Today Is D-Day

[falcon]

66 years ago today 160 thousand Allied troops assaulted five landing beaches on the Normandy coast. US troops landed at Omaha and Utah beaches. British and British Commonwealth troops landed on Juno, Sword and Gold beaches.

i grew up in WV and had many friends and relatives who landed on the French coast on D-Day. My uncle Dennis, by marriage, was in the second wave at Omaha beach. He said it was impossible to run across the beach without stepping on bodies of dead GIs from the first wave.

My good friend, George Berry, now deceased, landed on Juno beach in the first wave.

They are the greatest generation. May God Bless them all.

[JoeA]

Good posting.

[bergall]

There will never be another. My father-in-law was on Omaha, Anzio, N.Africa and Sicily landings. He was an antiaircraft gunner on a Navy LST. His pit took a Nazi bomb, wiped out his crew and left him hanging out to dry in the breeze without ammo, with all his teeth knocked out, sitting in an elevated gun with no crew. And all the guy ever talked about was the good times he had in Italy (wine and women). These guys were the best God and man could ever produce. Funny story...my sister in law took him to see "Saving Private Ryan" at the movies. Everybody was crying the theatre in the initial scenes of the assault on the beaches. Everyone except my father in law, Barney. My sister in law asks him...Dad, are you ok ? He says "Sure". She says "do you understand how terrible this is that we're watching ?". Barney looks at her and says "IF you think THIS is bad, you should'a BEEN THERE !". What a guy. God rest his soul.