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On this Day 1944.
"Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied naval forces, supported by strong air forces, began landing Allied armies on the northern coast of France." - First Overlord communiqué, 6 June 1944.
Today we mark the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of Europe and the end of the Second World War.
6th June 1944 after a day's delay due to bad weather, Operation Overlord was implemented. More than 150,000 Allied troops, 7,000 Ships and 11,000 Aircraft took part in the D-Day landing on 5 beaches codenamed, Juno, Sword, Gold, Utah and Omaha. Planning for the invasion had gone on in secret for more than 18 months.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/battles/dday/
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I do have a fascination WWII history.
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Thank you for the post, Winnie. It never fails to amaze me some of the weird things that occurred on that day. For example, did you know that....
Canadian soldiers rode ashore on Juno Beach on bicycles?
That the Germans used remote control tanks? Most didn't explode because their cables were destroyed.
A good many of the German defenders weren't German? Since Hitler believed the invasion would be at Calais they used conscripts to defend Normandy. Mostly Polish, Dutch, Belgian and Easter European.
The USS Nevada was used for naval gun support. It was the only ship to make it out of Pearl Harbor on December 7.
The invasion was broadcast live by radio? An American radio reporter broadcast from the deck of a ship as the invasion occurred.
Germany's aerial response to the invasion was a single flight of two fighters.
British frogmen were sent in to get samples of sand to ensure it would support vehicles and tanks.
French laborers working on the fortifications would pace off distances between mines and other important features and supplied this information to the Allies.
I simply can't imagine the courage it took to step off that Higgins boat when the front ramp dropped. Average men doing the impossible and succeeding. Truly the greatest generation! Lest we forget.
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An important day to remember.
A lot of men gave their life for freedom on that day.
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Watched a lot of WWII programming on Memorial Day weekend.
That truly was a history changing operation......Thanks guys.
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Yea, thank you to all our vets!
I can't even begin to imagine standing in those landing crafts waitin for that door to drop! Those men were something
God bless!
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Thanks for the post Winnie. This is a pretty chilling graphic that gives us a little insight into the cost of the invasion. http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/09/the-fallen-9000/
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We should also be very thankful that Hitler had fallen for the ruse of the "Ghost Army" being led by Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. He was fully convinced that the invasion would be at Calais, by Patton and his forces. Hitler considered Patton to be the best general the allies had. If Hitler had listened to Gen. Rommel, Rommel would have had huge forces of his Army at Normandy, including the feared Panzer Divisions, and many, many more aircraft.
Our losses, as bad as they were, would have been exponentially much larger, and we might not have been able to take the beaches and move inland.
Fortunately, the "Ghost Army" ruse worked.
S.M.
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Also...
Let us also remember how kind Winnie's country was by opening up their homes to American servicemen and putting them up!....:thumbup1:
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John Steel of the 505th PIR is possibly the only Serviceman to have his landing on permanent display. He was the parachutist who landed and got stuck on the roof of the Church of the town of St Mere Eglise, made famous by Red Buttons in the film 'The Longest Day'. To this day, there is a Dummy with parachute attached to the spot where Mr Steel got stuck.
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That's outstanding. I didn't know that. Good for them!
In my role as webmaster for the 5th Armored Division I'm genuinely impressed by how many folks from France, Belgium and Luxembourg have adopted U.S. servicemen's graves and care for them. I am contacted all the time by them wanting information on the serviceman they've adopted. They truly are not forgotten. I'm sure that plays out for other units and in other cemeteries around the world. Those are the three regions where most of the 5th's men are interred.
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