D Day Reflections

[usmc2427765]

We remember the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. I may have shared this story before, if so, cut me some slack, I am getting old !!

In the early 1970's, I was a young radio patrol officer assigned to a unit that was mostly made up of old time coppers, who had very little use for us young ones with less than 15 years on. Us young officers were mostly Vietnam Vets, while the old guys were veterans of Korea and WW II. I knew they had some stories to tell, however I could never break through the age gap.

One shift we were short of shops and the roll call Sgt had to assign 2 men to each car. Just my luck, I was assigned one of the crankiest, most unpleasant of the old timers to spend the next 8 hours with. He wanted to drive and did not say a word for the first 3 hours. He decided he wanted a cup of coffee and we pulled into a little strip center that had a local "stop and rob" and I noticed that it had a USMC recruiting station , so I decided to go in and see if they had any coffee mugs or USMC stickers to give away. I scrounged what I could and returned to the patrol car as my partner came out with ONE cup of coffee. He looked at the plunder I had and spoke his first words to me.

"You need some coffee for that cup"? Then he asked a few questions about my Vietnam service and that gave me the opening I needed to ask him the same question. He looked at me like I had asked him if he had a good looking daughter. His face softened a little and he removed a small flask from his pocket and made the coffee a little better and then his story began..........He landed with the first wave on Omaha Beach and was the only one to make it ashore out of his Higgins boat. He fought all the way to the Battle of the Bulge and was seriously wounded and eventually returned to the states. He admitted to. 4 Purple Hearts, multiple Bronze Stars and, in his words, some others. Needless to say, I was humbled by his accounts.

He was quiet for a while and then shook my hand and asked me not to mention this to anyone and I have not until now. He passed away peacefully several years ago, possibly without telling any of the other officers.

I felt honored that he was wiling to share this story with me and I honor his service and memory today.

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SWCA # 1704

 

[7shooter]

There was an interesting story on Fox last night about the contribution Higgins and has ingenious boat made to D day. My Dad was at Normandy and he also never talked about it. My flag is out today.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I've also told this before:

Samuel Burgess was my mom's favorite uncle.

He was a rifleman for the 5th Battalion/East Lancashire Fusileers. They landed at Sword Beach on D-Day. As part of Operation Charnwood, they were, with the Canadiens, ordered to take Caen.

Three weeks after landing, he took a snipers bullet to the back. He died in the arms of one of his school chums who made it home to tell the tale to my grandmother (Sam's sister)

He is buried in Épron, France outside of Caen.

He was 22.

 

[les.b]

Thanks for sharing that story with us. I do a lot of reading, and just finished another biography of Patton, who wasn't at D Day, but arrived shortly thereafter. Just started Eisenhower's "Crusade in Europe". When I laid out my vacation reading, I haven't thought of how it might tie in with the 75th anniversary of D Day, and the subsequent action in Europe.

What troubles me is that so many of our young folks have no sense of history at all, not even really recent stuff, that they themselves have witnessed!!

But let me join you in remembrance of the awesome venture of probably the greatest military operation in history, which took place on June 6th, 1944!!

Best Regards, Les

 

[Kurusu]

June 6 1944

D day. The greatest invasion ever started.

 

[Jessie]

I consider myself fortunate to have met and known some of these men and women who fought together to achieve the historic victory of WWII.
I feel most fortunate to have been raised by one of them, my father.
To all of them, THANK YOU!

 

[onebadvet]

To all the served!

 

[vonn]

No exact number but about 130,000 Americans in graves in other countries. Pretty sobering number.

 

[steveno]

if you visit Europe and don't see one of the military cemeteries you really missed something. I have been to the Luxembourg American Cemetery and it was a sobering experience.

American Battle Monuments Commission - Wikipedia

 

[oneounceload]

My dad was USN on an LST at Omaha Beach
But on a brighter note, 5 years ago, my granddaughter was born!

Found a pic of his ship:

 

[CajunBass]

I lift my glass across the years to all those who have ever worn a uniform, but on this day especially, to those who went ashore on the coast of France 75 years ago.

