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Thirty years ago, a young Frenchman walking in Normandy came across an American soldier's rusted dog tag among the rocks at Nacqueville, west of the port of Cherbourg. The name read: "Addison W. Arthurs." Etienne Desquesnes, now 46, wanted to return it to the owner or his family. But who was Addison Arthurs? Mr. Desquesnes wrote to the U.S. embassy in Paris but never got an answer. He finally has one now, and just in time for Veterans Day, thanks to some Internet sleuthing by his friend, Bertrand Goucovitch, 49, an amateur D-Day historian, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. After a...

From Commander Fitzpatrick's site... "Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506Th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them. I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the...

D-Day + 20. Years, that is. CBS ran a one-hour special hosted by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It would be his last trip to the Normandy beaches that his troops captured at such terrible cost. Only one memory lingers: Ike waved his hand over a big stretch of beach. “Here, you could hardly find sand to walk on for the American dead.” D-Day + 40. President Ronald Reagan addressed veterans of the invasion at the place where it began. He spoke of the valor of the Rangers, boys mostly, who scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc. There were...

Minnesota veteran Jim Carroll has no problem remembering where he was 65 years ago Saturday. "We started taking anti-aircraft fire shortly after we crossed the coast of France," he recalled. Carroll was one of 13,000 members of the 101st and 82nd Airborne who left England onboard close to 900 C47s heading toward the beaches of Normandy, France. "That's our main concern is getting on the ground and be battle ready when we hit the ground," he said. "We jumped down right on top of them." The Bronze Star-recipient said jumping out of an aircraft while enemy fire filled the air...

Sixty-five years after Hitler failed to make Britain’s D-Day effort a footnote in world history, France and America finally realised his dream yesterday. As thousands of British veterans paid their final respects to the men they left behind on Normandy’s beaches, President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Barack Obama presented D-Day – the turning point of the Second World War – as a Franco-American affair Despite months of diplomatic wrangling between London, Paris and Washington, the Queen remained absent from the official commemoration of the 65th anniversary, held at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach at Colleville-sur-Mer. And Prince Charles, without...

President Reagan was a master of stagecraft. But this speech transcends appearances and breaths with sincere and powerful emotions no other President can match.Reagan's Pointe Du Hoc speech delivered on the 40th anniversary of D-Day from the cliffs overlooking Normandy beach in France is widely cited as his best D-Day speech. As powerful and emotional as that speech is, there is a second address he delivered later in the day that is even more touching. The speech delivered on the grounds of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial centered around the story of Private Robert Zanatta, of the 37th Engineer...

On June 6, 1944, the crucial Normandy Landings that formed the spearhead of the Allied invasion of Nazi held Europe occurred. D-Day ultimately led to the victory of the Allies over the despotic Nazi regime. Now here we are on June 6, 2009 and, in its inimitable way, Google has decided to memorialize the important occasion by adding an image on its homepage depicting... the computer game Tetris.Yes, it's far more important to Google to celebrate the anniversary of the invention of the video game Tetris than to memorialize D-Day. It just warms the heart, doesn't it?

It was the time of the Final Solution. It was the time of Hitler, Stalin, Tojo and Mussolini. It was the time when tyranny and totalitarianism, and a form of government determined to dominate every aspect of the human spirit, threatened the world. And all who stood against the conquest of the human spirit were the fighting men of the Allied Forces. June 6, 1944 was a day that great men changed the future. It was the day that American, British, and Canadian fighting men began to pry the claws of Adolf Hitler off of Europe, one finger at a...

At 96, former Army Sgt. Fred Wedhorn still describes himself with the phrase "Freddie is always ready." He was ready six decades ago as a combat engineer on the beaches of Normandy. And he was ready in a flash when he recently learned he was being honored with a trip from Tucson to Washington, D.C., for the 65th anniversary of D-Day. "I'm already packed," Wedhorn declared with a chuckle five days before his scheduled departure to see the national World War II memorial. He's due to attend a ceremony there today. Among the prized items that went with him —...

