The bravest and the best generation in history stormed the beaches of Normandy. My grandpa was one of them. RIP. Much respect to those scared kids who were thrown into hell to liberate Europe. Never forget!!
75 years tomorrow...
- Thread starter HBK4life_rivals100467
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I was fortunate enough to be there three weeks ago. It’s the most beautiful but solemn place you can ever imagine. My wife said it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen, even knowing how many kids were buried there. It almost brought me to tears just thinking about it. If you ever have a chance, make your way to Omaha beach.
Regardless of what the media would like you to believe, the French still remember. There is a little town about five minutes away that has banners honoring individual service men that died in those battles. American flags are still flying. We saw a billboard in three other towns driving around France that indicated they had an American cemetery in their town. We were there on a Saturday, and there was a French school group visiting the grounds.
It made me very proud to be an American, but I just can’t imagine the horror those kids went through.
Regardless of what the media would like you to believe, the French still remember. There is a little town about five minutes away that has banners honoring individual service men that died in those battles. American flags are still flying. We saw a billboard in three other towns driving around France that indicated they had an American cemetery in their town. We were there on a Saturday, and there was a French school group visiting the grounds.
It made me very proud to be an American, but I just can’t imagine the horror those kids went through.
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An 87-year-old American World War II Army veteran decided to take his family to France as a last hoorah. Everyone was excited to go, so they took their vacations, booked their flights and off they went across the big pond.
After exiting the plane, the vet approached customs and was asked by the agent for his passport.
He fumbled a bit to look for it in his bag but couldn’t find it. His family came to his aid, but the French agent was incredibly impatient and rude.
“Sir, have you ever been to France?” he asked.
The veteran respectfully answered that he had.
“Well, you should know then that you should have your passport handy when entering France,” he said rather harshly.
Without missing a beat the vet fired back, “To be honest, the last time I was in France was on D-Day in 1944 and there wasn’t a Frenchmen in sight to show my papers to.”
After exiting the plane, the vet approached customs and was asked by the agent for his passport.
He fumbled a bit to look for it in his bag but couldn’t find it. His family came to his aid, but the French agent was incredibly impatient and rude.
“Sir, have you ever been to France?” he asked.
The veteran respectfully answered that he had.
“Well, you should know then that you should have your passport handy when entering France,” he said rather harshly.
Without missing a beat the vet fired back, “To be honest, the last time I was in France was on D-Day in 1944 and there wasn’t a Frenchmen in sight to show my papers to.”
That is on my bucket list along with Pearl Harbor. A friend of mine and his son are there now. Can’t wait to see the pictures.
Thanks for this post. We just saw our own kid off, today, for his second summer at Ft. Benning. They are kids with an admirable mindset - but are still kids, all the same!The bravest and the best generation in history stormed the beaches of Normandy. My grandpa was one of them. RIP. Much respect to those scared kids who were thrown into hell to liberate Europe. Never forget!!
Pearl Harbor is amazing to visit. Pictures don’t do that place justice. We had 3 generations of family on our trip and all were in awe. Having a grandfather who fought in the Pacific, Purple Heart/Silver Star winner, etc it is extremely humbling. Like others on the board who have/had WWII vets in the family, my grandfather was the coolest dude I’ve ever met hands down. Tough summa b!tch too!
God bless em. THE longest day. I have an uncle buried in Luxembourg. Killed in Action Battle of the Bulge. Armored division. Anti- tank gun. He had written his last letter to my Dad and said how frightening it was.The bravest and the best generation in history stormed the beaches of Normandy. My grandpa was one of them. RIP. Much respect to those scared kids who were thrown into hell to liberate Europe. Never forget!!
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Unimaginable what they had to go through. God bless those men, and all men and women who suffer because of their service to this country.
I’ve been to Pearl Harbor twice. The first time was when I was 14 some 28 years ago. The second time was about 4 years ago. The most interesting part the second time, was that me and my wife were flying from where we were staying in Kapalua on Maui over to Oahu. The plane we took from Maui to Oahu was not much bigger than a Japanese Zero. I can remember thinking how beautiful the Harbor looked at about 12,000 feet, and the clear view of ships at anchor. I just imagined what it must have looked like from that viewpoint. I couldn’t help but think about the chaos that took place on the ground while at the same time feeling anger toward the enemy that cowardly dropped bombs at what amounted to a turkey shoot anchored at Harbor. But also considered that despite the tragedy, perhaps it was the divine stroke that pushed us into a war that we were inevitably going to join. On December 7, 1941 we had no immediate intention of joining the war. I like to think that because of our “early” entrance into the war, more lives were saved than were lost on that day.
