[Rummyfan]

Imagine standing in one of those LSTs in the first wave. I hope I would have had the guts to do it.

As the Admiral said in The Bridges of Toko-Ri where do we find such men?

[dfwgator]

It was a much different time. Sure those men were scared, but back then, what would have been even worse was to be considered to be a coward.

[Rummyfan]

“I took the image on the link at low tide in Normady in 2006. This is literally at the edge of the water looking back to the bluffs where the American cemetery is. Look how damn far that is… it took a good 20 minutes to walk down from the cemetery to the water’s edge. I cannot imagine having gone the other way wet, seasick, with a 60-pound ruck on my back, a rifle that weighed a friggin ton unloaded, and with bullets and mortar shells raining down on me.

[FirstFlaBn]

The writer is unaware that the LCVP was made primarily of plywood.

There were certainly no LST’s in the first wave and I’m fairly sure none on June 6 at all.

[Retain Mike]

The troops had along way to go to get to the beach, because the allies did not want to risk their large attack transports carrying 500 – 1500 men close enough to the beach to give the Germans easy targets for eliminating a battalion of men with one salvo.

For the same reason the LST’s did not land with the first waves.

The LCVP’s were plywood except for a steel ramp in front. By the time I was in Vietnam, the plywood had been replaced with fiberglass.

[The Right Edge]

“GRATITUDE” is a rare thing in the human race.

[LumberJack53213]

I never understood the logic of this way of fighting , storming the beach in broad daylight with enemy having the high ground. It was either incompetence or simply no care for human life of your own .

[sphinx]

I’m just relieved that Biden didn’t show up and make a tearful speech recalling his ascent of Pointe du Hoc on D Day.

[norwaypinesavage]

"It could not be done by the men of today."

Actually, it can, and even is. However, the men that can are being mustered out as 'insurrectionists' by the whimps that can't.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

One of my favorites...

[mad_as_he$$]

Good piece. One nit. "The landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP) or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in amphibious landings in World War II. Typically constructed from plywood, this shallow-draft, barge-like boat could ferry a roughly platoon-sized complement of 36 men to shore at 9 knots (17 km/h). Men generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they exited by charging down the boat's lowered bow ramp."

From wiki.

I added emphasis.

A family friend got wounded from flying pieces of plywood.