Posted on 06/05/2016 9:22:52 PM PDT by pboyington
Visited the landing beaches at Normandy, the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, and the war museum in Caen back in 2006. It was a very moving experience, and one I’ll never forget.
Although I’m disappointed that Netflix has the all-English version, I prefer the version where Germans spoke German, French in French, etc.
Operation Market Garden took place in September 1944, after D-Day.
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Watching “The Longest Day” on Amazon.com
He was XO on an LST on the way to the Pacific when the war ended.
I’d disagree as to the peak of Axis power; Japan never recovered from Midway, so 6 months after Pearl Harbor the wisest of them knew they had lost the war (and simply hoped to bargain for a better peace). The Axis had also stalled at Stalingrad a month later, and though it took six months to lose that battle they lost it just the same. IMHO, the Axis was doomed by the summer of 1942; it was just a question of speeding up the end for the Allies.
While the D-Day myth calls it getting a “toe-hold in Europe”, but the fact is that we had one in Italy for nearly a year already - it was just moving too slowly and costing too many casualties. It did, however, ensure that the Atlantic coast would be lightly defended; in comparison to other battles, D-Day saw relatively light casualties.
There was nothing the Axis could do from July 1942 onward that would reverse their losses. They simply didn’t have enough people to deal with the invasions of China and the USSR.
An odd choice of names (the “Great Crusade”), considering it was Stalin’s insistence that D-Day take place (to relieve pressure on the USSR). The Allied invasion of Catholic countries (Italy, France) makes it ring especially hollow; those populations, when faced with a choice between fascism and communism, had elected for fascism.
“There was plenty of patriotism there but you cant say everyone who was drafted was happy to be there or wanted to die for their country.”
I’m too young to be a WWII Vet, but old enough to have known many of them, hear their stories, and I have paid attention to various tid bits of history.
There was anti-war type dissention in that era, also outright socialism and communism had foot holds. There were CO’s and German sympathizers.
I think what kept it toned down was the fact that Hollywood and the MSM of that era did not glorify and promote hatred towards America, rather they promoted patriotism. If they favored our enemies back then like they do now, WWII may not have been won, and would likely have gone the way of Vietnam.
The Left were on board with the war once the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union.
I know this will piss off most of the folks here, but DDay was probably not the greatest day in the War.
You could look at Iwo, or Okinawa. You could make a case for the battle of Stalingrad, or the tank battles in Ukraine. DDay would not have been possible without the Battle of Britain, or the Battle in the Atlantic.
It is important to remember that it was a world war, and that the invasion of Europe created a “third” front after the east and south.
Lots of places, and lots of people did incredible things to banish fascism from Europe.
It is important to honor them all.
Thanks for noting this historic date today!
No other nation could have amassed that armada. It was an amazing achievement. So yes it was the greatest day of the war but not its biggest battle. Not by a long shot.
Whoops....got my timeline reversed.
Ralph “Bud” Thomas from upstate NY.
Spent the remainder of his years in California working as a civilian for the defense dept. in the Rialto area.
I remember him getting very passionate about the airborne guys getting extra pay and he said “I went through all the same training they did except for the jump.” He said he wished he could have jumped out of the glider!
and it was his shrapnel injuries from Market Garden that put him out of action for the duration....caught metal in his upper torso.
Watching the Iraq war on the news every nite really was not a good thing for him. Pretty sure it took a few years off his life because it brought back all his war memories.
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