D-Day - thoughts, stories?

[PurpleBlood87]

And they never put on 'Midway' on June 4...

Watched "Midway" on Tuesday on DVD.

 

[Paint It Purple]

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.

Bravo CountryFrog. When I worry that young and old will forget and be unappreciative, I read your fine words and I realize my worries are unfounded.

I was never a soldier. But, On days like today I try to visualize the bravery and love of cause and comrade, that soldiers from the Revolution to WWII and beyond lived, suffered and died so that we may live free today.

 

[CryptoMiner]

 

[Zubaz]

I just can't imagine being on one of those landing crafts having to get off, wade through water, and then run on to the beach. Meanwhile the Germans are shooting at you from every angle. Unbelievable courage.

Ditto. Unfathomable. To have what, a 25% chance of survival when those doors drop. Amazing they even made it to the beach with their giant balls of steel.

Crazy thought: If Trinity hadn't happened, we would have had to do it all over again a year later.

 

[AroundWorldFrog]

Don't thinks this was posted yet...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazin...=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

 

[82Frog]

Don;t thinks this was posted yet...

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazin...=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

First wave never had a chance

 

[froginmn]

Yep. He was with his brother who was in military stationed over there. He said it was night and day going from west to east berlin.

I had the incredibly unique experience in 1987 of going into East Germany (a town within 75 miles of the border). We were a student group and allowed to tour the town of Eisenach.

It was fascinating that seemingly when you crossed the border, things went from color to black and white. We saw old Russian cars (Ladas) that were the only thing they could buy and were on a very lengthy wait list. There was still rubble from the war 40+ years before, not cleaned up.

4 years later, just after the wall had come down, I returned and saw both sides of Berlin. Very cool.

On another side of this, my mom's cousin had been a prisoner in Stalag 17. He didn't talk at all about his experiences....

 

[Froglaw]

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.

BS

They voted that nutjob into power and stood back and watched with glee as he killed their neighbors because of race and religion.

Germans Japanese, and Italians did plenty "wrong".

Edit: Also the Japs shot my Dad on Saipan.

 

[Hoosierfrog]

The fact that they did nothing made them complicit. Even the Italians knew when it was time to string up Mussolini....

The difference, the Italians only did when they were sure the tide had turned. They did nothing until Rome had fallen. A bit like deGaulle wanting to lead the troops into Paris as if the French led the charge from the Normandy beaches...

 

[MTfrog5]

Clay posted a couple good videos from when he was there

 

[Hoosierfrog]

I had the incredibly unique experience in 1987 of going into East Germany (a town within 75 miles of the border). We were a student group and allowed to tour the town of Eisenach.

It was fascinating that seemingly when you crossed the border, things went from color to black and white. We saw old Russian cars (Ladas) that were the only thing they could buy and were on a very lengthy wait list. There was still rubble from the war 40+ years before, not cleaned up.

4 years later, just after the wall had come down, I returned and saw both sides of Berlin. Very cool.

On another side of this, my mom's cousin had been a prisoner in Stalag 17. He didn't talk at all about his experiences....

Wow, my dad did the same thing and actually used the same black and white analogy. He asked the East German guide what would happen if for example East German Hilda wanted to visit cousin Greta in the West. Her response was ‘Greta is dead’.

 

[FROGLEGHOP]

A TCU Alumni Jazz Band played a concert at the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach on 4 July, 2012. Led by Curt Wilson. The concert included some 40's era Big Band music. "The music these boys were listening to." Also included was a Concert Band led by TCU Director of Bands Bobby Francis. This Band included both TCU Band Members and alums as well as some high school kids. Pretty special Concert.

 

[StigFrog]

Wow, my dad did the same thing and actually used the same black and white analogy. He asked the East German guide what would happen if for example East German Hilda wanted to visit cousin Greta in the West. Her response was ‘Greta is dead’.

Took a bus from Helsinki to St. Petersburg May 2002. How I describe going into Russia was like turning the color off of a TV. Flowers everywhere in Finland. Drab and gray in Russia. The main streets in St. Petersburg were clean and painted like you would see here. One street off and you are in a third world country.

 

[Leap Frog]

Maybe I shouldn't tell this-- but let's take a chance.
Help at defense plants was so hard to come by that they started hiring at 14.
I was pretty needy then, so I lied about my age (13) and went to work at Consolidated Aircraft in Dallas in 1943.
Worked the graveyard shift in summer-- until management found out and let me go.
I was a gopher ( delivering parts to various departments in this huge plant on Maple Avenue).
Great experience, and the money was very good-- don't be too hard on me, management just laughed at me.

 

[Eight]

Maybe I shouldn't tell this-- but let's take a chance.
Help at defense plants was so hard to come by that they started hiring at 14.
I was pretty needy then, so I lied about my age (13) and went to work at Consolidated Aircraft in Dallas in 1943.
Worked the graveyard shift in summer-- until management found out and let me go.
I was a gopher ( delivering parts to various departments in this huge plant on Maple Avenue).
Great experience, and the money was very good-- don't be too hard on me, management just laughed at me.

fairly sure the statue of limitations has passed so consolidated aircraft won't have to worry about hiring underage workers, not a damned thing wrong with wanting to work to help out, and more importantly thanks for helping the effort in the way that you could at that time.

 

[frog-hat]

Recommend a book titled A Higher Call: Story of Heroism and Chivalry in the War Torn Skies of WWII. It provides an interesting perspective, particularly of the Luftwaffe pilots.

 

[Boomhauer]

Maybe I shouldn't tell this-- but let's take a chance.
Help at defense plants was so hard to come by that they started hiring at 14.
I was pretty needy then, so I lied about my age (13) and went to work at Consolidated Aircraft in Dallas in 1943.
Worked the graveyard shift in summer-- until management found out and let me go.
I was a gopher ( delivering parts to various departments in this huge plant on Maple Avenue).
Great experience, and the money was very good-- don't be too hard on me, management just laughed at me.

Wow, impressive. At 13 I was playing Mario Kart on SNES

 

[Atom]

I toured Normandy 10 or so years ago. What struck me was the length of the beaches with basically no cover at low tide. Talk about a killing field. Pointe du Hoc was unimaginable scaling that with the Germans right on top.

You don't fully appreciate until seeing it.

 

[Virginia Frog]

I toured Normandy 10 or so years ago. What struck me was the length of the beaches with basically no cover at low tide. Talk about a killing field. Pointe du Hoc was unimaginable scaling that with the Germans right on top.

You don't fully appreciate until seeing it.

The invasion was set on Jun 6 due to low tide occurring just before daybreak, There were so many obstacles and defenses laid below the surf at higher tide levels that the landing craft would have been devastated if the invasion had occurred at any other tide position.

Technically the tide was "half low tide" which means that the tide was out and coming in when the men hit the beaches (from waters edge it was about 400 yards from ANY protection at the bluffs.) A large number of the US deaths occurred because many "hit" soldiers drowned where they fell with the incoming tide. Otherwise it's believed that many of them would have survived their wounds.

 

[HG73]

Maybe I shouldn't tell this-- but let's take a chance.
Help at defense plants was so hard to come by that they started hiring at 14.
I was pretty needy then, so I lied about my age (13) and went to work at Consolidated Aircraft in Dallas in 1943.
Worked the graveyard shift in summer-- until management found out and let me go.
I was a gopher ( delivering parts to various departments in this huge plant on Maple Avenue).
Great experience, and the money was very good-- don't be too hard on me, management just laughed at me.

Mom worked at Consolidated in FW. Dad served in Burma.