• The KillerFrogs

D-Day - thoughts, stories?

CountryFrog

Active Member
No personal stories of D-Day but I hope that the sacrifices and lasting effects of that day and that war stay relevant for future generations all over the world and especially in this country. We obviously have problems here in America and its easy to get caught up in those political/social/racial issues but we have never had an actual tyrannical government murdering millions of people and invading every country it can the way Europe had during that time. It's hard to even imagine what the millions of people in those countries went through every day, and equally hard to imagine what the sacrifices of soldiers from a foreign country meant to them. There are generations of people from those countries who are alive today, in part, because of the bravery and sacrifice of young men from the United States. Those were the darkest of dark times for lots of people. The sacrifices and heroism of the boys on that beach and throughout the war should serve as a reminder of the great capacity of people to be and do GOOD for others.

Political debates will rage on for as long as there are governments. Social and racial unrest will never fully go away as long as there are human beings. But we still have it in us to come together in tragedies and sacrifice for each other. I'm incredibly proud to be an American on days like this, and anyone from any of the countries who lost fathers, sons, and brothers at Normandy in the name of freedom and liberation should be proud as well.
 

Leap Frog

Full Member
May I borrow a line from President Roosevelt about Pearl Harbor and getting into WW2?
Didn't think you would mind because our country was united for victory.
"A day that will live in infamy".
Japan didn't know what a sleeping giant they had just awoken.
We will never forget D-Day, and we can never thank the brave military men who landed there enough.
God bless them and God bless America-- we are so lucky to be born Americans.
 

CountryFrog

Active Member
I also think it's important to remember the pain of Germany on days like this. The German people were the first to be victimized by the Nazis. They lost millions of their own people for the sake of a mad man's fantasy. He had accomplices, no doubt, but most who died only did so out of duty to their country and not because they believed in their leader.

Nazi Germany was the clear enemy but most of the German people themselves did nothing wrong other than being born to German parents at a very bad time.
 

Virginia Frog

Active Member
I would love to go there some day. I just can’t imagine what they saw as they were approaching the beach
My father handled ordinance - for gunfire and depth charges - on the destroyer ("tanks of the sea") USS Thompson. The Thompson was in the battlegroup with battleships Tex and Ark for the first assault on Omaha Beach's western sector and Pointe du Hoc. (Omaha was divided into 17 areas for military planning.)

Pre-dawn, before the initial landings - the destroyers of this group were to support/protect those battleships and then were commanded to fire away to "soften up" the German defenses.

They then sailed "back out of range." A couple of hours. later around 9AM with the American Omaha assault failing they were ordered "back in" along with 5 other destroyers and the Texas. This group of ships are credited with saving the Omaha assault and effected materially the Pointe de Hoc victory.

The historians say that these ships "went in at great potential peril." You see the beach here is a part of a cove where the land beneath the surf is very shallow. These ships could have easily been grounded and become easy targets themselves.

Apparently, there were many "hits" made by these six Destroyers/US Texas and it "turned the tide."

I know this because I traveled to Normandy last Sept and was flabergasted to learn this.
At three monuments - The US Naval assault monument at Utah Beach (dedicated by Reagan in '84), one at the Vierville draw (the mission focus of the Omaha campaign), and another in the Museum at the National Cemetery all make the point in their banners of these seven ships' vital role that morning.

My father always referred to the action there as "the Normandy Invasion." I never once heard him say the term D-Day or tell of the peril he faced. It was always like "we went in" and shelled, we came back in a couple hours later and "did it again" and then sailed back to England - like it was a walk in the park!

The Thompson also was a player in the "Invasion of southern France" on the Côte d'Azur called Operation Dragoon, another D-Day-esque engagement on August 15, 1944. He never seem too fazed about all this action.

Two other things:
The overused term "Operation Overlord" is incorrect in the American Naval operation that was what we now know as D-Day (most people are really referring to the action at Omaha.) It was called "Operation Neptune." I learned this at the Caen Memorial Museum, Center for History and Peace in Normandy (Rick Steves' gave it his best rating of all the Norman D-Day museums.)