Sixty-five years ago, Allied troops landed in Normandy to begin the liberation of Europe from Nazi occupation. The United States lost, on a single day, more soldiers than it lost in Iraq since 2003. This is a good time to ask the world, and especially those parts that denounce American "imperialism," a bit of historical trivia: How much land and territory did the United States demand in exchange for Woodrow Wilson's crusade to "make the world safe for democracy," the liberation of Europe from Nazism, the defense of South Korean independence, its efforts to save Southeast Asia from Communist oppression...

‘Obama Beach’: British Prime Minister Makes Major Slip at D-Day Ceremony "So next to Obama Beach we join President Obama..."

H/T to Old Trooper and his travel updates from Normandy By now, the current POTUS/TOTUS has landed in France... set to address another world audience on the 65th anniversary of D-Day. Regardless of the political scrutiny of Obama's performance, this is as it should be. Our CIC *should* be there to pay honor to our heroes, resting on French soil. But I will say this... considering Obama's track record of speeches across Europe as POTUS, and as a candidate, I'm not looking forward to his D-Day Obama comments, and his half-baked pride in America that gets buried under platitudes during...

It's getting harder and harder for libs to defend the "Par-tay" President! Consider that this was reported by the Boston Globe, owned by the New York Times. When these guys start criticizing Obama it's something to talk about! Obamas' trip to Paris raises some eyebrows By Joseph Williams Boston Globe June 5, 2009 WASHINGTON - So much for the Obama common touch. After whisking his wife to Manhattan for dinner and a Broadway show last weekend, President Obama is treating his family to a Paris vacation - paid for, in part, by taxpayers. The White House confirmed yesterday that first...

NEW ORLEANS | It's "A Gathering of the Greatest Generation" - though this year only a small group of that era's aging heroes will commemorate the invasion of France at Normandy 65 years ago. On Saturday afternoon, veterans will attend a National World War II Museum ceremony in New Orleans recognizing soldiers, sailors and airmen who made that invasion a turning point for Allied forces. However, organizers acknowledge few members of an already dwindling population are hardy enough to make the trip. "We won't have a veteran from each state, unfortunately," said William Detweiler, who is in charge of the...

A bullet tore through Staff Sgt. Leonard Lomell's right leg as he stepped into the frigid Atlantic at Omaha Beach. "I had stepped in a bomb crater, and went to the bottom," Lomell, of Toms River, N.J., said this week. "As I came up, my guys pulled me [out] and pulled me onto the beach." It was June 6, 1944 -- D-Day. Lomell and his men were among the first American Soldiers to step out of landing craft and into the murderous German gunfire at Normandy. Today, 65 years later, the nation pauses to remember the largest water invasion in...

Ronald Reagan delivers remarks on June 6, 1984 comemorating the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy.

President Obama's public schedule for Saturday, June 6, 2009 ET/LT 0810 1410 The President & First Lady arrive American Cemetery 0820 1420 The President & First Lady tour the Visitors Center 0855 1455 President & three other leaders stand at overlook with two veterans 0910 1530 President Obama, Sarkozy, Brown & Harper participate in 65th Anniversary of DDay

The sea swelled, the rain came down in torrents, but the skies were clear. Sixty-five years ago, when the first men of the 29th Infantry Division waded onto Omaha Beach, they faced terrible resistance – crack German troops, mines, mortars and artillery. There was, however, one vital element that was blessedly missing. There were no German airplanes flying above them on D-Day. This did not happen by chance. It had been planned long before – at the very start of the war – and it came at a terrible price. Just two years earlier, the Luftwaffe was the strongest and...

Sixty-five years ago, Gen. Eisenhower prepared himself for D-Day with hope and trepidation. Having made the decision to go earlier on the day of June 5, he spent time during the afternoon with the paratroopers who would be the first to leave for France. Although he said that he found it hard to look men in the eye on the eve of battle, knowing that many of them would soon be dead, he forced himself to the task - - it was his responsibility; ultimately, all of what would happen the next day, for better or for worse, was his...

