Normandy Honors Memories of D-Day Landings

The Washington Post ^ | June 6, 2006 | FREDERIC VEILLE

[kellynla]

ASNELLES-SUR-MER, France -- American and British veterans marked the 62nd anniversary of the D-Day landings Tuesday with ceremonies and talks to schoolchildren about the invasion that changed the course of World War II.

Hundreds of relatives and others joined at least two dozen veterans to remember the June 6, 1944, invasion on Normandy's beaches that helped free France _ and much of Europe _ from Nazi Germany's grip.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge laid a wreath along with the U.S. ambassador to France at the American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, where thousands of crosses and Stars of David mark soldiers' graves on a finely groomed lawn.

At Utah Beach, where thousands of Americans stormed ashore, about 150 people gathered for a ceremony to honor veterans from the 101st Airborne Division under blue skies.

"The weather wasn't like this 62 years ago," recalled Bill Thornan, 86, who landed on a nearby beach on D-Day and was among more than a dozen American veterans at the ceremony in Saint-Marie du Mont.

[kellynla]

Unfortunately, most French have short memories.

All paid some, some paid all.

Semper Fi, Kelly

[kellynla]

ping

There! :-]

[investigateworld]

God bless'em all. And a salute to the HMS Belfast in London!

[appleharvey]

And this world in 2006 is what those brave and great soldiers died for. May God forgive and save us.

[TomServo]

To my Father-In-Law's brother, Gordon White (KIA at Normandy) and my good (and sadly missed) friend, Mr. Anderson (who survived both the landings at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge) - thanks for what you did...

[LeoWindhorse]

I was trying to talk to a couple young 13 yr olds today about US history and the significance of June 6th , it went something like this :
me: Do you all know what June 6th marks the anniversary of ?
them: ummm oh! it's 666 the Satanic day or something , we saw it on the movie Omen !
me: forget the fantasy bullshit , do you know what that day really represents ? Or should represent to all Americans ?
them: uh no , hmmm , nope no idea ....
me: D-Day
them: D-Day ? what's that?
me: ever heard of World War 2
them: um yea , I think so, isn't that when America went and bombed someone ?
me : hmmm , how about Adolf Hitler ?
them: Hitler ? didn't he invent the atomic bomb or something ?
sad.......

[kellynla]

Now you know why so many Americans are home schooling their children.

[Renderofveils]

Essayons

/salute

[Frank Sheed]

To all who were here! Thank you!

Omaha Beach

[concentric circles]

I pray that never again will our leaders choose appeasement in the name of peace and then ask so many to give so much when their failed policies lead to disaster.

[investigateworld]

Thanks for that post. My Dad was with the 38th Infantry Regt., and rarely spoke of his experiences.

[Ben Hecks]

Thanks for the link. When I read Citizen Soldiers by Stephen Ambrose, one particular event that he described stuck in my mind. I was amazed at the coolness under fire that was demonstrated by Lt. Waverly Wray, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. I have a short clip of his exploits on my profile page.

[mass55th]

"God bless'em all. And a salute to the HMS Belfast in London!"

Fulfilled a dream of mine on April 27th of this year. I took a bus tour to Normandy and visited Pointe de Hoc, walked on Omaha Beach (brought some sand home), visited the American Cemetery at St. Laurant, and viewed the Mulberry Harbor remains at Arromanches. Also passed the HMS Belfast while taking a cruise down the Thames.

[Ready4Freddy]

Not the many we met and talked to in St Mère Eglise when we were there with my Uncle to celebrate the 60th Anniversary 2 years ago... that village's memory is so 'short' that they still keep a parachute hanging from their church steeple to honor Pvt John Steele (aka Red Buttons in The Longest Day :)

Everyone we talked to in all parts of Normandie in the 2 weeks we were there were very aware of, and quite appreciative of, the Allied efforts 60 years ago.

kellynla: Unfortunately, most French have short memories.

[kellynla]

"Everyone we talked to in all parts of Normandie in the 2 weeks we were there were very aware of, and quite appreciative of, the Allied efforts 60 years ago"

yea well unfortunately, Normandy doesn't cover the entire country of France!

as has been proven by our present war in Iraq & Afghanistan!
not to mention our issues with Iran.
don't forget who UBL paid off in France and who the French have been selling arms to in Iraq & Iran.

[nutmeg]

Excerpt from a similar article:

"I remember insulting the pilot of our plane because he didn't drop us in the right area," recalled Jack Dickson, 83.

He also said the anniversary is an important time to reflect. "I hope I'll be here next year to send this message to future generations: Never forget the horror of war - and never forget that men died on these Normandy beaches to free the world."

U.S. reservists - including some who served in Iraq and Afghanistan - took part in commemorative parachute jumps Sunday and Monday ahead of the anniversary.

"It's a very special day in history, when the United States, with the British and the Canadians, outfoxed the Nazis," U.S. Ambassador Craig Stapleton told The Associated Press. "Any American who has come to the beaches of Normandy, or any of our cemeteries in Europe, goes back with a different perspective on what Americans have done in Europe."

[doug from upland]

HERE IS TODAY'S SONG ENTRY --

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1644726/posts

[Wombat101]

I spent June 6th sitting in a casino in Atlantic City, NJ, with a bunch of guys from my local VFW post, four of them had made the assault at Utah and Omaha beaches. Fascinating day -- a little poker, a lot of war stories and a lot of toasts to departed comrades.

Having read just about everything there ever was on the D-Day invasion, studied the campaign in minute detail, and now having spent time with men who actually executed the invasion, I have a new appreciation of the entire enterprise.

The amazing thing is not that the plan worked, but the men who made it work. I admire them not in the Oprah-like sense that these were brave men who sacrificed for the common good of mankind (althought they did. I don't wish to downgrade that sacrifice at all), but that they all have pretty much the same thing to say about that day. It's usually some version of "we were so young, and probably stupid. We had no idea what we were going to encounter that day, and all figured it would be a cakewalk. We were told the Germans were losing the war, after all".

What amazes me is that young men, facing a situation for which they had not been adequately prepared for (the best laid plans of mice and men, and all that) managed to improvise and snatch victory from the jaws of disaster, often independant of their commanders. You wouldn't believe some of the stories I heard Tuesday about men without weapons, without orders, without leaders, adapting, striving and overcoming.

I think, more than monuments and cemetaries, this is the most fitting tribute to the men who fought and died in Normandy: that when faced with almost certain disaster, they changed the plan on the spot, often without direction to do so. THIS is America at it's best: the ability to adapt,to change horses in midstream, to reformulate, and then produce results independantly of higher command and often outside the bounds of all logic, military sensibility and conventional wisdom.

I found myself admiring these men very much, anmd not just for their actions but because of who they are.