Second: My father was in the US National Guard for nine years (1934-42.) He didn't re-up after he was married. After sitting out for a couple years with a Federal job supporting the war he decided he didn't want to be in the Army again so Navy he went. His National Guard unit later became a part of the 116th of the 29th Army Div. If you are a D-Day buff you know that the 116th WAS the first wave of soldiers-in and suffered btween 80-90% casualties. Yep, there wouldn't be Virginia Frog writing this if Dad had gone back into the Army!

One other thing:

If you go to Normandy, don't try the one-day-from -Paris idea. Plan several days. At least 2 at the beaches, 1 go to the spectacular Mont St Michel, do Rouen (Joan of Arc site, incredible Medieval town) and Honfleur (A delightful seaside area where many impressionists painted.) Car rentals are a must, I found it to be affordable at under Euro200 for 8 days (Europcar) - gas is too way much though - US$7+ per gal.

Post script: I was able to see what the USS Thompson looked like since it was the ship in the title roll in the famous 1953 film "Caine Mutiny" starring Humphrey Bogart as "Captain Queeg", Fred McMurray, Van Johnson and Jose Ferrer. The original novel was written by Herman Woulk who died just a few weeks ago at 103 - My dad would be 103 today as well!
 
Last edited:

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
I sat next to a guy at an Exxon Christmas party many years ago. I noticed a German accent and asked where head from and he said Eagle Pass (I think) and I said huh? He laughed and named some town in. Germany but he came to Texas in 1943 as a guest of the US Army. Said he was a POW in West Texas. Said gthey treated them so well he came right back after being shipped home. He said they even got passes to go unsupervised into town!?! I guess there was no place to escape to. He just said he ate better in prison than he had at home for many years and just loved Texas and Texans.
 

FrogPreacher

Active Member
The only story I have is one I learned very recently. My mother’s uncle was a paratrooper that landed in the hedged fields. He may have been 5’ 4” in shoes. I didn’t know him that well before he passed away many years ago but he was funny and loved to fish and tell funny stories. He lived mostly in the mountains of western North Carolina and sometimes outside Jewett, Texas. But as children we were told when we visited him that he had a pet peeve about scraping your knife or fork or spoon against your plate when eating. Only recently did I learn why...his best friend in the war was killed because someone in his unit made enough noise like that such that the Germans knew where to concentrate fire.

Mrs Pharm and I visited him in NC when she was 7 months pregnant with our first child on a vacation to DC and Williamsburg. We were sitting in his living room talking about things he had accomplished in life, things he wanted to still do, and stuff when he asked the same about us. I stupidly said that I wanted to skydive and he told Mrs Pharm, “Divorce this dumbass when you get home” To this day I get the feeling he wasn’t joking and there was stories there that he wasn’t going to share. I read The Steel Wave again last year. I still find it hard to imagine D-Day as being real.
Wondering what your great-uncle's name was. My Mom grew up outside of Jewett and I still have a great deal of family in the area.
 

Billy Clyde

Active Member
Wondering what your great-uncle's name was. My Mom grew up outside of Jewett and I still have a great deal of family in the area.

My mom is also from that area, just a bit further north. As a girl she saw cattle trucks loaded with German POWs going to work the fields. I used to quail hunt with one of them many moons ago, great guy and had the best pointers around (Guess which breed).
 

Eight

Member
First hand experience: The paper drives where everyone participated! People who couldn't walk to help gather, opened their front door and shoved newspapers, magazines, grocery bags on to the porch. The paper was picked up by someone for sure.

My Dad putting black electrical tape on the front headlights. About a square inch of light is all you had to see the road at night. The reason was on multiple occasions nazi subs lurked around army camps and airfields spying on Americans. Sometimes a small band of Nazis secretly came ashore at night. Many were caught due to civil army of armed citizens. Where did this happen? Mostly Florida gulf coast and the Carolinas.

The blue stars in the window on a banner which meant your child was in the armed forces. Red stars meant you lost your son or daughter. I remember every window had a banner of stars hanging in the front window.

Try to get a tire for the car was almost impossible. Old cans, frying pans anything with metal was collected for drives.

On Omaha Beach, the majority of nazi soldiers set up cross fires by Hitler Youth Organization. These kids were as young as twelve years old killing allied soldiers. They didn't aim, they didn't have to, they just fired and fired, killing thousands of young American soldiers. Trying to escape the fire, many soldiers slipped over the sides of their boats in the rough waters and immediately sunk due to the heavy packs on their back.

