I was thinking about it on the way in to work this AM. It's hard to believe it's been 68 years- it's as far in the past now as the Spanish-American War was when I was born.
Get off your high horse and get a life. You do not have some sort of monopoly on patriotism. I don't think the first thing I think about when I consider the sacrifices our grandfathers made is to post about in on the 4042 discussion group. Shame on you for admonishing those who probably prefer to pay their respects more eloquently than in an internet chat room.
I have mixed feelings about D-Day. I weep for the fallen soldiers and cheer the eventual success of the invasion. On the other hand, I condemn the leaders who decided it was a good idea to just throw body after body onto the beach hoping that we had more bodies than the enemy had bullets. Had this happened today, there would be inquiry and investigation and several someones would be out of jobs, if not in prison, including General Eisenhower and President Roosevelt. On a lighter note, today's date always reminds me of... Twas the dark o' the moon On the Sixth of June In a Kenworth hauling logs Cabover Pete with a refer on And a Jimmy hauling hogs. We were headin' for bear On I-One Oh 'bout a mile outta Shaky Town I said 'Pigpen, this here's the Rubber Duck, And I'm about to put the hammer down.'
Have to admit, I didn't remember it was today until I saw it on here. I even had the Today Show or one of those morning shows on this morning and I never heard them mention it. Thanks Wolf.
We didn't need to do that to win in the Pacific. A few more month (ok, 14 months) and we would have been able to take out Berlin the same way we took out Hiroshima. In fact, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Berlin probably would have just thrown in the towel.
This is the story of my father-in-law, as told to me by my beloved hubby: "In the late spring / early summer of 1943, Wally enlisted and went to boot camp at Fort Bragg, NC in the Army Air corp, 82nd Airborne division. Upon completion of boot camp, he was transferred to the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia for jump training. "In September or October, he, as well as many other thousands of troops, was shipped off to Great Britain to wait for orders. At this time I know that for the next nine months, he had the time of his life. This is probably when he acquired his appreciation for British comedy, the Queens marching band and many other things British. It was also at this time that he was promoted to Corporal. "In the wee hours of the morning of June 6th, 1944, reveille was sounded for his regiment and they boarded their planes to start "Operation Overlord". This was when the 505th earned the motto H-Minus, because they jumped before their scheduled H-hour. Parachuting behind enemy lines, the fighting must have been fierce and casualties high. He was lucky to survive. "In September 1944 he participated in "Operation Market Garden". This was an Allied attempt to secure bridges across the Maas and Rhine rivers. It was the largest Airborne operation up to that time and was unsuccessful. "After the Germans surrendered, he was part of the Allied occupation force in Berlin. I can only imagine the duties involved in this operation and the destruction, carnage and atrocities he saw, not just in Berlin, but during the entire time he was in Europe. "The 505th was awarded two Presidential unit citations and three foreign distinguished unit citations (from France the Netherlands and Belgium) for their efforts in the War." I am proud of my father-in-law, and I thank God every day that he survived, because my hubby would not be here. Our daughter had the opportunity to visit Normandy Beach, and told us she was just blown away with emotion just by being there. I hope we can be lucky enough to travel there someday. I realize this is a bit lengthy, but I wanted to share, as one does not hear these stories often enough. Thanks, Wally, and all the young men who were part of this historic event! :cheers: