Lest we forget: D-Day, 1944

[PALADIN85020]

Sixty-seven years ago, allied forces landed on the coast of France in the largest invasion ever undertaken in history. World War II hung in the balance and the world held its breath on the outcome. Thousands of Americans, British, Canadians, French and soldiers of other nations gave their lives willingly to liberate France and preserve liberty. Their deeds should never be forgotten. I urge each of you with DVD players to view the opening scenes from "Saving Private Ryan" to get just a small idea of what these brave men went through for us.

To commemorate this day, I'm posting some pictures that have been preserved which hopefully may capture some of the events of that fateful day.

John

Here is General Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, briefing paratroopers prior to their jump over the Cherbourg peninsula. Their actions were critical to protecting the beachheads.

Imagine the tension and terror among these brave paratroopers as they winged their way to France to drop in the dark into not-very-well defined drop zones against an alert and determined enemy. It took incredible guts for the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions to do this.

The invasion began as daylight began on the 6th of June. Many of these men had been in boats for over 24 hours, as the invasion had been postponed for a day due to inclement weather. Not used to the sea, not a few of them puked their guts out from seasickness and the incredible tension of knowing they were walking into a maelstrom of fire on the beaches. Almost all of them believed they would not make it through the day.

And it really hit the fan. German machine guns poured fire into the opened landing craft. The water turned red with blood and there was no place to hide from the enemy. This site was forever known as "bloody Omaha Beach."

Allied forces took incredible casualties. For anyone to have made it through the first landings without at least a wound was considered a miracle. Men lost limbs, sustained massive wounds and died in droves. Still they came on.

Medical treatment for the wounded was there, it was brave, but it was sparse and really not up to the incredible carnage.

At home, the American public waited in extreme anxiety as news of the landings became known. Sons, fathers, brothers and relatives were prayed for. This is New York's Times Square as the news broke on the marquee.

As the bodies of our honored heroes began to multiply, captured German troops were pressed into service as gravediggers in the days following the invasion.

Our troops prevailed, and the liberation of France had begun. The cost was enormous to all the countries involved. Here is the American cemetery close to the D-Day beaches today.

Please, folks. Take a moment today to remember the events of that day, and the sacrifices of those who participated to give us the freedoms we enjoy today. We pray that those who gave the last full measure of devotion shall not have perished in vain.

 

[M29since14]

As is usual for your posts, very nicely done. Thanks - and thanks to those about whom you wrote.

 

[Broker50]

Thank you John! My Dad was one of those brave men who endured that day, & many more. I think of him every day. Those who knew him in peace had no idea the fierce warrior he was. I'm very proud to say I was his son. In memory of "the best generation", I salute all of you.

 

[butchd]

For those not familiar, Check the album of Robert Capa on Magnum photography. There's a multitude of passion saved on a few 35 mm frames that survived. His whole career from the Spanish Civil War to Viet Nam is amazing.

 

[rocketdog]

Very nice post!

The tour of the cemetery and other links here are worth a look.

American Battle Monuments Commission

 

[handejector]

The first pic is not really a briefing by Ike, but more of a pep-talk. They'd already been briefed, and I doubt Ike knew that many of the fine details.
Most of the troopers chuted up twice- the weather delay cancelled the invasion for the 5th.
I have read a few times that pic of Ike was taken on the 4th, before the invasion got postponed. No matter, really, but does anyone know for sure?
I've also read that the use of the airborne units as planned was one of Ike's toughest decisions. He was advised their casualties could likely reach 85%!

 

[M29since14]

I think John was using the term loosely. The picture you see of DDE was likely taken at least a day or two before the invasion, possibly much earlier. You would think that he might have been very busy the actual day of the invasion, but he wrote that the day was very frustrating and passed very slowly - little for him to do.

The story goes that Eisenhower followed a familiar pattern during these "pep talks," rarely deviating - and one that I find amusing. It's said he would usually ask the guys where they were from and what they did before the war. This would go on until he found one who claimed to be a farmboy, at which time he would he would claim to be a farmer too, ask a few questions about crops, and then would end up by exhorting the guys to go get the job over with quickly so he could "go home and go fishing." The routine had been perfected after many such encounters and it was apparently popular. It seems improbable (a career Army officer a "farmer?"), but I've read it so many times it seems likely it is true.

 

[handejector]

I've always seen the pic attributed to the 4th and 5th of June, 44.
They're chuted, painted, bagged, and string number tagged to go somewhere, so D-Day is about the only possible choice.

 

[redlevel]

Something I wrote earlier today . . . . . . My take on D-Day.

D-Day . . . . . . Allied invasion of the European Continent. We take it for granted today. It happened, it was successful, so it must have been a no-brainer. Not quite. There were plenty of things that could have gone wrong. A lot of things did go wrong, but not enough things, and not so wrong that it caused the failure of the operation. DDE put his career, the war, his reputation, and the lives of a bunch of Americans, English, Canadian, and other Allied troops at risk. The landing scene from Saving Private Ryan is one of the most emotional things I have ever seen on a screen. I have only seen it once, because it isn't any fun to watch. The scene where the German machine-gunner kills every soldier who disembarks from the landing craft is one of many that sticks in my mind.

