FEATURED The 75th Anniversary of D-Day

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. My Grandad was there, as some of you may know from past posts. I remember the stories, not because my Grandad told them a lot but because I wanted him to tell me, as a boy. Of course, I got the G Rated versions back then and it was really not till much later in life, once I had a little bit of experience behind me, that I could even start to appreciate what that really meant. I just imagine how scared all of those young men must have been on that day. It's not an easy thing to watch people die and know that you have to go out and face that kind of danger, even so. Not really enough thanks I can ever really give to that generation for what they did.

Yep, tonight, I think I'll sit down and pour myself a shot of good Canadian Whisky and just make a little toast to my Grandad and all the Men and Women, who did so much for us.

I can never give enough appreciation and thanks to those who served

I watched a show the other day about the WASP’s, an all female aviation group during that era, was real fascinating.

ABQCOWBOY said:

Today is the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion. My Grandad was there, as some of you may know from past posts. I remember the stories, not because my Grandad told them a lot but because I wanted him to tell me, as a boy. Of course, I got the G Rated versions back then and it was really not till much later in life, once I had a little bit of experience behind me, that I could even start to appreciate what that really meant. I just imagine how scared all of those young men must have been on that day. It's not an easy thing to watch people die and know that you have to go out and face that kind of danger, even so. Not really enough thanks I can ever really give to that generation for what they did.

Yep, tonight, I think I'll sit down and pour myself a shot of good Canadian Whisky and just make a little toast to my Grandad and all the Men and Women, who did so much for us.

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Enjoy your whisky and toast your Grandad who was a hero, like every man and women who was involved.

My Grandad served in North Africa and was in Alexandria at the time of D-Day. I wish I had asked him more about his experiences before he died but he always kept things very close to his chest.

I've also visited my Great Grandad's grave in North West France from World War 1.

I will toast them all with a gin tonight (no whisky in the house).

My grandfather was a WWII veteran as well.

The sad thing is that recent generations will never truly appreciate what so many people endured and sacrificed during WWII to give everyone the opportunities and quality of life that are available in our lives today.

To be clear, I do not fault any generation as it happened before most of us were born, but the best way to avoid history repeating itself is to not only learn from the past but also remember it in the future as well.

There can never be enough appreciation for that generation.

Reality said:

My grandfather was a WWII veteran as well.

That sad thing is that recent generations will never truly appreciate what so many people endured and sacrificed during WWII to give everyone the opportunities and quality of life that are available in our lives today.

To be clear, I do not fault any generation as it happened before most of us were born, but the best way to avoid history repeating itself is to not only learn from the past but also remember it in the future as well.

There can never be enough appreciation for that generation.

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I've been pointing the Queen, your president and a Spitfire out on the TV to my 4 year old daughter today and have told her tomorrow is the anniversary of D-Day. She doesn't know what it means but you've got to start early, that's how it was for me.

By the time she's 6 she will be able to name the 5 landing beaches.

Her nursery school is very good with important dates, they had an excellent poppy display last remembrance day.

Is it the 6th already?

joseephuss said:

Is it the 6th already?

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Not yet but the UK is a good 7 hours ahead of us, I believe, so it will be the 6th for them, before it turns the 6th here.

ABQCOWBOY said:

Not yet but the UK is a good 7 hours ahead of us, I believe, so it will be the 6th for them, before it turns the 6th here.

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It's 10.35pm here in the UK now. Some boats with veterans on have set sail from Portsmouth earlier this evening and are recreating the same crossing as 75 years ago.

ABQCOWBOY said:

Not yet but the UK is a good 7 hours ahead of us, I believe, so it will be the 6th for them, before it turns the 6th here.

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Busy week. If you told me today was Friday the 7th I'd believe it. It feels like it should be at least Thursday already.

My great uncle was there, he got in at the age of 16.. Different generation no doubt about it...

What was accomplished on June 6th was mind-boggling.

Can't imagine what went through the minds of the thousands of military participating in it.

However it's a little sad the other big landing operations of WW2 are relatively ignored like North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

MichaelWinicki said:

What was accomplished on June 6th was mind-boggling.

Can't imagine what went through the minds of the thousands of military participating in it.

However it's a little sad the other big landing operations of WW2 are relatively ignored like North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

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Yes it was mind-boggling, it was a huge military operation that involved several allied counties. Some of those poor men didn't even make it out of the landing craft and or/if they did they drowned in the channel. No argument from me when they are called the greatest generation.

MichaelWinicki said:

What was accomplished on June 6th was mind-boggling.

Can't imagine what went through the minds of the thousands of military participating in it.

However it's a little sad the other big landing operations of WW2 are relatively ignored like North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

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Iwo Jima,Tarawa,,, etc

*I recall some stories as a kid from the 'pulling unit' operator , he said the Germans bombed his air field(Italy, I think) with those "Bouncing Betty's" (A.P. bomblets, which we reverse engineered & put into production ourselves) he said : " JESSIE OWENS HIMSELF WOULD'VE ONLY CAUGHT A DISTANT GLIMPSE OF MY *** ,HEADING FOR THE TRENCHES " said he was fast as lightening,,, & he was a short fat guy.

Normandy would have been a disaster if it weren’t for Andrew Higgins. Some believe the war was won due to his ingenuity.

Woke up at 6am this morning and started to watch the coverage of the commemorations on BBC and SKY which have been fantastic over here. Last night watched the footage of two 90+ year old veterans who parachuted into the same field as they did 75 years previously, amazing, humbling and very emotional to watch.

While driving into work I've been listening to the excellent BBC Radio 5 live coverage of a service to unveil the first British D-Day memorial at Gold beach. Have to say I've had a bit cry while driving at how poignant it was as have all the events have been.

Time to pull myself together and start a days work.

And James Doohan of Star Trek fame was in the Canadian invasion of Juno Beach, He took friendly fire from a Bren and lost his middle right finger, which they never showed it in any episodes of Star Trek.

D-DAY occurred 75 years ago today. Thank you to all the Allied soldiers, especially the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice, that took part in this historic battle. Thank you to all the Allied soldiers who liberated the world from Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo (Emperor of Japan that we we're battling).

Furboy said:

D-DAY occurred 75 years ago today. Thank you to all the Allied soldiers, especially the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice, that took part in this historic battle. Thank you to all the Allied soldiers who liberated the world from Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo (Emperor of Japan that we we're battling).

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The Greatest Americans.

Yep, the annual watch of "The Longest Day" happens tonight. The sheer loss of life and the Allies absolute dependency on that being a success makes it one of the truly most important days in the history of modern civilization.

One of the things that has always amazed me about WWII and particularly, D Day and the +'s, was the luck involved when things went "FUBAR" and men pulled together to make it work. Eisenhower and his fellow generals were dependent on strategy but just as important were the tactics carried out by the men under their command and many on the fly.

Sadly, The Greatest Generation is passing before our very eyes and I wonder if we've learned the lessons they taught us well enough to carry this great nation forward. They were weighed, measured and found to be much more than the tyrants imagined and not just the ones that went to war but the ones that stayed behind in support of them as well.

Truly The Greatest Generation abroad and at home. All of my wife's uncles and her Dad served and were in combat in the air, on land and at sea. One enlisted at 15 and two at 16 to join the 18 year old and while I was mesmerized when I heard them talk about it what really got my attention were the comments from their Mom and wives with what it was like back here while the men they loved were in harm's way.

My wife's grandmother sent 4 young boys to war and all came home to her. Her best friend and next door neighbor sent 3 young boys and none came home, 2 died on Omaha on this day. She still flew her flag and had 3 in the window and knew the ultimate price of freedom that her family paid. Sadly, her heart was broken during the Vietnam War by a divided country she could not accept or understand and she just lost the will to live.

I am a Boomer and have grown to be ashamed of how myself and my generation treated the lessons and sacrifices made by our parents. I thought one of the freedoms they fought for was rebellion and I was mistaken. Fortunately, the young don't have terminal selfishness and I was able to tell my parents how much I appreciated them and how much better part of my life would have been had I listened to those lessons. But I told my Dad one night "this is partly your and your generation's fault because you wanted us to have a better life, not have to endure the hardships of your generation but that was the very thing that molded and shaped your generation and gave you your values".

Man, was I young and dumb as a young man, thought the world owed me something when in fact they had already paid my debt. There will never be another generation like them and this country is still theirs, the subsequent generations are just caretakers.