The same is true of D-Day. I’ve read Ryan, Ambrose, Atkinson and many others. Those boys took those 5 beaches against all odds, especially at Omaha and Utah. They should have been thrown off of the beaches. Instead, grit, determination, overwhelming will power and a touch of divine intervention won the day. Every time I read of it I am in awe of the courage it took to win the day. A truly amazing feat of arms.
There were a few Navy destroyers that went in very close to knock out pill boxes on Omaha that neutralized the sighted in field of fire of the German machine gunners that allowed a lot of those kids to survive and take the beach head. Thank God pretty much everyone did their jobs as they realized how desperate the situation was. But, so many of them landed in the wrong places because of the chaos and smoke and the airborne troops were scattered that it ended up being the common soldiers and officers thinking on their feet, improvising, and American (and British and some French) ingenuity, determination, and guts that helped save the day.
I was sitting in a waiting room at the VA hospital waiting for an appointment, yesterday, and overheard a conversation about the veteran who was speaking having met a world war ll vet, recently, who was still pretty young for being in wwll. The wwll vet he was speaking about enlisted when he was 15 by lying about his age. When he was 16, he landed on Omaha Beach and survived. Can you imagine yourself at 16 living through that?
We all owe a debt to the greatest generation; who willingly put themselves in danger for a country that wasnt their own and for people they didnt know. All in the name of ensuring it didnt reach our soil, standing for the broken, and to free the oppressed. History isnt perfect but, I am damn proud to be an American.
Great interviews if you have an hour to kill.
We are an incredibly blessed people, to have had the bravery on display for us, not only 75 years ago, but every day that soldiers risk their lives.
It's not a stretch to say that June 6, 1944, was one of the 5 most significant days of the 20th century.
The Eisenhower Museum in Abilene has a grand reopening today...it's on MY bucket list to see in the next few weeks....
It's not a stretch to say that June 6, 1944, was one of the 5 most significant days of the 20th century.
The Eisenhower Museum in Abilene has a grand reopening today...it's on MY bucket list to see in the next few weeks....
We were blessed to have a man named Arthur Dunn come speak to our students on a couple of occasions about his experiences at Pearl Harbor... he had just turned 19, straight out of high school and he was in the water for 18 hours before being rescued... I’ll never forget that one of my 7th grade kids asked him how often he thought about it and his answer?” Every day of my life”
Yep, that certainly helped. I also think the airborne misdrops caused more problems for the Germans than for our boys. That fact that they prevailed despite the misdrops and the missed landings on the beaches is a testament to not only their bravery but their preparation as well. Especially the junior officers and NCOs on the ground.
I can't imagine what went through the servicemens' minds coming in on the boats, knowing full well there was a 25-50% chance they wouldn't make it past the beach. We can never repay the debt we owe them. Thanks to all who serve and have served.
Band of Brothers is well worth your time
was there last summer.
if you can go sometime, i recommend it.
signed my name in the visitor book at the Omaha beach museum from - Omaha, NE.
there was no way in hell that i was signing that i was from anywhere else...
if you can go sometime, i recommend it.
signed my name in the visitor book at the Omaha beach museum from - Omaha, NE.
there was no way in hell that i was signing that i was from anywhere else...
command and Eisenhower expected upwards to as much as 80-85% casualties in the airborne divisions. That's why you see those pictures of him visiting with the paratroopers before they took off on the 5th of June. Fortunately, there were much less than expected, but still very high.
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VALOR is not just another overused word.We all owe a debt to the greatest generation; who willingly put themselves in danger for a country that wasnt their own and for people they didnt know. All in the name of ensuring it didnt reach our soil, standing for the broken, and to free the oppressed. History isnt perfect but, I am damn proud to be an American.
Omaha was ROUGH, but the rest of the D-Day invasion was pretty much a cakewalk, compared to the casualty rates assumed beforehand (I edited this post). Once we had the brunt of our forces entrenched in France, it was all over for the Nazis.
For those fans of World War II, I suggest "Blood Upon The Snow."
For true history buffs, it is important to recognize where the worst of the ground battles were held...and the casualty rates.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0233103/
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Great post. Airborne was a death sentence, dropping behind enemy lines, and they pulled it off.
