66 Years Ago Today...
- Thread starter SRock
- Start date
One of the many who will earn a MOH on that day was Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodo..._leads_the_way_landing_at_Utah_Beach_on_D-Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodo..._leads_the_way_landing_at_Utah_Beach_on_D-Day
The first 10 minutes of the film Saving Private Ryan is an authentic representation of what those guys faced that day.
It is no small thing that they were called the Greatest Generation.
It is no small thing that they were called the Greatest Generation.
My brother was in the 82nd, and they went to do a reenactment several years ago. He said it was a miracle that anyone survived that, much less that we took the beach. I don't know if I'll ever be able to grasp combination of fear, courage, and determination that they felt. Wow...
"Have a beer" often worked for me, as many of the survivors weren't too keen on going over the events of the day all over again, and I was the same age as their grandkids(My grandfather was in the Pacific theatre, which was a whole different mess).
The most telling story I can recall was that of a man who piloted one of the landing craft. He succumbed to survivor's guilt years later over the things he had seen and the responsibility he felt for each load of GIs who hopped into the craft, DESPITE seeing the remains of the previous load of soldiers. That action on the part of the young GI's is what stays with me most keenly.
I remember coming home on leave one time and my Uncle saying he wanted to take me for a beer... We were in a small farming town in Minnesota and of course the only bar was a VFW. Sat down at the bar with a Gent on my left, and he inquired where I served... I replied I was in the Navy and he said can I buy you a beer ??? I asked him where he had served and he just gave me a kind of lopsided grin and said nothing more. My uncle whispered in my ear he was at D Day and had a pretty rough go of it there... he never talked about it... I turned to him and said..no thanks for the beer, I really wanted to buy it for him.... the faraway look in his eyes will always be with me....
- Thread starter
- #8
I agree Ray, it's tough to really grasp the magnitude of the whole thing. BTW, glad to see you posting.
I'll be playing some big band music over at the Legion tomorrow to honour the event. They are having an event.
- Thread starter
- #10
That was just a movie. The reality had to be far worse.
Right, they didn't have a script to follow.
I'm sure I'll never grasp it. I just think about the guys who were the first ones out of the the lead wave of landing boats, and what must have been going through their minds just before the ramps were lowered. Unfathomable.
Those brave souls saved the world. Period.
God Bless them all. Like all of these events there seems to be less and less of an acknowledgement each year. We should never forget and teach our children what they did and endured.
My grandfather participated in the Normandy Invasion on D-Day....He will always be a HERO in the truest sense of the word to me.
Sadly, we lost him to cancer too soon. He passed away at the age of 69 in 1980. I was only 12 at the time and never really got a chance to talk with him about it.
I have many of his WWII mementos, including his uniform, dog tags, and some things he brough back from Europe.
Thanks "Pop" and all the other brave service men of the Allied Expeditionary Force who put their lives on the line for the greatest cause of the 20th century....You will never be forgotten.
Sadly, we lost him to cancer too soon. He passed away at the age of 69 in 1980. I was only 12 at the time and never really got a chance to talk with him about it.
I have many of his WWII mementos, including his uniform, dog tags, and some things he brough back from Europe.
Thanks "Pop" and all the other brave service men of the Allied Expeditionary Force who put their lives on the line for the greatest cause of the 20th century....You will never be forgotten.
+Infinity
The decision to invade was undoubtedly a difficult yet necessary one. The courage and strength of all Allied troops was shown that day, and will be forever remembered by their children and fellow countrymen.
As this article and the letter within it say anything, it as that the pressure on those men was immeasurable. May all of those men who fought that day, whether they lived or died as heroes, be forever indebted by those they protect.
http://www.historytimes.com/fresh-p...ld-war-2/325-normandy-landings-failure-letter
As this article and the letter within it say anything, it as that the pressure on those men was immeasurable. May all of those men who fought that day, whether they lived or died as heroes, be forever indebted by those they protect.
http://www.historytimes.com/fresh-p...ld-war-2/325-normandy-landings-failure-letter
+1
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