Casualty figures are all over the place, depending upon what source one uses. A recently published figure, revised sharply upward from the old "official" numbers, is about 4400 Allied dead, of which about 2500 were Americans. The exact number isn't so important, I guess.

What is important is that the free nations of this world were willing to put it all on the line to preserve that freedom. Would we/they do it today? Then, the enemy was well defined and easy to identify. Fascism was the ideology, and Germany represented that ideology. The Japanese were not like us, and anyhow, they attacked us first. It was an easy thing to see, the "enemy." Things are much more nebulous today. The enemy isn't nearly as easy to identify. Is it a religion, an ideology, a race, a country, or a region? I think I know, but it seems that it isn't nearly so easy to convince enough Americans and other Western nations, "people like us," so to speak, who the enemy is. We have to be tolerant as well as politically correct, don't you know.

Anyhow, here is a salute to that generation of Americans and our Allies who knew the enemy, searched them out on their own soil, and defeated them.

 

[max]

Great pictures John. I like the soldier on the left in the plane. It looks like a new carbine, a 1911 on his hip and all of the troops have shined boots.

 

[fiasconva]

I watched "Saving Private Ryan" with my father-in-law. He was in the 29th Infantry that hit Omaha Beach. He was one of 3 that made it to the beach from his LST. That movie made him very uncomfortable but he did say it was pretty realistic only much worse. He was a machine gunner and was wounded 3 times in the ensuing action with his unit. He's gone now but I can't say enough about his bravery. He never really talked about his experiences.

 

[handejector]

Great pictures John. I like the soldier on the left in the plane. It looks like a new carbine, a 1911 on his hip and all of the troops have shined boots.

No offense to anyone, esp John, But I seriously doubt that is a D-Day pic.
No helmet covers.
No painted faces.
No equipment bags.
No heavy weapons.
Boots and holster are black (brown in WW II)

 

[PALADIN85020]

Lee, you may be right. Since the picture is in black and white, it's difficult to tell - could be a training mission. The carbines are correct for the WWII period (no bayonet lugs) - in the black shoe army, they would have had lugs. That carbine looks brand spanking new; in the postwar period it would probably have seen a lot of wear; the one I was issued certainly had! Corcoran jump boots were darker than the standard brown... These were "barracks polished" so it could well have been a training mission. I see that the soldier on the right carries an M1 Garand bayonet in what appears to be a (modified?) British-issue scabbard for the P14 Enfield - apparently the Brits were helping out with equipment including often providing Sykes-Fairbairn stilettos!

I think these paratroop pictures are undeniably genuine D-Day artifacts:

Note that regimental unit insignia on the helmets was obscured before these photos were released - a sign of wartime security censorship. During D-Day, card suits were used to designate 101st Division regiments - I've seen spades, hearts and clubs; not sure about diamonds. Note the M3 trench knife strapped to the boot of the officer striding in the first picture - this was a common WWII paratroop practice. Also, American flags were sewn or armbanded to the uniforms prior to D-Day to ensure that the French would not shoot the strange-looking "soldiers with baggy pants."

John

 

[jag312]

i have always had a question about D-Day, and I hope someone here can answer it. Was napalm available at that time, and if it was, why wasn't it used to neutralize the German bunkers before the landings?

 

[nawilson]

One word- Hooah.

 

[Damn Yankee]

For those of you who are old enough to remember WWII Enjoy.

YouTube - ‪We'll Meet Again - Vera Lynn‬‏

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Yes; I remember that day well. I was getting out of the 8th grade then. News came over the radio, everyone was listening. Not much work went on either. Had a friend later on that went in on D-3. He was in the tank corps. Tank retriever I believe. Went with Patton all thru France & into the Battle of the Bulge then into Germany. Odd thing about the whole thing, he was born in Berlin. Became a U.S. citizen in Michigan before the war. Passed away in 1981.

 

[PALADIN85020]

i have always had a question about D-Day, and I hope someone here can answer it. Was napalm available at that time, and if it was, why wasn't it used to neutralize the German bunkers before the landings?

I'm no expert on that, but I believe the first time napalm was utilized by the U.S. was in the Korean war. We did, however, have flamethrowers, both individually carried and mounted on tanks. These were particularly effective against the Japanese in their hidey-holes in the Pacific. Not to say that they weren't employed, but I've not seen pictures of flamethrowers being used in the European theatre.

John

 

[max]

We used napalm in the Pacific. There was something about it on the History Channel last week. Also, I have a 88 year old friend whose job during WWII in the Pacific was to mix up Napalm. It was put in gas drums and grenades were fastened to the sides.

 

[sw44spl]

I said something about D-Day at work last nite after midnight and the younger deputies didnt know what it was.one of our great moments as a nation.