I had a chance to talk to a little old fellow on day as I carried his groceries out to his car. He wore a (IIRC) 17 Airborne Corps hat. He was about 5-6 and a buck, twenty or so. He told me he was in WWII. I asked him if he'd jumped into Normandy. He replied that he'd missed that one, but did jump into Holland during Market Garden, and later in what he described as "the last big one before Berlin." He said they dropped them right onto a German gun battery. "Some genius who went to West Point came up with that plan I'm sure." he grinned. "Those Krauts shot the (blank) out of us on the way down." Then pulling himself up to his full 5-6 he said "But we TOOK those guns. I was mighty humbled to shake his hand and say thank you.

Now, on a lighter note. Seventeen years ago, tomorrow, my wife and I got married. I've never had any trouble remembering the date. D-day, +1. Even she uses that now.

 

[Grayfox]

My Father was there. He landed at Omaha beach with the 29th Infantry Div. He very rarely talked about his service, but one time he did mention that he had witnessed a landing craft drop its ramp right in front of a german machine gun. No one made it off the boat. I remember seeing the tears swelling in his eyes.
A few months later, some where in the middle of France, german artillery damned near blew him to pieces. Nobody thought he'd make to the aid station, much less survive. But he did. He was a tough old bird.

 

[max]

My dad was 3rd Armored Division. I heard more about the men he served with in my first 10 years than anything else. He was not at D-Day, but went ashore about 2 weeks later. He went through France, Belgium and into Germany. He was in the Battle of The Bulge and other major engagements.

I think he might have stayed in, but both his eardrums were ruptured by artillery fire and he was discharged after the war as a SSG.

 

[bigwheelzip]

For me, nothing put context to our involvement and sacrifice in WWII, like being in the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camps in Oswiecim, Poland. The enormous evil of that enemy is still palpable there.

 

[Old_Cop]

Like most others, I have been watching the documentaries of D day. The courage that men muster is awe inspiring. When the ramp would drop they moved forward into withering fire, bending forward like facing a high wind. I am reminded of the courage of firefighters with determined faces as they entered into the second tower of the WTC. They knew that it was going to come down, but went anyway.

May they rest in peace at the eternal bivouac.

 

[Warren Sear]

When I was a young guy I worked with an old, hard-drinking machinist who was quiet and mostly kept to himself. He eventually let it out that he was part of the D day invasion, was wounded, and sent back in. That's all he ever said about it.

It would have been good to see him sober up.

 

[Bob L]

When I was young, it seemed like all of the fathers in the neighborhood were WW2 Veterans. As time passes, there are fewer and fewer of them around so I make it a point to stop and shake the hand of few that remain and Thank them for their service. Truly a Great Generation and we owe them so much, just like all of our brave Servicemen and women.

 

[pharmer]

When I was young, it seemed like all of the fathers in the neighborhood were WW2 Veterans.

It was like that in my neighborhood too. My dad would refer to anyone who didn't serve as "4F." I also remember during the early '70's WWII was still being fought in a book warehouse I worked at while in college. "Jimmy" was a "camp guard" in Poland during the war. "Luigi" hated him, tormented him constantly and several times we thought one would kill the other. No matter, Jimmy blew his brains out with a .32 Walther around 1974, a gun which was illegal for him to possess in NJ. Sometimes Karma "balances the scale" violently. Joe

 

[Absalom]

And we still tend to forget what a close-run thing it was.

For us in hindsight, it seems that the ultimate victory was inevitable and the overwhelming force and resources of the Allies were no match for the Germans.

No such thing was obvious to the men who actually went in, which makes their courage and sacrifice all the more impressive.

That started with the paratroopers who jumped or glided in during the night. The history of airborne operations in WW II up to then had been a string of bloody fiascos, from the Germans at Crete in 1941 to the Allies at Sicily in 1943, even if they won the respective battles in the end.

When Ike met with members of the 101st Airborne on the evening of June 5th, he‘d been briefed that they were expected to take up to 80% casualties. I‘m sure nobody mentioned that to the troops, but I‘m also sure they knew. They went anyways.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Hearing part of the Presidents speech at Normandy-quoting the horrific casualty rates of- especially-the first waves hitting shore-it made me think of what might have been done in my war regarding that line of bunkers above the beach. Some F-4 Phantoms loaded with Napalm...