Beaches besides Omaha exceptionally better than estimates in terms of casualty rates. Once we got a beachhold...Kaput Nazi scoundrels!
I think what is amazing is how they took it WITHOUT being thrown off. The seas were rough, boats were not making it to shore. Omaha was blanketed in enemy fire, yet our troops made it to the cliffs and advanced up and achieved a foothold.
The American soldier is arguably the greatest soldier ever. We fight for freedom and for the guy next to us. That bond is unbreakable.
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Condolences, that battle was awful. My uncle, who I never met, went in and out of the Chosin in Korea and died during a meaningless skirmish before getting out of there, killed by a Chinese sniper. RIP
My son is there now. He is on a trip with his school. He was lucky enough to be in the VIP section of the main event today. He met and took photos with most of the US dignitaries this afternoon. He was pumped
Another uncle of mine was a combat marine in Korea. Purple Heart recipient.
Come from a long line of white trash who died in American wars that made a difference. Had a cousin that assaulted Tarawa. Came home and was NEVER the same. If you guys want to read about invasions that cost us inhumane casualties, read about The Pacific Front.
Glad Truman had the balls to nuke Japan and end it all.
I don’t know that I would call it a cakewalk, but certainly the other landing beaches were not nearly as horrific as Omaha. Gold was probably the “easiest” landing site with Sword and Utah close seconds. The Canadians took some pretty heavy fire and casualties at Juno, but Omaha was certainly the worst by far. Had the Airborne landings been more precise it may have helped negate casualties on the beaches, but as it was, they drops caused enough chaos that it threw the Germans into a frenzy. It took them the better part of 12-24 hours to really figure out just what was happening. Obviously we’ll never know, but I’m of the opinion that the airborne misdrops were a blessing. The Germans knew an invasion was coming. I think had the airborne drops been on target, the Germans may have figured it out sooner than they did. The misdrops and the ensuing chaos caused enough of a distraction that it wasn’t until it was too late that the Germans realized the invasion was happening.
As for the Russians... sigh... maybe I’m a bit too American, and I don’t want to take away from the part they played because from 1941 to 1944 they bore the brunt of the German onslaught. That said, their execution of the war was one of attrition. The strategy was pretty much just to send wave after wave after wave of men into the meat grinder until either you or they are dead. It was a fight to the death on the eastern front and no cost of human life was too great. And they probably killed as many of their own for retreating as did the Germans for advancing. Stalin made Hitler look like a wuss. I should probably have more reverence for the Russian soldier in WWII but they did it to themselves through a barbarous strategy that had zero thought of human life and an alternative strategy to preserve Russian soldiers while simultaneously winning the war.
Stalingrad IMO was the turning point of the war. 250,000 Germans killed. Fighting a war on both fronts was too much for the Nazis. Also, if Hitler had listened to Rommel D Day could have been a total loss for the Allies. Even during D Day Hitler believed it wasn't the real invasion. He was convinced Patton would lead the true invasion at the Pas De Callaises. Could have been much worse if Rommel had his armor and tanks waiting at Normandy.
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Yes absolutely. Stalingrad was especially brutal, mainly because of the propaganda used by both sides, but it was a particularly strategic in nature as well. Stopping the Germans in Stalingrad and turning them back ensured that they were denied the oil rich areas of the Caucasus and kept American supplies flowing through a second port. Once the Royal Navy and allied forces cleared the Mediterranean of the German Navy Germany was virtually surrounded and it was only a matter of time.
As for D Day, yes by that point in the war Hitler was disillusioned and paranoid. Rommel knew he had to stop the invasion on beach. He knew if the invasion succeeded it was all over. He probably knew by this time it was all over anyway because of the Russian push. At this point many in the German high command who were loyal to Germany and not necessarily Hitler and the Nazi party were ready to discuss peace terms with Britain and the US if only to keep the Soviets from steamrolling all the way to the Atlantic. Obviously with the attempt on Hitler’s life roughly 6 weeks later, it was more than just a thought process. I just finished Churchill’s Biography “The Last Lion” over the winter and the Soviet drive to the Atlantic was very real and was of particular concern to Churchill.
a very different world if one or more the events described that went our way during wwii - didn't.
one reason russian "strategy" was deficient was because of stalin's purges of army officers before the war. he killed off a lot of the brains of the army