May we never forget what took place
- Thread starter drt7891
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I`ve watched the movies and documentaries a thousand times and I still can`t grasp fully the bravery those men had. Whether it was approaching one of the heavily armed beaches in a landing craft knowing you were going to totally vulnerable to enemy fire or jumping out of a plane at night behind enemy lines with their chances of survival slim at best. I will forever be in awe and will forever be grateful.
Normandy is on my BucketList. I've heard words can't describe the feeling you get.
Huge THANK YOU to those who fought.
Huge THANK YOU to those who fought.
HD6's man George Patton had a lot to do with our successful landing. The Krauts
were obsessed with him and were waiting for him at Calais with a lot more guns than were at Normandy. They refused to believe Normandy was the main invasion for days which was crucial to our victory. They kept waiting for George to wade ashore in Calais, thanks Adolph.
were obsessed with him and were waiting for him at Calais with a lot more guns than were at Normandy. They refused to believe Normandy was the main invasion for days which was crucial to our victory. They kept waiting for George to wade ashore in Calais, thanks Adolph.
We set up a fake base full of outdated and fake equipment across the channel from Calais. On top of that, German generals for a while tried to convince Hitler that Normandy would be the likely invasion point, but like you said, he refused to believe it. He was a horrible strategist who ended up becoming his own worst enemy.
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Someone recommended it on here the other day, but D-Day by Stephen Ambrose is an extraordinary book. The complexity and magnitude of D-Day is overwhelming, but Ambrose did a great job of weaving it together into a book that's very hard to put down. I can't imagine being in that first wave at Omaha where the casualty rate was close to 100%.
The diversionary campaign (Operation Fortitude) was fascinating. We went to great lengths to make the Germans think the landing would be elsewhere, including using dummy aircraft and boats and German double agents, and it worked.
The diversionary campaign (Operation Fortitude) was fascinating. We went to great lengths to make the Germans think the landing would be elsewhere, including using dummy aircraft and boats and German double agents, and it worked.
Hitler also had a terrible command structure because he insisted on maintaining control over everything. For example, his officers in the field didn't have the authority to use the Panzer divisions to counterattack once they realized the D-Day landing was happening because Hitler was asleep (until noon, I believe) and couldn't give the order. So the Panzers just sat there. We relied upon a very different command structure where officers in the field were counted on to make decisions and execute them. Ours was better, as was proved time and again.
It wasn't Normandy, but my dad drove one of those landing crafts at Iwo Jima
He was a WWII and Korean war vet with the Navy. I remember him saying as soon as the craft hit the ground, the door went down and guys started pouring our. He made several trips back to the ships with guys still on the craft, unable to get off in time. They got to move to the front for the second round. I can't even imagine the guts these guys had.
He was a WWII and Korean war vet with the Navy. I remember him saying as soon as the craft hit the ground, the door went down and guys started pouring our. He made several trips back to the ships with guys still on the craft, unable to get off in time. They got to move to the front for the second round. I can't even imagine the guts these guys had.
One of the key objectives for the paratroopers landing at midnight was to take a bridge called Pegasus bridge near Caen, I believe. The Americans had to take the bridge in order to move troops and supplies into France. The Americans took the bridge and a panzer division was nearby, in position to take it back, but never received orders, so like you said, they sat there. I think there was a similar story regarding the hidden guns at point du hoc (I think). As I said, his paranoia and his incistency to control everything led to his undoing.
Jimmy "Pee Wee" Martin says nothing to it....
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/05/world/europe/d-day-paratrooper-jumps-again/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/05/world/europe/d-day-paratrooper-jumps-again/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
I ordered the book last week off amazon...got it used from Goodwill, cost 4.01 with shipping.
My grandfather passed away in 2000, he stormed that beach 70 years ago, he never talked about it with me until about 3 months before his passing!
The opening scene in Private Ryan led me to go talk to him, glad I did because I looked up to him about 1000 times more than I did before, and that was a lot!
Men like him are why we are free today!
The opening scene in Private Ryan led me to go talk to him, glad I did because I looked up to him about 1000 times more than I did before, and that was a lot!
Men like him are why we are free today!
True story, but it was the British who did that. They were the first ones onto occupied soil, at 0015 D-Day, and their attack went exactly according to plan.
http://www.amazon.com/Pegasus-Bridge-June-6-1944/dp/0671671561
The British pretty much performed their D-Day operations according to plan. The American part was a total cluster<17>....however, it was the innovation, ingenuity, bravery, and sheer guts that carried the day for the Americans, from the E-1 paratrooper carrying on a private war behind enemy lines, to the individual Sergeants and Lieutenants leading troops off the Omaha beach head to overwhelm the Krauts, to General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. telling his troops after landing in the wrong place, "Let's start the war from here" (he was 57 years old, and died a month later of a heart attack).
I spent an extended weekend in Normandy 20 years ago...
...I went to various sites. Pegasus Bridge (well, the new one), Ouistreham, Arromanches, Caen, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, St. Mere Eglise, the Normandy American Cemetery, and a German cemetery there.
The hedgerows are really huge hedges. Let's just say that the French didn't have homeowner associations back then...
...I went to various sites. Pegasus Bridge (well, the new one), Ouistreham, Arromanches, Caen, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, St. Mere Eglise, the Normandy American Cemetery, and a German cemetery there.
The hedgerows are really huge hedges. Let's just say that the French didn't have homeowner associations back then...
As everyone's said, it's just unbelievable to imagine the type of courage it takes to land on a freaking beach and run out a ton of guys into the heart of enemy fire. And win. WWII has always been fascinating to me. So fortunate I don't have to know what the world would be like if the Nazi's had won.
Plus, I read this story today, and it was awesome: Hitler couldn't keep this guy out of Normandy, what chance did Nurse Ratchet have? Sorry for the tabloid-esque article.
Plus, I read this story today, and it was awesome: Hitler couldn't keep this guy out of Normandy, what chance did Nurse Ratchet have? Sorry for the tabloid-esque article.
I had both grandfathers in the war
My fathers's father lied about his age to enlist in the Navy in time for Midway. My mother's father dropped out of Stanford to drive a tank in France, then finished at Princeton.
I got kicked out of Ole Miss (twice) and I write about football.
My fathers's father lied about his age to enlist in the Navy in time for Midway. My mother's father dropped out of Stanford to drive a tank in France, then finished at Princeton.
I got kicked out of Ole Miss (twice) and I write about football.
My grandfather fought in WWII but passed in '92
When I was 10 so I never got to ask him about his service and he never talked to my dad about it. Is that type of stuff available online or is there any other access to war service records that the general public can research?
When I was 10 so I never got to ask him about his service and he never talked to my dad about it. Is that type of stuff available online or is there any other access to war service records that the general public can research?