Today is June 6, 2008. It is the forty-forth anniversary of the Allied forces in World War II landing at Normandy, France during Operation Overlord. France of course was occupied by Nazi Germany. It was the largest invasion from the sea at the time, By the end of June 1944, over 850,000 Allied troops had crossed the English channel. It was a very bloody, but decisive Allied victory. Troops from the United States, Canada, Free French Forces, and the United Kingdom made the landing. Later, Poland,Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and the Netherlands joined the initial forces. Most of these countries also provided air support along with the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the Royal Norwegian Navy (I hope I didn’t leave anyone out).
Once again, today will come and go and the vast majority of Americans will not know the significance of it. As I said in my Memorial Day post, we have largely forgotten about those who made it possible for us to be free and secure. I’m not just talking about those who fought in World War II either. We still have something like 60,000 troops in Japan, and many, many more still throughout Europe maintaining what the Allies accomplished in defeating the AXIS POWERS.
Thank a veteran today, especially if you know or see a World War II veteran, for their service – we owe them so much. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SERVICE MEN AND WOMEN, PAST AND PRESENT!
Here's a video I found of a reunion of D-Day Veterans which includes some photos of what it looks like today.
VET WHO WON MEDAL OF HONOR AT AGE 17 DIES (this is a clickable link to the article - his story in World War II is really something - please take acouple of minutes to read).
6 comments:
Wonderful tribute! Thanks for remembering this day hon! (Hugs) Indigo
Thank you for posting this on behalf of all the WWII veterans. My Dad is one of them, and I'm thankful for him, Mom, and others of their generation every single day.
Beth
I liked this entry. I do like history and such important days in our history are nice to read about. Have a happy week.
Allison
Thank you so much for sharing this entry with us about Dday.... I will never forget the movies I've seen portraying it. I became very thankful for my freedom when I realized how war really is... I want my children to know, especially my sons, in case they ever have to take a stand. Praying for our men and women still overseas fighting now....
Lisa
I read that article. Wasn't that amazing?
Thank you for the entry and the map of what Europe was like back then. It is a good history lesson.
Isn't it funny how we saved France's ass back then and yet when we wanted their help with the recent wars, they turned on us??? Pardon my language but they are such a pompous lot.
Incidentally, I was reading a story of a couple who met in post-Nazi Berlin and married. 55 years later, they are still married and living in our area. The wife, who is German, wrote it and told of how Berlin was divided up and what it was like living there at the time. That too, wasn't just a love story, but a great history lesson as well.
God bless,
Sheila
I read the article ~ very neat story. My grandma told me how everyone pulled together and supported each other & our troops and were proud to work to make the needed supplies for them. My how times have changed - when did our Country lose so much character?
Sad.
Lisa
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