June 6th, 1944

[Bob Denman]

74 years ago today...


D-Day.jpg

[Arion]

Lest we forget.

[ofdave]

very little mention of it in the media. Our local paper had nothing.
Damn shame, what was gone through then should be remembered and learned from.

[Bob Denman]

I haven't seen any coverage of it either...

[canamjhb]

Sadly most, if not all, those in the photo are not with us today. They truly were "The Greatest Generation". I did hear a short mention of todays importance on the morning news (FOX of course). Thanks for the post..... Semper Fi

[RinconRyder]

How would you separate the right "D-Day" to commemorate out of the several dozen that took place during a long ago war?

How did the soldiers, sailors and airmen differ from the landings at Normandy from those who were sacrificed at Tarawa, or Dieppe?

We just celebrated Memorial Day a few days ago. That date is to honor all those who died in the effort to remain free. Why do you feel we need to celebrate every significant event and fail to celebrate others?

[Bob Denman]

That's an easy one to answer: Because it was by far the largest, and it completely changed the course of the War in Europe...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings

As fierce and bloody as the Island hopping was in the Pacific Theatre: The outcome was pretty much inevitable.

But of course: nobody Is preventing you from bringing up all of the other significant Battles...

[Chupaca]

That was a monumental endevor that saved the world from a dismal future and it should never be forgotten...Unfortunately we are now in the entitled generation who don't care how they got to the idea they are owed everything in life...so they don't care. Guess the media goes along with them...

[canamjhb]

Looking at the map that shows Axis and occupied countries demonstrates just how huge and important this undertaking was. Thanks for the link Bob. Very informative

[pegasus1300]

Thank You Bob. If anybody else wants commemorate any other important event feel free to do so.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

That was a monumental endevor that saved the world from a dismal future and it should never be forgotten...Unfortunately we are now in the entitled generation who don't care how they got to the idea they are owed everything in life...so they don't care. Guess the media goes along with them...

Be careful about passing judgment upon any generation. How many of us here knows the date the Revolutionary War was won? How about the last battle of the Civil War, or the date of Lincoln's address at Gettysburg? Are they any less important to our nation's existence today than the events of WWII? The reality is, whether we like it or not, time causes historical events to become dim in our collective memories.

[oldguyinTX]

My daughter called me today to tell me that she was thinking of her grandfather on this memorable day. He wasn't there, he was a B-17 Ball Turret Gunner in'42 &'43, a really nasty job, but still, it made my heart swell with pride that she remembers the things that I taught her when she was young, and that she would take the time to call me. I thank God the she understands that she lives in the land of the free, because of the brave. Thanks for the reminder Bob.

[ARtraveler]

Better to remember than to let it go forgotten. Will be interesting to see how much mention of D-Day about 10 years from now.

RE: Memorial Day--we need to remember that also. Most of the soldiers from WW2 have now passed away.

EVERY soldier--regardless of which war or job in service to their Country--has done their part to help maintain the freedom which we so cherish.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE SERVING AND TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

This year is the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI. We need to really remember Armistice Day this coming Veterans Day in November. The real date is the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

[ofdave]

How would you separate the right "D-Day" to commemorate out of the several dozen that took place during a long ago war?

How did the soldiers, sailors and airmen differ from the landings at Normandy from those who were sacrificed at Tarawa, or Dieppe?

We just celebrated Memorial Day a few days ago. That date is to honor all those who died in the effort to remain free. Why do you feel we need to celebrate every significant event and fail to celebrate others?

I guessing you skipped history class and had no relatives who lived through the war.
Or you are kidding-and it is far from funny.

[RinconRyder]

That's an easy one to answer: Because it was by far the largest, and it completely changed the course of the War in Europe...

Normandy was not the largest amphibious landing of the war. That would be the Battle of Leyte Gulf (and possibly the largest of all time) but the Russian tank battle at Kursk was the largest tank battle and the Russian land invasion from the East was, by far, the largest of its kind. It took all three to defeat the Germans but only one consisted of a Western force so naturally that is the one we celebrate. You also need to remember there were several significant battles after Normandy that could have easily gone the wrong way; Market Garden (major defeat) and The Bulge (almost a defeat) were but two of these.