On a dreary, overcast June afternoon in Exeter, England, Cpl. William Wildes attached nozzles to the wings of the green and white C-47 Skytrain aircraft formerly known as the "Pride of Minnesota." Pouring approximately 100 gallons of fuel into each wing, he did it exactly like he had done several times before in the previous months for the training missions to prepare for the Normandy invasion. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except the white invasion stripes and the large "6Z" that was painted onto the fuselage earlier in the day. "The planes were fueled in the afternoon of June...

We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history. We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40...

Skip to comments.D-DAY - June 6, 1944: the greatest generation saved the world from the Nazis dday dot org ^ | 6-5-07 Posted on 06/05/2007 8:57:58 AM PDT by doug from upland D-DAY HISTORY AND LINKS D-Day: It is hard to conceive the epic scope of this decisive battle that foreshadowed the end of Hitler's dream of Nazi domination. Overlord was the largest air, land, and sea operation undertaken before or since June 6, 1944. The landing included over 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes, and over 150,000 service men. After years of meticulous planning and seemingly endless training, for the Allied...

A popular historical portrayal describes General Dwight Eisenhower managing a political/military alliance, but reminds us he never lead troops in combat. However, his leadership sustained many unprecedented initiatives for successful Normandy landings. The air assault examples the frightful uncertainties of many critical hazards run on this “Day of Days”. The night before D-Day, 20,400 American and British paratroopers dropped behind the Normandy beaches from 1,250 C-47 aircraft plus gliders. This massive assault was attempted just 17 years after Charles Lindberg flew the Atlantic solo for the first time. To the last moment Ike's air commander, British Air Chief Marshall Leigh-Mallory,...

The Obamas turn up in Paris this evening, but have declined a dinner invitation from the couple next door: the Sarkozys. President Obama’s reluctance to spend more than minimum time with the French leader on his visit for the D-Day anniversary has come as an embarrassment to the Elysée Palace. America’s First Family will not be dining with President Sarkozy and his wife, Carla Bruni, even though they are staying at the residence of the US Ambassador, yards from the Elysée apartments where the Sarkozys spend their weekends. Mr Sarkozy’s staff were trying yesterday to arrange another private moment between...

NORMANDY, France (Army News Service, June 1, 2009) -- When the time comes Saturday, to honor the servicemen who fought and died supporting the D-Day invasion of Normandy 65 years ago, thousands are expected to flock to the shores of Utah Beach and Omaha Beach to pay homage to the bravery and sacrifice of these heroes. The 18th Military Police Brigade, based in Germany, was designated to plan, coordinate and conduct all U.S. support to the Normandy ceremonies commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day. For the execution of Task Force Normandy 65, weeks of careful planning and coordination have gone...

Differences over Obama's itinerary in Germany suggest his ties with Angela Merkel remain awkward. The stopover is expected on Thursday, after a widely anticipated address by Obama on his Middle East policies in Cairo on June 4 and prior to his visit in France on June 6 to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the landing of the Allied troops at Normandy in 1944. In Germany, Obama plans to skip the capital in Berlin and instead visit the eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony. And even there, the German government has had little influence over his itinerary. The White House has...

I'd like to tour the Normandy battlefields, work my way inland, and end in Berlin.

No good deed goes unpunished. We can't forget that Britain saved France from Nazi tyranny in the Second World War. And that the task was not helped by the French people's widespread collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. On June 6 1944 a massive liberation got under way. On that day 160,000 British, Canadian and American soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy in the largest ever amphibious invasion during a single day. Huge vats of British blood were spilled so that France could be free. 17,556 British and 5,316 Canadian troops who died in the fighting are buried in France....

In all descriptions of landings on Normandy, especially those on the Omaha front, one encounters cases of men being separated from their units. Of course; especially on the Omaha front, they all seemed to have landed--those who succeeded--in scattered fragments, bits-and-pieces strewn here and there. Cohesion with those whom one knows, I suppose, is important for military morale and success. Suppose one is a 19-year-old infantryman, suddenly in the hedgerows of Normandy, all alone. He is in a world he has probably never seen before, and one assumes his first instinct would be to find others like himself, who might...

