D-Day plus 63 years

[novelist_wannabe]

Just taking a moment to remember what may be the most important military action ever taken. Unbelievable sacrifice. To those who were involved, a sincere thank you.

 

[User 1019]

*tips hat to those who did the heavy lifting*

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

More important than Grenada?
Unpossible.
Sincere thanks to all involved, including my late father, whose ship lobbed shells into Utah beach.

 

[StormSurge]

For those with XM:

Next Wednesday, June 6th, XM will air a unique special that re-creates the radio coverage of D-Day, with archival reports from NBC’s original radio news bulletins of the invasion.

This incredible broadcast will air, in real-time, starting at 12:41am ET (which was the time of the first airing) and will end June 7th, at 5:45pm ET on The '40s (ch 4). The special will be based on the original NBC radio news reports of the invasion (currently housed in the National Archives) exactly as it was heard almost 63 years ago.

The marathon will also feature music of the era and archival reports from radio commentators of the day, including H. V. Kaltenborn, Merrill Mueller, and the other members of NBC’s news staff.

"Once we discovered that this material existed, we felt we had an obligation to bring it to XM listeners," said Program Director Marlin Taylor. "No one else would undertake such an endeavor and it is our role to keep the music and history of this era alive and available to those living in the 21st century."

Pretty amazing.

 

[User 1019]

Wow. That's waay cool. I'd love to hear it.

 

[93Devil]

Just taking a moment to remember what may be the most important military action ever taken. Unbelievable sacrifice. To those who were involved, a sincere thank you.

They are all important in their own way.

If that college professor didn't hold Little Round Top at Gettysburg, Lee would of had an elevated position on the Union troops. This may have swung the next day's battle in the South's favor. It most certainly would prevented Pickett's Charge which was for all intents and purposes the end of the Civil War.

If the South had prevailed at Gettysburg, they probably would have been backed by the French. This could of made their succession from the Union possible.

If we are not a unified nation headed into WWII, I really do not think we would have been able to defeat Hitler, and we would be speaking German today.

So I think that professor choosing to put on the bayonets when the rifles were empty of rounds is the most important decision in American history.

I know an American Revolution buff will knock this down, but it shows that there are so many important battles. To call one the most important is tough to do.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

... which is why I used the phrase, "may be." Clearly, there are arguments to be made. My intent for the thread was remembrance of this action, given where we are on the calendar.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Many thanks to those who served in all wars, and in peacetime.

My grandfathers weren't in on Normandy, they came up through North Africa and were in the invasion of Sicily. And through them I became a WWII buff.

In the Band of Brothers DVD there is a disc with interviews with the remainging vets. Gets me every time I watch it.

 

[User 1019]

I know an American Revolution buff will knock this down, but it shows that there are so many important battles. To call one the most important is tough to do.

In my opinion, we owe a lot of our freedom to Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, who lead a French fleet that prevented a British fleet from resupplying and reinforcing Cornwallis' forces at Yorktown. That was the end of major combat operations, to borrow from today.

But there is still no comparison to the logistical and combat brilliance displayed on June 6, 1944. If you don't believe me, just google Operation Mulberry.

 

[93Devil]

Many thanks to those who served in all wars, and in peacetime.

My grandfathers weren't in on Normandy, they came up through North Africa and were in the invasion of Sicily. And through them I became a WWII buff.

In the Band of Brothers DVD there is a disc with interviews with the remainging vets. Gets me every time I watch it.

Band of Brothers is greatest thing ever created for television. Everything about it was great.

Planet Earth looks like it will settle in at a strong #2.

 

[alleyallen]

I know an American Revolution buff will knock this down, but it shows that there are so many important battles. To call one the most important is tough to do.

In my opinion, we owe a lot of our freedom to Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, who lead a French fleet that prevented a British fleet from resupplying and reinforcing Cornwallis' forces at Yorktown. That was the end of major combat operations, to borrow from today.

But there is still no comparison to the logistical and combat brilliance displayed on June 6, 1944. If you don't believe me, just google Operation Mulberry.

TBF is dead on. And from a military perspective, nothing before or since compares. The scope, the logistics, the manpower...the bravery.

One of the more unique tidbits about D-Day is that each division was limited to having one Medal of Honor awarded for action that day. Had it not been for that, a lot more incredibly heroic actions would have been recognized that way.

Folks, seriously...take a moment to learn one new thing about this invasion. It truly was amazing.

 

[Bob Slydell]

Many thanks to those who served in all wars, and in peacetime.

My grandfathers weren't in on Normandy, they came up through North Africa and were in the invasion of Sicily. And through them I became a WWII buff.

In the Band of Brothers DVD there is a disc with interviews with the remainging vets. Gets me every time I watch it.

