D-Day...June 6, 1944 (A Repeat)

     To post anything else on this day would be a travesty... This is the single most important day of the 20th century and should be drilled in school so future Americans will never forget it. I may be a little more hardcore than most, but I had a father and six uncles who fought in World War II. I am among those who stand in total admiration of this 'greatest generation of Americans.'
    The late 1930's and early 1940's were some of the gloomiest days in world history. Germany, Italy, and Japan had created an Axis of Evil that tried to dominate the entire world. Beginning in 1942 the allied countries started to battle back, but it was a slow process.
Japan ruled most of Southeast Asia...Italy was a power over North Africa..and the Germans dominated most of western Europe.

    Everyone knew an invasion was coming,...but the Germans thought it would come in the region around Calais, France. There a mere 28 miles separate England from France, and it is the most direct way to Paris and Berlin. The allies conducted one of the most secret and deceptive operations in history when they decided on the beaches of Normandy. Over six thousand ships would transport 125,000 combat troops the one-hundred miles to Normandy under the cover of darkness and begin the invasion on a Tuesday morning, June 6, 1944.
    Actually the assault began the night before. Overall Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower met with paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division to wish them well and told them 'to kick some ass' until the invasion forces could re-enforce them. 

     The invasion beaches between Cherbourge and LeHavre would be divided into five fronts.. Gold, Sword, Juno, Omaha, and Utah were the secret code names for the beaches. Gold would find Australian and Norwegian troops coming ashore. Sword and Juno would be the responsibility of English and Canadian forces, and American assault troops would storm ashore at Utah and Omaha beaches.
The 101st Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division would drop behind Utah and Omaha beaches and keep German reinforcement troops from reaching the beach emplacements.

      While the airborne troops began their actions around 1:30 in the morning of June 6th, the invasion forces assault on the beaches began at 6:30. The German's had concrete fortifications for artillery and machine gun emplacements and the initial allied forces took a heavy toll in casualties. By eleven o' clock that morning they had broken through the wall and began the massive push eastward. Because of the uncertainty of where the invasion would occur, the Germans held back their armored units until the last moment. It would be a fatal mistake.

     Most of the German armor losses came at the hands of Allied aircraft as over thirteen thousand American and British planes ruled the battlefield. Infantry units would be forced to deal with the German tanks with bazookas, satchel charges, and hand grenades. After capturing the port city of Cherbourg, supplies started to come ashore quickly supplying the combat troops more ammunition, food, and reinforcements.

     It would be a town to town, city to city, push all the way across France, Belgium, and into Germany. The famed German Luftwaffe was a no-show in the Normandy Campaign as they were forced into a defensive posture around the capital city of Berlin. On April 29, 1945 Adolf Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered to end the European conflict. Four months later two atomic bombs dropped on Japan ended the Pacific conflict.
    Growing up in a free country, we have no idea what it was like to have no freedom of religion...no freedom of speech...no freedom to work any place you chose...no freedom to criticize our form of government. Remember that you have those freedoms because someone paid the price for you..

     This is only one of many cemeteries across France, Belgium, and Norway. On the first day of the invasion of Normandy, America lost over ten thousand troops. At one time the battle was going so badly American General Omar Bradley considered abandoning the invasion and calling for ships to recall the troops. Luckily, the tide turned within the hour and success was ours. If you have a member of your family that was lost in World War II, you have my deepest sympathy...but you also have my thanks for the great effort it took to battle the world's most advanced forces at the time. The World War II generation is now dieing off at the rate of one-thousand per day. The next time you meet one of these gallant men or women, give them a smile and thank them for giving you all that you have today..