D-Day - June 6

[stowe1]

70 years ago this date troops from America, Great Britain, and Canada stormed the beaches of Normandy to begin the final assault that would take down Nazi Germany. Germany unconditionally surrendered on V-E Day, May 8, 1945, 11 months later.

I would urge as many of you as possible to find and watch some type of D-Day programming on television, lest we forget their heroism.

The bravery of the men who landed that day and those who followed from other countries and the Free French in the months after is the foundational reason why they are called The Greatest Generation.

 

[gardenboy]

Amen stowe- my uncle was an orderly in the us army during world war ii and, although not at d day, became a driver for general leclerc of the french free forces! Eventually he was awarded the cru dr la guerre from general leclerc! His stories were always facinating! I am in the process of trying to rent the movie "the monuments men" which my uncle referred to as that was a great concern of the french! Apparently this is an on going search as witness the recent articles on the death of the son of a nazi general who had many stolen art works in his home at the time of his death!

 

[Ambivalent]

Thank you, Stowe.

And God bless all the dear young lads - with their lives just before them - who perished, so that slavery and evil might be conquered, and that we might live in peace, and happiness.

"A" XOXOXOXOXO

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...ar-photo-risked-his-life-to-comfort-the-dead/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8AeV8Jbx6M

 

[tampa24]

I am a big WWII history buff myself. I've been to the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach. I think it's very important younger people especially are aware of the many sacrifices made and the tremendous loss of life suffered in order to defeat Nazi tyranny. We hold up in our memories all those brave men and women who worked towards that goal. Most of those who served in the European theater and survived are now being lost to a peaceful old age. On D-Day there were Americans, British, Canadians and Free French forces. It was a multinational effort.

 

[stowe1]

One of the hallmarks of members of that generation was how rarely they spoke of The War and their part in it. A few years ago, one of my closest friends Father passed away. David & I both knew he had fought in the war , but he seldom talked about it and never about his service. Preparing for the funeral, we discovered a box of personal items which contained a bunch of medals, citations, and letters to David's Mother. Come to find out that not only had his Father survived D-Day, but also the fighting at Bastogne during the Battle of The Bulge. The odds of surviving both of those horrors have to be staggering. And David nor his siblings never knew.



If you ever get a chance to watch HBO's Band of Brothers executive-produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks do it. It is out in a boxed set on dvr.

 

[mikeyank]

I am not as knowledgeable about history as I should be. My older brother is a student of history and particularly war. He is constantly reading books on the subject. Each year on June 6, he makes it a point to go to the beach, (unless it is pouring rain) as his way of paying tribute.

I was at the gym this afternoon and watched a bit on MSNBC about D-Day and they showed some of the soldiers in their 90's today who came back for the first time since it happened, 70 years ago.