He bested the forces of Adolf Hitler on the beaches of Normandy and blasted genetic superman Khan Noonien Singh out of space in a far-flung galaxy. How can James Doohan not be the greatest Sarnia of our time? Heck, he might be the greatest of all space and time? Doohan is best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the excitable, dependable and miracle-working chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise on the classic '60s sci-fihit Star Trek. If your dilithium crystals were ever fried, your photo torpedo tubes jammed or you were short a man in a brawl with...

Obama has asked that no tourists be allowed to tour Normandy that day because HE will be there. It's the 65th anniversary of D-Day and he doesn't want to let anybody else in. You have Wanda Sykes at the Nerd Prom last night telling people that Rush Limbaugh ought to be tried for treason because he said he hopes Obama fails. Okay, she's a comedienne and can say crap like that. But when a President of the United States releases documents that endanger troops and national security, when he releases terrorists onto United States soil, when he alienates longtime allies...

A lot of the difference, the change if you will, between Obama and Bush has much to do with the word humility. George Bush is and was a humble man. Obama thinks the world counts on him and him alone to lead us. Bush went to church and prayed often. Obama puts out press releases about his supposed piety. The left sold a great bill of goods to the American people claiming that Bush, et al. were arrogant while insisting that Obama was a “man of the people. The 65th Anniversary of D-Day is fast approaching. Barack Obama will attend...

A lot of the difference, the change if you will, between Obama and Bush has much to do with the word humility. George Bush is and was a humble man. Obama thinks the world counts on him and him alone to lead us. Bush went to church and prayed often. Obama puts out press releases about his supposed piety. The left sold a great bill of goods to the American people claiming that Bush, et al. were arrogant while insisting that Obama was a “man of the people.” The 65th Anniversary of D-Day is fast approaching. Barack Obama will attend...

Bud passed away at his residence in Cottage Grove, MN on April 26, 2009. Funeral arrangements are pending... http://www.mnlegion.org/paper/html/ollom.html Bud was also a member of the Midwest All Airborne Alliance http://www.midwestallairborne.com/Pages/Events.php

Stay on top of breaking news! Sign up for ABC 13 e-mail alerts. Your Email: Bedford, VA - The last remaining member of the World War Two "Bedford Boys" has died. The group was part of the D-Day invasion. Ray Nance passed away yesterday, at 94-years-old. He was one of 34 servicemen from the Bedford area who landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6th. Nance was second-in-command of the A-company and was also the only officer in the company who made it home. While he was alive, the veteran visited the D-Day Memorial in Bedford once a week.

From the UK Telegraph: Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week. White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr the eldest son of the 26th US President.French officials and senior American military officers walked with White House staff...

Barack Obama rejects Normandy trip to avoid offending Germany Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week. By Toby Harnden, US Editor, and Henry Samuel in Paris 02 Apr 2009 White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr the...

Barack Obama, concerned about offending Britain and Germany, rebuffed strenuous attempts by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France to persuade the new American president to make a trip to Normandy this week. White House officials travelled to France at the start of March to discuss a visit by Mr Obama to Omaha Beach, the site of the American Cemetery, established in 1944 just after D-Day and where 9,387 American personnel are buried. Among them is Theodore Roosevelt Jr the eldest son of the 26th US President. French officials and senior American military officers walked with White House staff through the cemetery...

(Video on Site) Combat footage. Die Deutsche Wochenschau. 6th June 1944, Normandy invasion from German perspective. As late as 13:35 the German 352nd division was reporting that the assault had been hurled back into the sea. From their vantage point at Pointe de la Percée overlooking the whole of the beach from the western end the German perception was that the assault had been stopped at the beach. An officer there noted that troops were seeking cover behind obstacles and counted ten tanks burning. However, as early as 07:35 the third battalion 726th Grenadier Regiment, defending Draw F-1 on Fox...

