accounts of Normandy ... and from a different
perspective.
...and yet on Facebook Israeli and British ‘friends’ are mocking America’s efforts. And on such a day as this.
I can agree with you.
I also believe that the greatest technological achievement ever is the safe return of Apollo 13.
No one but Americans could have repaired a spacecraft using duct tape and ingenuity.
Our greatest war monument should have been Mexico City from 1847.
I am proud to serve in a unit with such history, the 29th ID
The British had a lot to do with it as well. Just saying.
Thank you for posting. Never forget!
D-Day was a great moment. In my mind it pales when compared to the night of December 25-26 1776.
I highly recommend this documentary of D=Day(1 hr 27 min):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIjmOcp_xhQ
Sorry, but my vote goes to July 20, 1969. That was an uniquely American day. Not discounting D-Day, but that was an allied effort.
Saturday (June 4) was the anniversary of the critical day at Midway. I would put the heroism of the men of Torpedo Squadron 8 up there with any in our history. When they took off that morning, they may not have known they were on a suicide mission, but by the time they reached the enemy (and had gotten separated from their fighter cover), I believe they did. Only one man survived: George Gay, who was later rescued out of the Pacific. TS-6 and TS-3 suffered casualty rates that weren’t far behind.
And it wasn’t simply heroic self-sacrifice. By drawing the Japanese fighters down close to sea level, the torpedo bombers allowed our dive bombers to deliver the blows that took out 3 Japanese carriers and turned the tide of the war and world history in the space of 5 minutes.
D-Day certainly hastened the end, but Nazi Germany was on the way out, even if D-Day had not succeeded. Before Midway, Japan was still on the offensive and could have won the war before we were able to bring our superior resources into play. After Midway, with most of their carrier fleet on the bottom of the ocean, Japan’s days were numbered. It would be 3+ more years of incredibly hard fighting, but from June 4, 1942, there was no realistic path for a Japanese victory.
| Good one, JewishRighter. My Dad was at Normandy on one of the LST ships that landed tanks and artillery. He told us once, "If you weren't scared, you weren't there." And I think his tour was unusual because he was also present at the Battle of Okinawa when 1,450 Kamikaze planes were crashing on ships. Thirty odd years later, he graciously welcomed my wife, a citizen of Japan. Back at the Navy base in Sasebo, Japan, we had a reception at the Navy base where many Japanese friends of family were invited. Never forget getting a Banzai salute with the raising of the arms in the air three times "Banzai". Actually, the Banzai is not a military salute at all. It is customary at weddings. It means, 10,000 years -- may you live 10,000 years. |
Thank you all for your excellent and thought-provoking posts. I have done a good deal of reading on the landings and battles of the Pacific theater and you really give me pause when you point out the difficulties faced in those campaigns. If the enemy wasn’t bad enough, the conditions were sheer hell. I am in awe of all of the fighting men of that war.
Here is a D-Day survival story you might find illuminating. A lawyer in Orlando who is a family friend had a father who, as young American lieutenant, landed in the first wave at Omaha Beach on D-Day and then fought his way across Europe. To even get to the beach alive on June 6, 1944 though he had to pull a gun on and threaten the life of the British sailor who was piloting his Higgins boat.
Watching other boats, the lieutenant saw that due to heavy German machine gun fire, British sailors were disobeying their orders and, instead of running up and grounding on the beach, they were stopping in deep water and ordering the American troops to get out. The Americans then fell into water over their heads and drowned due to the heavy load of weapons and gear they carried.
When the lieutenant's boat slowed and the British sailor in charge started to lower the front ramp, the young American officer pulled out his .45, put it against the Brit's head, and ordered him to put the ramp up and drive forward to the beach. The Brit sailor complied. The lieutenant survived D-Day and the ensuing months in combat. Today, his son and other family regard those hours in combat in Normandy as a defining moment in his life.