While the Western armies consider their part of the European War to be the significant part it was the Russians who would have beat down the Nazi armies eventually with or without our participation. The Germans simply did not have enough manpower in arms nor manufacturing capacity to overcome the Russians. Once the Germans were stopped at Moscow (and several other sites) the writing was on the wall.

As fierce and bloody as the Island hopping was in the Pacific Theatre: The outcome was pretty much inevitable.

I do not think a single senior military commander would have shared that opinion with you from Pearl Harbor through the defense of Guadalcanal - especially Dugout Doug MacArthur.

The Japanese military government was convinced that the significant destruction of our capital ships at Pearl Harbor would leave us with no possibility except to sue for peace. They failed to follow up virtually every major victorious battle with a knock-out blow.

Initially, the only thing that stopped the Japanese navy from an invasion of Hawaii and/or the West Coast were three carriers (one of which still had yard workers repairing it when it entered the Battle of Midway), a tiny fleet of submarines (which the Japanese continued to ignore from Pearl Harbor to the end of the war) and a handful of almost obsolete and/or damaged capital ships and destroyers.

It wasn't the island hopping that determined the outcome of the Pacific War but rather the manufacturing capacity of the USA. For the first two years of that conflict a handful of Aussie Coastwatchers and some old Asiatic Squadron ships, and subs, held the line until the American shipyards could build state of the art capital ships and the crews to man them. Japan could not to replace their losses and failed to appreciate the intelligence forces that allowed the ambush at Midway to turn the tide of the Pacific War. Japan also failed to recognize the American submarine threat that eventually prevented movement of war materiel from the conquered territories back to the home country. As a result, Japan literally ran out of gas.

Had the Japanese followed up Pearl Harbor with an invasion of Hawaii they would have had complete control of the Pacific theater and it would have been years before the USA, if ever, could have retaken that territory. Had they then proceeded to wipe out the shipyards and oil production on the West Coast the Pacific War might have ended almost immediately. Their shortsightedness gave the USA the time to rearm and respond and knowing that Yamamoto had worked and lived in the USA and knew firsthand of its manufacturing capacities it is most improbable he stopped at Hawaii.

[Holly]

Sadly most, if not all, those in the photo are not with us today. They truly were "The Greatest Generation". I did hear a short mention of todays importance on the morning news (FOX of course). Thanks for the post..... Semper Fi

Unfortunately a lot of people are watching main stream media and are clueless on real news issues. Thank God for FOX..……… I try to help them see the light, but they are really brainwashed and usually beyond help...….... Nothing we can do. They are like a rabbit dog. No hope for them. It's sad...……

[UtahPete]

Unfortunately a lot of people are watching main stream media and are clueless on real news issues. Thank God for FOX..……… I try to help them see the light, but they are really brainwashed and usually beyond help...….... Nothing we can do. They are like a rabbit dog. No hope for them. It's sad...……

WTF is a 'rabbit dog'? Never heard of that breed.

Anyway, here's a link to some interesting photographs that have been doctored to show places on D-day vs. how they are today. Enjoy.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...ef=uk-homepage

[UtahPete]

Better to remember than to let it go forgotten. Will be interesting to see how much mention of D-Day about 10 years from now.

RE: Memorial Day--we need to remember that also. Most of the soldiers from WW2 have now passed away.

EVERY soldier--regardless of which war or job in service to their Country--has done their part to help maintain the freedom which we so cherish.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO ARE SERVING AND TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED.

Don't forget the airmen, Marines and Navy sailors...