Band of Brothers is greatest thing ever created for television. Everything about it was great.

Planet Earth looks like it will settle in at a strong #2.

Band was very faithful to the book, too. I was expecting it to be different, but it was incredible.

What's Planet Earth?

 

[StormSurge]

Many thanks to those who served in all wars, and in peacetime.

My grandfathers weren't in on Normandy, they came up through North Africa and were in the invasion of Sicily. And through them I became a WWII buff.

In the Band of Brothers DVD there is a disc with interviews with the remainging vets. Gets me every time I watch it.

Band of Brothers is greatest thing ever created for television. Everything about it was great.

Planet Earth looks like it will settle in at a strong #2.

I picked up the HD DVD player for my 360 almost exclusively to be able to get the Planet Earth HD DVDs. I didn't realize that the DVDs would cost almost as much as the player!

I need to get the BoB set soon as well.

 

[StormSurge]

Many thanks to those who served in all wars, and in peacetime.

My grandfathers weren't in on Normandy, they came up through North Africa and were in the invasion of Sicily. And through them I became a WWII buff.

In the Band of Brothers DVD there is a disc with interviews with the remainging vets. Gets me every time I watch it.

Band of Brothers is greatest thing ever created for television. Everything about it was great.

Planet Earth looks like it will settle in at a strong #2.

Band was very faithful to the book, too. I was expecting it to be different, but it was incredible.

What's Planet Earth?

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/planet-earth/planet-earth.html

 

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I know an American Revolution buff will knock this down, but it shows that there are so many important battles. To call one the most important is tough to do.

In my opinion, we owe a lot of our freedom to Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, who lead a French fleet that prevented a British fleet from resupplying and reinforcing Cornwallis' forces at Yorktown. That was the end of major combat operations, to borrow from today.

But there is still no comparison to the logistical and combat brilliance displayed on June 6, 1944. If you don't believe me, just google Operation Mulberry.

Just don't make the mistake of Googling "Operation Dingleberry."

Seriously,
One of my goals is to visit Normandy. The thought of the invasion and the heroism and bravery makes me teary. I always cry at the end of Saving Private Ryan when he visits the graves. ALWAYS.

Never forget.

 

[Runaway Jim]

It's been almost two years since my grandfather passed, and one of the things I admire about him the most is his involvment on D-Day. I have all the stuff he brought back with him from the war, including the two German helmets he picked up on the beach -- one of which has a bullet hole through the middle of it. That one seemed to bring the whole thing home for me. Someone wearing that helmet almost certainly died. It still gives me chills.

To this day I don't know how my grandfather survived. He wasn't even supposed to be in the first wave on Omaha Beach -- he was an MP who was supposed to go in after it was secured to secure POWs and help direct troops who were landing. Instead, due to a snafu, his boat was one of the earliest ones to go in -- or would have been, had it not been hit by a shell on the way in. He had to jump out and wade to shore.

One of my most valued possessions is the journal he kept of his time in WWII. He didn't keep it while he was fighting, but wrote it down years later for me. Otherwise I don't think he ever would have talked about it. Like most of his peers, he seemed to regard the whole experience as nothing special.

I always think about him on his birthday and on the day he died, but for some reason June 6 has always been the date that resonates the most.

 

[Twoback]

Jim, God bless your grandfather and his buddies.
I stand in awe of their heroics.

 

[alleyallen]

I know an American Revolution buff will knock this down, but it shows that there are so many important battles. To call one the most important is tough to do.

In my opinion, we owe a lot of our freedom to Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse, who lead a French fleet that prevented a British fleet from resupplying and reinforcing Cornwallis' forces at Yorktown. That was the end of major combat operations, to borrow from today.

But there is still no comparison to the logistical and combat brilliance displayed on June 6, 1944. If you don't believe me, just google Operation Mulberry.

Just don't make the mistake of Googling "Operation Dingleberry."

Seriously,
One of my goals is to visit Normandy. The thought of the invasion and the heroism and bravery makes me teary. I always cry at the end of Saving Private Ryan when he visits the graves. ALWAYS.

Never forget.

I've been to Normandy. I had the good fortune and blessing to be a part of the 50th anniversary events associated with it, serving on board the USS George Washington at the time. The emotions, the scene, the words from the veterans were chilling and memorable.

 

[0-fer]

With sincere gratitude, thank you to all who served on that day and others. Evil's reference to Saving Private Ryan made me remember one of the important things I took away from that movie. It was one line, just a few words, and this day in history always reminds me.

"Earn this."

It's a line between Hanks' character and Damon's, and in the grand scheme a movie line is has almost no value, but I see it as a metaphor for the invasion and the war in its entirety. Earn this, earn what these brave men and women fought for. Earn what they gave us.

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Normandy is an indescribable experience.