June 6, 1944

[Corp000085]

D-Day

 

Real American Heroes!  RIP.

[Captain_Quint]

Huzzah!

[RochesterRob]

3 hours ago, Corp000085 said:

D-Day

 

Real American Heroes!  RIP.

  Don't forget our Canadian friends as well.  Star Trek's James Doohan lost two fingers to enemy fire on the beaches at Normandy.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Just read about this.  Hope to get to Normandy next year.  

 

“The Walkway to Victory,” connects the four buildings that comprise the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France.

The museum stands on the ground where the D-Day invasion began on June 6, 1944.

[sherpa]

1 hour ago, Marv's Neighbor said:

Just read about this.  Hope to get to Normandy next year.  

 

“The Walkway to Victory,” connects the four buildings that comprise the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Normandy, France.

The museum stands on the ground where the D-Day invasion began on June 6, 1944.

 

We went there about five years ago.

If you are a veteran, you can fold the flag when it is lowered at dusk, after Taps is played at the Normandy American Cemetery,  which is US ground.

My wife was a Navy nurse, and I a naval officer/aviator, so we got to fold it together.

Quite an honor.

 

The German cemetery there is impressive as well, but looking at the gravestones, it is striking how young those kids were.

 

Reagan's 40 year speech:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTLVIp1AjAg

Edited June 6, 2018 by sherpa

[Marv's Neighbor]

It's strange when you visit Europe today, trying to imagine all the WWII devastation.   

 

The hill leading up to Monte Casino Italy, is still littered with rusting trucks and armor.  The Cologne Cathedral has a WWII display.  It was not destroyed, but was heavily damaged.  I think we left enough of it standing, to use as a landmark for bombing.   The Remagen bridge across the Rhine is absolutely spooky looking.  That's the bridge that was not destroyed by Germany when they were retreating.  All that remains are the anchorage towers, but a lot of our soldiers died there, because we tried to overload the bridge, with men and equipment headed into Germany, and the stress collapsed the bridge.

 

 

[Fadingpain]

6 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Don't forget our Canadian friends as well.  Star Trek's James Doohan lost two fingers to enemy fire on the beaches at Normandy.

Don't forget the other ten nations (not counting USA and Canada) that had troops participating in the landings as well.  

 

 

[DC Tom]

2 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

Don't forget the other ten nations (not counting USA and Canada) that had troops participating in the landings as well.  

 

 

 

Americans were actually in the minority in the landing.  

[Fadingpain]

1 hour ago, Marv's Neighbor said:

It's strange when you visit Europe today, trying to imagine all the WWII devastation.   

 

The hill leading up to Monte Casino Italy, is still littered with rusting trucks and armor.  The Cologne Cathedral has a WWII display.  It was not destroyed, but was heavily damaged.  I think we left enough of it standing, to use as a landmark for bombing.   The Remagen bridge across the Rhine is absolutely spooky looking.  That's the bridge that was not destroyed by Germany when they were retreating.  All that remains are the anchorage towers, but a lot of our soldiers died there, because we tried to overload the bridge, with men and equipment headed into Germany, and the stress collapsed the bridge.

 

 

I visited the Ludendorff Bridge site a few years ago.

 

 

 

[Gray Beard]

8 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Don't forget our Canadian friends as well.  Star Trek's James Doohan lost two fingers to enemy fire on the beaches at Normandy.

Canadian attack on Dieppe two years before D-Day is an event worth remembering. An experiment to see what it would be like to invade a beach. They learned the hard way that naval bombardment is a necessity. Not a large scale attack like D-Day, but with more than half either killed, injured or captured. Canada got a raw deal with that assignment. 

[/dev/null]

I really wish I could have known my Great Uncle before he passed away.  He started out in the Navy in the splinter fleet before piloting landing craft on D-Day and transferring to the Pacific.  He was in select company as a veteran of most of the major landings

[Steptide]

I remember when I was about 12 my grandpa, who fought in ww2 came and stayed with us for a week. He stayed with us during the week of d day. The history Channel was showing a special about. He was telling my mom all about it, but at the time I was 12 and was like whatever. I wish I had listened and payed attention. He saw alot of war and death. 

[KD in CA]

4 hours ago, Marv's Neighbor said:

The Cologne Cathedral has a WWII display.  It was not destroyed, but was heavily damaged.  I think we left enough of it standing, to use as a landmark for bombing.

 

Spectacular Cathedral.

[CowgirlsFan]

In 2015, five of us went to see the Bills play in London.  One goes that far there's no sense in going home too soon. We overnighted on a sleeper ferry a few days after the game to Normandy. We stood on the cliffs and looked down with amazement. How they did they do what they did and even more how did more not die ?