[Holly]

]WTF is a 'rabbit dog'? Never heard of that breed.[/B]

Anyway, here's a link to some interesting photographs that have been doctored to show places on D-day vs. how they are today. Enjoy.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...ef=uk-homepage

I'm surprised...……………. They are very popular with your group.


rabdog.jpg


Sorry , On principle Huffington Post is a major Fake News Paper

[UtahPete]

That was a monumental endevor that saved the world from a dismal future and it should never be forgotten...Unfortunately we are now in the entitled generation who don't care how they got to the idea they are owed everything in life...so they don't care. Guess the media goes along with them...

I think every generation has its misfits and its solid citizens. I don't buy into the idea that the generations that come after our own are any less serious about their rights and obligations as citizens and members of the human race.

[Trickie Dick]

Unfortunately a lot of people are watching main stream media and are clueless on real news issues. Thank God for FOX..……… I try to help them see the light, but they are really brainwashed and usually beyond help...….... Nothing we can do. They are like a rabbit dog. No hope for them. It's sad...……

something you understand..

[ThreeWheels]

WTF is a 'rabbit dog'? Never heard of that breed.

Anyway, here's a link to some interesting photographs that have been doctored to show places on D-day vs. how they are today. Enjoy.

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ent...ef=uk-homepage

WTF ??
Huffington Post is sold to another owner.
I can't access the site unless I submit to their demands and I agree to let them place cookies in my browser.
OK. I guess I'm not going to access the site.

On another note, I'm surprised TCM hasn't run a series of movies about D Day.

[RinconRyder]

I guessing you skipped history class and had no relatives who lived through the war.
Or you are kidding-and it is far from funny.

In the future it would behoove you to refrain from speaking out your ass. Since you don't know me I will fill you in - then go ahead with your inaccurate and inflammatory statements.

I was born in late 1944 - just a week or so after my father was very seriously wounded in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He was an amphibious tank commander during the invasion and lived the remainder of his life with those severe injuries and the pain that goes with them. He had a pit in his upper arm the size of a softball that a Japanese mortar fragment had taken out. The corpsmen had sewn back together as much of his arm as could be found but for the rest of his life this man, who was an accomplished horseman (he originally joined the US Army in 1940 as a member of the 7th Cavalry then was switched to armor later in the war), guitar player, writer, leather and wood worker had to learn to use his one remaining functioning hand. He spent several years at Letterman Hospital in San Francisco relearning to use both arms but particularly his battered right arm.

The single time I ever heard him complain was one night when he dropped his Thermos trying to open our front door. He received a military disability for the rest of his life as a result of that injury. But he was one of the lucky ones he used to say. At least he came home and lived a pretty normal life.

When I was a pre-teen he would invite other vets to our house for dinner or just to play cards. Most seemed pretty normal on the surface but it was easy to tell that some were deeply troubled by what they had gone through. My dad used the term "shell shock" to describe some of them and I never remember them talking about the war except to describe their respective units.

He did share some of his experiences with me, his only son at that time, and unintentionally convinced me I didn't want to be a soldier when the time came. My time came in 1962 just five days after high school graduation when I joined the US Navy and was sent to Viet Nam one year later. We didn't know about Viet Nam then. When I was in high school it was called Indo China. I didn't learn was a quagmire it was until we landed just two weeks before the infamous Gulf of Tonkin attack. I was "lucky" though and left two years later with just a little blue mark in my left shoulder from a mortar round. Had I not been carrying a field radio on my back I likely would have joined my dad in severe injury or worse. I lost one cousin over there, a helo pilot and have had several other close childhood friends die young of injuries during that conflict. My cousin had been in-country only a few weeks. He wasn't lucky. When I got home my country was kind enough to require me to join the active reserve and threaten me with mandatory reactivation. I won't spell out what my answer was as I am sure you can guess.

Suffice to say you do not know what you are talking about and I am absolutely positive you would not have said what you did to my face. I do not want your thanks for serving as it was not my choice. I also don't want any pity for many thousands have suffered much more than I. I would just request you to shut your pie hole about things of which you have no personal knowledge. Your comment was disgraceful.

[RinconRyder]

WTF is a 'rabbit dog'? Never heard of that breed.

I think that idiot poster meant "rabid dog".

A brain is a terrible thing to waste.