I saw an interview with one of the paratroops in this photo. He said that even though it appears like Ike is conveying vital last-minute instructions, he was actually talking about his experience working in a store when he was a kid.
A footnote;
It was not until years afterward that the troops in the gliders were considered “airborne.”
Manhood, courage and virility personified. On all sides.
I never get tired of hearing this magnificent story of Ike visiting the fabled 101st on the eve of Normandy.
God bless all our fighting men and women - and, especially, the 101st Airborne Division.
BTTT
and hey, what about that moving tribute to D-Day given by Obama today...uh, oops...never mind.
(if the Normandy invasion had been led by a gay platoon, he’d be all over it...)
I know one of those pilots who flew the paratroopers over that night (also involved in invasions of Sicily and Italy). The stories he recounts are both heartening and gut-wrenching.
At Sicily, German planes had attacked our ships minutes before his squadron flew the paratroopers in to invade the inland. Allied ships thought his squadron were more German planes, so a bunch of his buddies got blasted out of the sky by our own ships.
During the practices for Normandie (nighttime, of course), there were some horrific mid-air accidents that almost cost him his life.
Yet they all did their duty at tremendous cost. I’m just glad my kids have had a chance to learn from him.
....anybody seen Obama’s D-day thought of the day?...anybody?.anywhere?
My Uncle Harvey, who is 90 today, was in the 101st at that place and at that time. The only thing he ever says is that they were just doing their jobs.
A very gutsy tactic was that.
I saw an interview with one of the paratroops in this photo. He said that even though it appears like Ike is conveying vital last-minute instructions, he was actually talking about his experience working in a store when he was a kid.