77 years ago today

[RodeoJake]

Many brave soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, and too many of them gave their life.

After my farmwork is done, I'll be watching The Longest Day in remembrance.

 

[Creeper]

Great movie. Great men.

 

[DallasEast]

 

[DallasEast]

For the non-history buffs:

During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from **** Germany’s control. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target. By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.

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[timb2]

Many brave soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, and too many of them gave their life.

After my farmwork is done, I'll be watching The Longest Day in remembrance.

My Father was 1st wave at Pelelui . Considered the worst in the Pacific. Also was Tarawa,Okinowa....Lost my Father in December 2019.....He rarely talked of combat but I remember as a kid he told me one . Him and 4 other guys in a tight group rushing the beach and a mortar shell hit sent them all flying. My Father was the only one who lived and got up not harmed.

 

[RodeoJake]

My Father was 1st wave at Pelelui . Considered the worst in the Pacific. Also was Tarawa,Okinowa....Lost my Father in December 2019.....He rarely talked of combat but I remember as a kid he told me one . Him and 4 other guys in a tight group rushing the beach and a mortar shell hit sent them all flying. My Father was the only one who lived and got up not harmed.

I had an uncle who was an army medic. He never talked about what that day was like until he was dying. Then he told me what he saw, felt and endured. He didn't go into the gory details, but he told me enough. He ended the story by telling me, "You never know what you can do until you have to do it."

 

[MichaelWinicki]

My Father was 1st wave at Pelelui . Considered the worst in the Pacific. Also was Tarawa,Okinowa....Lost my Father in December 2019.....He rarely talked of combat but I remember as a kid he told me one . Him and 4 other guys in a tight group rushing the beach and a mortar shell hit sent them all flying. My Father was the only one who lived and got up not harmed.

Pelelui was absolutely brutal.

 

[JoeKing]

I salute our heroes and their bravery on that day. They are a reminder of the steep price that has been paid by our armed service personnel to defeat tyranny in this world. How we won WWII should never be forgotten. The Allied invasion at Normandy marked the beginning of our efforts to liberate Europe.

 

[nightrain]

God bless those brave souls and all of you Vets out there for keeping us independent and free for 246 years.

 

[Tabascocat]

A few days ago, a little old lady came into our clinic for a minor gastric procedure. As my wife was going over her medical history, she noticed a gunshot wound documentation. So, she was intrigued and asked if she really got shot. She said yup, took out a lung and broke a rib but it was a long time ago.

Well, it turns out that she was part of the French military and was there at Normandy. A German shot her

I had no idea that females were involved but she assured my wife that there were in special roles. She was part of some special forces that made way for the invasion to happen. She didn’t land on the beach but was in the area and got caught up in it.

She moved to America in the 60’s and doesn’t have any family left here, she outlived most. She is 102 and very healthy, especially for that age with faculties staying strong. My wife invited her to dinner next week and she accepted, looking forward to hearing some stories. She said that she can’t say much due to classification but she is looking forward to an evening dinner.

The best part of this story…….the old lady didn’t regret getting shot because she took that son of a bi… out!

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

A few days ago, a little old lady came into our clinic for a minor gastric procedure. As my wife was going over her medical history, she noticed a gunshot wound documentation. So, she was intrigued and asked if she really got shot. She said yup, took out a lung and broke a rib but it was a long time ago.

Well, it turns out that she was part of the French military and was there at Normandy. A German shot her

I had no idea that females were involved but she assured my wife that there were in special roles. She was part of some special forces that made way for the invasion to happen. She didn’t land on the beach but was in the area and got caught up in it.

She moved to America in the 60’s and doesn’t have any family left here, she outlived most. She is 102 and very healthy, especially for that age with faculties staying strong. My wife invited her to dinner next week and she accepted, looking forward to hearing some stories. She said that she can’t say much due to classification but she is looking forward to an evening dinner.

The best part of this story…….the old lady didn’t regret getting shot because she took that son of a bi… out!

Sounds like she not only was tough but lucky as well. Wonder what she was shot with, rifle, SG or pistol? Let us hear more of her story please, very interesting !!

 

[CouchCoach]

My wife sat next to a gentleman when we saw "Saving Private Ryan" that had been part of that landing, that was actually his division. As that started, he gripped the seat in front of him so hard, with tears streaming down his face, that the person in that seat turned to say something until he saw that man's face. His son was sitting on the other side of him and took one hand while my wife took the other and she said his hand was shaking so hard, it was hard to hold it in both of hers.

His son felt the need to explain after the movie but the old man didn't say anything. His son told us that both of the men on each side of him were killed coming off the landing craft and that's about all he's talked about other than how brave other men were. He told us that during the opening scenes his father told him "that's what it sounded like, the bullets, that's what it sounded like". I had read that from other veterans that had been there, that was the most realistic part of it and hard for some of them to watch it.

I cannot think of a scarier situation than beach landings where it's just a matter of whether you're targeted or not as to your odds of surviving it. Took special kind of men not only to execute it but to plan it and command it knowing how many brave men they would lose.

 

[Seven]

Pelelui was absolutely brutal.

The worst. With Okinawa being a close second........ IMO.

 

[timb2]

The worst. With Okinawa being a close second........ IMO.

My Dad was wounded on Okinawa. He was the rear guard of the platoon formation and they were next to a ditch. The whole platoon walked by and a camouflaged Japanese soldier jumped up with his bayonet tried to stab my Father in the stomach. My Dad warded him off but got stabbed in the thigh but he shot the Japanese soldier point blank in the head.