quote:

Originally posted by Russ59:
While I'm not the usual tourist for Normandy, I've been twice (my MIL is Frenchie). I took my parents in 2007 and it was the highlight of our two week trip. My dad's older brother served in WW2 (he was born in 1935, too young). His brother flew in Europe and retired as a full bird colonel, buried in Arlington.

As JALLEN and BH have stated, the people of Normandy are particularly fond of US and Brits. Our flags fly prominently in that region. If any of you have a bucket list, be sure a trip to Normandy is on it.

I visited the site on 5 Jun 2016 and things were very active that day. I had several uncles who were involved in WWII, and I had always wanted to visit Normandy.

I believe all of Western Europe (except maybe Germany) still revere the memory of our troops and their actions there. There are numerous US Cemeteries scattered among the various nations where Americans are buried and they are, every one, absolute pictures of perfection--neatly groomed, in good repair, and awesome places to visit. They are good testimonials to our presence.

I got a picture of this old warrior in full regalia taking a well-deserved nap, and almost cried:

DSC_0440-2.jpg by David Casteel, on Flickr
My photos of that day are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157656126136528/.

flashguy

I can't even begin to imagine...

Great read on the subject - not about the battle, but just stories of the individuals who were there.

Voices of D-Day: The Story of the Allied Invasion Told by Those Who Were There

Watching D-Day in HD on the History channel.

Unbelievable sacrifice and courage from so many that were so young. Amazing that they gained a foothold and advanced given the number of things that went wrong in the early stages.

Michael

Sacrifice. Incredible sacrifice. That a whole nation and generation would stand and answer the call is consistently amazing.

My late Father in law was D-day +6 in a headquarters company. His brothers and future brothers in law also served in the Pacific and elsewhere. My Father was a B-17 navigator and POW while his brother was an Infantry Lieutenant, KIA during the same timeframe. Several Aunts served as WACs and as an in theater nurse. My Mother in law worked at Oak Ridge on the Manhattan Project. Everyone responded, still incredible.

My Uncle Bob jumped into France as part of the 101st Airborne on D-Day. He was an 18 year-old machine gunner and survived the jump and the war. One of many true heroes that day!

Amusing side story: He and a friend found/captured a German sub-machine gun sometime after the initial assault and rather than turn it in, wrapped it in oilcloth or some such and buried it near a crossroads in a small French town with the thought they might someday recover it.

He and his wife attended the 50th anniversary of D-Day. He was actually going to jump again but sprained his ankle on one of the required prep jumps he made in the US (at the age of 68!)and wasn't allowed to jump during the ceremony. Anyway, he made his way back to the small French town, found the crossroads (now 2 major highways) and discovered a huge modern shopping center where the gun was buried. He told me the story after I got back from serving in the 101st in Vietnam in 1971. He was always a hero to me and I think of him especially on this day of honor.

In our village we are lucky enough to have a survivor of the D-Day landings. Cecil is now 93, and pretty darn sprightly, too. He still drives his little car, and smugly deprives the rest of the village hopefuls of their prizes in the annual vegetable plot growing comps every year.

A private soldier in the Suffolk Regiment, the task of his company was to take out a number of emplaced guns pouring their huge shells down on the bridgehead. The task was about as hopeless as it was possible to imagine, as the guns were deep inside concrete revetments, themselves protected by dug-in infantry and minefields.

However, by the end of the afternoon the company of infantry had achieved their goal, and silenced the guns, at a cost of almost 40% of their unit. The next morning, reinforced by survivors from another similarly-tasked company, they did it again.

Twice.

Tomorrow morning, as I do every anniversary of D-Day, I'm going to shake his hand and give him my deepest thanks.

tac