68 years ago today

[Oddball]

"I remember sitting alongside a returning G.I. on the cliffs where he had landed on D-Day 40 years earlier. He had been with the 16th Infantry Regiment and in the eye of the storm. He had been 18 years old on D-Day. Never in action before. It was just the two of us and he talked for some time. He started unknowingly, as all old soldiers do, with the 'memories' that he had recounted endless times at home. Partly truth, partly what he had read after the war, partly what he thought people wanted to hear. Then he stopped speaking. He took a deep breath and began to cry. I cried too. We were both on that beach in our minds, but his memory was real."

"Between the sobs," Tonie continued, "he told me what had happened -- men shot down all around him, the blood red color of the sea, the bodies in the waves, the noise, the chaos ... Eventually he was done. Over 40 years of suppressed memories had poured out in just a few minutes. As gently as I could I asked him, 'Why did you all go on after all that bloodshed?' He replied, 'It was a job that had to be done... That's it. You do what you have to do,' and we sat there in silence."

D-Day Anniversary: Visiting The Normandy Beaches Today - International Business Times

 

[Luissa]

It is also this lady's anniversary at my work. Her husband is still alive and visits almost every day..Very cute old couple. I think he was deployed soon after their wedding.

 

[California Girl]

Been there, done that. Everyone should go to Normandy and walk those beaches, and realize how much that generation did for us.

 

[Luissa]

It is also this lady's anniversary at my work. Her husband is still alive and visits almost every day..Very cute old couple. I think he was deployed soon after their wedding.

I should add, they got married on the actual day it happened 68 years ago.

 

[Oddball]

Oh, for a regiment or two of paratroopers dropped behind Vierville and Colleville.

 

[strollingbones]

i was amazed at how little attention has been paid to this day......

it was perhaps the greatest day in the history of free men.....it determined the direction the world would take....it stopped the killing of innocent people for no more than their religion or race.

i dont think any of us can imagine the horror of that day....over 6 thousand americans killed in one day

 

[strollingbones]

LIFE: Rare color photos mark D-Day anniversary | Photo Gallery - Yahoo! News

 

[strollingbones]

i think the modernization of war has lead people to a false sense of war.....drones and that type of thing...war is young men dying due to the decision of old men....always has been...always will be

 

[Wiseacre]

It was a truly amazing day. Thanks for the photos and the rememberance.

 

[Si modo]

Been there, done that. Everyone should go to Normandy and walk those beaches, and realize how much that generation did for us.

Agreed.

The first time I went, I was so taken by surprise at how verklempt I got.

 

[Oddball]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBJ6BOEb-aI]Walter Ehlers, Medal of Honor, WWII - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Caroljo]

Oh, for a regiment or two of paratroopers dropped behind Vierville and Colleville.

My father in law (passed on now) was a Paratrooper with the 101st Airborne and also with the 82nd Airborne (not sure which first) .... He went in on D-day.
He had many heartbreaking stories.

 

[Wiseacre]

It was a dicey operation, if they hadn't fooled the Germans it coulda been a massive failure with much worse casualties. It's said that Ike had a text already prepared to take full responsibility in case the whole thing failed.

 

[Oddball]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoekSOd1iE4]Band of Brothersocumentaryart 1 out of 8) High Def - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvvxClCgEZ4]Band of Brothersocumentaryart 2 out of 8) High Def - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXEwit3Qoys]Band of Brothersocumentaryart 3 out of 8) High Def - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRVhJ-EY2Mo]Band of Brothersocumentaryart 4 out of 8) High Def - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Oddball]

Oh, for a regiment or two of paratroopers dropped behind Vierville and Colleville.

My father in law (passed on now) was a Paratrooper with the 101st Airborne and also with the 82nd Airborne (not sure which first) .... He went in on D-day.
He had many heartbreaking stories.

82nd was the first PIR division assembled...They were in Africa, I believe.

He went from 82nd to 101st.

 

[The Infidel]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEyCjN9riiY]General Dwight D. Eisenhower's D-Day Speech - YouTube[/ame]

 

[The Infidel]

It was a dicey operation, if they hadn't fooled the Germans it coulda been a massive failure with much worse casualties. It's said that Ike had a text already prepared to take full responsibility in case the whole thing failed.

He was a real man of great character

 

[Oddball]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj_fLjHnlHE&feature=related]Surviving D-Day- A Living Nightmare - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIZu0N9gR2M&feature=relmfu]Hal Baumgarten -- on keeping the memory of Omaha Beach alive - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Oddball]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0OWBbjL6Jc&feature=relmfu]John W. Marr D-Day Oral History (1 of 3) - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ4sH7_1w_Q&feature=relmfu]John W. Marr D-Day Oral History (2 of 3) - YouTube[/ame]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V90drxvpCMY&feature=relmfu]John W. Marr D-Day Oral History (3 of 3) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[strollingbones]

On D-Day anniversary, Asheville veteran reflects on bitter combat | The Asheville Citizen-Times | citizen-times.com