Sugar was rationed as well as gas and food. But they survived and everyone worked together, I mean everyone. Very few heros, all the true heros didn't come home.

When you hear, this is the greatest generation in the history of the United States, yes that is correct.

tumbleweed, i think it borders on tragic how many in today's world either forget or never have been taught about the sacrifices many americans at home made to support the war effort.

my mom talks about how they were proud to do without things at home to support the war effort. not sure if many who want things to change in the world are willing to make 1/4 the sacrifice for a cause they believe is worth their time and efforts.

as i mentioned in another thread my dad was in the army air corp in venezuela and part of his responsibility was listening to u-boat radio traffic in the gulf of mexico and atlantic ocean.

his flight time in a b-24 was out over the gulf as he called it "bombing fish" which really was trying to chase off the subs along the us coastline
 

2314

Active Member
In 1999 I took a AAA tour to Paris, Normandy, and Brittany. Our tour guide didn't speak French (!), so the bus driver and I did all necessary conversing with the locals. On our way to the Normandy American Cemetery, an older gentleman in our group sat down beside me and said, "Since you speak French, will you help me find my brother? He's buried there."

I said of course I would. When we arrived, he and I went to the welcome center and I explained all this to a very nice attendant. Now she spoke English, but I still did the talking. I didn't feel he should have to.

She looked up his brother's name and found his grave. Within a minute, we were on a golf cart and were driven to the site. The attendant had a bucket of dark wet sand, which she rubbed onto the face on the gravestone, filling in the letters and numbers. The gravestones are white and the lettering is carved into the stone, and is very hard to see in a photograph. The dark sand makes it much easier to read.

After a silent prayer, we took some pictures and she asked us to stand by. She signaled someone and the carillon began to play Taps. Everyone stopped, there was not another sound. After it was over, she took us back to the welcome center and gave him some documentation. Their treatment of us was first rate.

I still get emotional every time I tell this story. Can you imagine? After 55 years, finally seeing where your brother was laid to rest? I'm so grateful that I could share the experience with him. It's a very special memory.
View attachment 5761
Thank you for sharing that. I would so much love to visit Normandy one day.
 

Frozen Frog

Active Member
Just finished a book about D Day through German eyes. It was really an eye opener. The rank and file German thought they were defending European unity and couldn’t understand why Brits and Americans were siding with the Soviets. Most of these guys were not Nazis and had serious concerns about rumors they heard of atrocities. You could always tell who were the Nazi party guys as they are still very defiant. Many of the defenders felt bad about the slaughter in the opening hour of D Day. But they all seemed stunned at the material arrayed in front. Several said they wondered where all the allied horses were and knew the war was over when they realized we had no animals and were totally mechanized.

Do you have the title and author? I could use a good read.
 

2314

Active Member
We had the opportunity to visit Normandy 2 years ago. It was overwhelming yet so peaceful. It is impossible to tour the area without a lump in your throat.

On a personal note, my grandfather received the Croix de Guerre during WWII and displayed it proudly in his home office until he passed in 2009. He had so many fascinating stories about not only fighting German forces, but also the Italians. He brought home German and Italian service pistols that he personally extracted.

I’m saddened that the Greatest Generation is disappearing so quickly, and obviously by those who gave all 75 years ago.
My father was in the Pacific Theater and passed this past August at age 94. At his funeral I heard someone say there are not many WWII vets remaining. Yes indeed, they were The Greatest Generation and the most unselfish Americans. My father rarely discussed the war, but he did tell me he and everyone else who got on those boats honestly did not expect to come back. The times he did speak about it were truly fascinating. … This is a great thread.
 

Frozen Frog

Active Member
Several years ago I read a great book about the 1941 Army-Navy game titled the All Americans by Lars Anderson. It follows 4 guys from the game to the end of the war including D-Day. It is worth a read.
 

2314

Active Member
Steels dad same way; USM first div in Korea. The hills battles, or whatever. Never talked about it til he got Alzheimers approaching his 80s and then he started talking about it. Doesn't know who we are, but occasionally asks, "Did you know I was in the war?"

Asked Steel's mom a few weeks ago if she would marry him...Forgot they been married 60 years.
Steel! You back, or is this just a Steel cameo?
 
Top