was split between the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. So, D-Day wasn't a "world" event per se because only about 8 different nations were represented when the armies waded ashore at Normandy. I get your point that it was an Allied event, but if you take the American component out of the equation Operation Overlord would surely had failed or never taken place. You decry the overemphasis of the American involved and turn around and devalue the contribution of the American forces and tactical contribution.
I was just about to mention Brokaw's book before I saw your post. I'd never heard that before then.
To MawMaw61, I don't know how old you are, & therefore the generation to which you belong, but you've got some serious hate for either your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents.
Education was also harder for those generations. Granted, they didn't have the technology that we do. Were they ALL smarter than we are now? No. But they sure as hell were tougher, more disciplined, & more well read.
The generation(s) from every nation involved, including Germany, lived through the Depression & The Great War.
Only one nation blamed everything on the past, the previous generation, the previous group in control, etc. I'll let you figure out which one. I recommend books from all nation's involved, & not Wikipedia.
You can't change the past. Time Travel isn't available. So, sack the 17 up. Quit bitching. If you want to change the future, make it happen. Whining about things you can't control helps no one, not even yourself.
And learn how traffic works.
That’s a little ridiculous. I am not devaluing anything contributed by anyone. I already laid out what the whole point was in my previous reply to 00dawg. And the whole post was in regards to the topic of the thread (D-day, specifically Operation Neptune), not the entirety of Operation Overlord which was obviously much larger in scope. You are correct that Overlord / Neptune would have failed without American ground force and tactical involvement. It also would have failed without British involvement or possibly without the Canadian involvement as well. Every nation contributed and sacrificed a great deal in that battle and the war as a whole. It’s kind of insulting to all involved to even try to keep score on who the “real MVP” was, which is what some people try to do.
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