Posted on 06/06/2022 8:22:38 AM PDT by Leaning Right
Given that today is the 78th anniversary of D-Day, I thought it might be nice to start a thread will folks can post personal stories related to the event - maybe something involving a friend or relative.
My dad was in Korea and was sick of rice.
Hated the stuff though Mom ground it up for some recipes that required it.
What an inspiring memory. I am so happy you witnessed that.
Going to watch The Longest Day and the listen to Trump’s Normandy Speech.
Jealous! Will visit on day. Thank you for posting the pic.
Every Pentagon General and Admiral needs to be fired without pension. Period.
Send them to fight in the Ukraine.
Does wonders for Russian generals!
They’re all dead Jim.
Go to the cemetery on Memorial day and see how many stones are now undecorated. Even the people who remember them are dying.
Children of some considerable age don’t even know what D-day is let alone anything about it or remembrances.
Just as with the D-Day battle other notables over the years like
Chosin Reservoir, Korea
TET 68, South Vietnam
Battle for Fallujah, Iraq
Are all destined for the memory hole and only vividly remembered by the aged and aging Veteran population that actually fought in them.
My father (adoptive) landed in the 2nd wave at Omaha. He was an EOD Engineer charged with blowing up mines and defusing booby trapped infrastructure and bridges. All his memories recounted to me was the ground solid with bodies and blood red sand and waters of the first wave. Affected him horribly till the day he died.
My father was a Staff Sergeant with the famed 1st Army, 29 Infantry Div., 116th Battalion, (in a machine gun group). Outfit was out of Virginia originally and were the first wave of troops to hit Omaha Beach. I remember him having nightmares when I was growing up and couldn’t figure out what had actually caused them until much later in life after extensively studying the purgatory these heroes experienced. He was a squad leader, later had two squads in his charge. He was in his early 20’s when he hit the Beach. The army had trained this group in Slapton Sands UK for close to two years just for this invasion. They were dog sick after the rough seas sailing from UK to France. Daddy said that the soldiers were weighted down with 80 lb. field packs plus misc. gear when they hit the water. He said that against prior orders, he took his knife after going into the water and cut off all the weight he could so that he could increase his chances of not being pulled into the swirling water which was over their heads. This while the water was red with the blood sacrificed by our GI’s. All the while with the Germans firing at will from their perfectly sited emplacements. He said he felt he would have never survived if he hadn’t lightened his load upon hitting the water. He went on to take a schrapnel injury in Saint Lo, was out for a few days, then put back in service. Saw extremely heavy combat through until the end of his service, being discharged in May ‘45 at War’s end.
Once we taught history. I guess there is just too much to cover now.
Some of us lived a few of these but they too and we will be forgotten. Just the way it goes. It is folly to expect anything different.
My late Dad was in Italy at the time playing toss-the-grenade with Kesselring’s boys. He used to chuckle relating Clark’s decision to provide the country with a large morale boost by taking Rome, the first enemy capital to fall in that war. Costly mistake, actually, but I can tell you the exact date. 5 June, 1944. Then, the next day...
My dad was on the Marblehead and was in Borneo when Pearl was attacked, some of his badly wounded crew members are portrayed in the Cecil B. DeMille movie, “The Story of Dr. Wassell”.
He did relate one time how his light cruiser spent 1 1/2 hours trying to talk a jap officer and enlisted man into allowing themselves to be pulled out of the water, which they refused to do, the ship eventually had to leave and machine gunned the two men.
The Battle of Hastings is better remembered than those. US education purposefully ignores important history.
Based on my experience, Europeans speaking several languages is a myth. Typically, if they do speak a second language, it’s English.
R.I.P. uncle Bill Warner. He was there and made it home to lead a very productive life…”A Life On Borrowed Time”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.