First Wave at Omaha Beach - a recounting by military historian S.L.A. Marshall from 1960

The Atlantic ^ | N O V E M B E R 1 9 6 0 | S.L.A. Marshall

[risk]

When he was promoted to officer rank at eighteen, S. L. A. MARSHALL was the youngest shavetail in the United States Army during World War I. He rejoined the Army in 1942, became a combat historian with the rank of colonel; and the notes he made at the time of the Normandy landing are the source of this heroic reminder. Readers will remember his frank and ennobling book about Korea, THE RIVER AND THE GAUNTLET, which was the result of still a third tour of duty.

[SkyPilot]

Bump

[Burkeman1]

As I understand it- no one to this day still knows what the ancients used to make Greek Fire.

[risk]

But from the interviews I have seen with American WWII vets- they were not fighting for absracts such as "freedom".

What are your sources? Your comments about Russian troops killing their political officers is very telling. While Stalin was purging his officers via death and lining up machine guns to kill those foot soldiers who retreated at the front, a front which represented the edge of safety for the Russian fatherland, Americans were put on boats and planes to go and hunt the enemy.

In other words, we had our propaganda, we had our ideology, and we took it to heart. This is what Americans do. When we decide to fight, there is no turning back. We will cross mountains, oceans, and fire to fight the enemy on his turf, against his emplacements, against his ideologies. And we will not need machine guns behind us. Never. That will be the end of the Republic.

Sure, many Americans were just there because they were told to go. But remember, Americans are not very likely to do anything they don't understand or don't agree is useful. That's the way we are.