This is an email I just sent out to about 50 people. Hello All, I have been thinking about the dangers of the upcoming election, and wanted to share an experience I had over the summer that I guarantee few Americans shared. This summer we went to Europe to tour many of the WWII historical sites, and happen to be at the American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach (Bloody Omaha), on June 26, 2008. For those who do not realize the significance of that date, it is the date on which the Supreme Court decided the Heller Case. Not familiar with...

In Sainte-Mère-Eglise, a small town in the Normandy region of France, is Rue Robert Murphy, a street named in honor of the Roslindale lad who joined the Army at 17, parachuted there on D-day, and dedicated part of his life to maintaining the memory of the civilians and soldiers who died there on June 6, 1944.

The well-known WII museum of Normandy, France, authorized within its walls a conference organized by the extremists who pretend 911 was an inside job. Held on September 16, 2008, the conference features several commentators, from the one attributing the 911 attacks to the neocons to the one saying it was the jews. The "Memorial de Caen" was built to commemorate the millions of Allies who landed in France in 1944 to liberate the country.

Here's a travel in the french Normandy, where so many young americans have given their life for the freedom of Europe La route de la liberté 2007envoyé par davethesith

"Scuba divers searching for hidden treasures at the bottom of the English Channel got more than they bargained for when they stumbled across two massive army tanks on the ocean floor." "Divers found the massive vehicles were relatively well preserved with guns still intact even after more than 64 years under sea. And by painstakingly checking minute details on the sunken vehicles against historical records, investigators managed to identify them as rare British Centaur CS IV tanks. The historic weapons were destined for battle during the D-Day landings but never arrived. Historians discovered the tanks fell overboard when a landing...

Like many in his generation, Bob Kenyon buried the memories of his World War II experience for years. The Menlo Park man shared only the basics with his wife and son: that he was among the first soldiers to storm Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion and that he nearly lost his life in the fighting. It wasn't until the decorated war veteran and his wife, Ruth, returned to Normandy for the 40th anniversary of D-Day that Kenyon began to open up about his wartime experience. --snip-- Kenyon received the French Legion of Honor during an emotional ceremony July 9...

The names "Thomas and Dorothy" were carved in the bark of one trunk. Another said "Bob and Carma." Other trees were marked with soldiers’ home states — Iowa, Maine or Alabama — and several bore hearts and the names or initials of a wife or girlfriend. The beech trees of Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair forest in France bore a poignant testimony to the D-Day landings for more than six decades. Thousands of American soldiers stationed there after the liberation of Normandy spent their spare hours with a knife or bayonet creating a lasting reminder of their presence. Although the trees...

The names “Thomas and Dorothy” were carved in the bark of one trunk. Another said “Bob and Carma”. Other trees were marked with soldiers’ home states - Iowa, Maine or Alabama - and several bore hearts and the names or initials of a wife or girlfriend. The beech trees of Saint Pierre de Varengeville-Duclair forest bore a poignant testimony to the D-Day landings for more than six decades. Thousands of American soldiers stationed there after the liberation of Normandy spent their spare hours with a knife or bayonet creating a lasting reminder of their presence.

Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, Americans heard on their radios that thousands of American and British soldiers had landed on the beaches of northern France. They were fighting German soldiers. This day marked the beginning of the end of one of the bloodiest wars ever: World War II. The American and British invasion of France was a top-secret mission called "Operation Overlord." When they landed on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, the goal of every soldier was to drive the German military back. Thousands of men died during that effort, either in the churning...

ON THE ROAD TO BERLIN OWING to a last-minute alteration in the arrangements, I didn't arrive on the beachhead until the morning after D-day, after our first wave of assault troops had hit the shore. By the time we got there the beaches had been taken and the fighting had moved a couple of miles inland. All that remained on the beach was some sniping and artillery fire, and the occasional startling blast of a mine geysering brown sand into the air. That plus a gigantic and pitiful litter of wreckage along miles of shore line. Submerged tanks and overturned...

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which "we will accept nothing less than full victory." More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.http://www.army.mil/d-day/