click
Sergeant
Company G, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Posts: 1,764
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Post by click on Jun 6, 2007 5:57:11 GMT -5
All hail the Brits, Canadians, Americans and all other nationalities who participated in the invasion of Normandy.
Click
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Post by Gordak on Jun 6, 2007 9:23:10 GMT -5
It was 63 years ago today. Massive sacrifice, there was no hesitation, no votes for a withdrawl plan, no sanctions, no attempts a appeasment. Just get the job done.
Let's not forget the Russians, who in June of 1944 had the Germans on the run for good.
-GordaK
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rkrueger
Private
G Co 505th Cannonballers 3rd Bat 1st platoon
Posts: 344
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Post by rkrueger on Jun 6, 2007 9:38:28 GMT -5
Thoughts and Prayers for all those that gave there life that day, for us to have the freedom we have today... I salute to you all...
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azeeze
Private 1st Class
Posts: 622
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Post by azeeze on Jun 6, 2007 10:44:15 GMT -5
Thank you and God Bless you all. -Nick
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Jun 6, 2007 11:28:29 GMT -5
63 years ago today! Even the very young amongst those veterans are 81 years old today. They won't be around for much longer. Salute them every chance you get. What a monumental day for the Western Allies.
Thanks to all the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen who participated.
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mccallion
Private 1st Class
Official Road Sign Reader (retired)
Posts: 770
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Post by mccallion on Jun 6, 2007 13:41:24 GMT -5
happy d-day keep killing those germans -mccallion
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YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Jun 6, 2007 14:17:09 GMT -5
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower
-as Eisenhower said "the eyes of the world are upon you." and they should be again today.We should never forget the sacrifice made on June 6th 1944 against Hitlers Fortress Europe and honor the men who were there.
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Post by wade on Jun 6, 2007 14:32:08 GMT -5
I love this country, and I love the soldiers that serve it. I want every vet to know that this is one youth that respects and honors those who lay their lives on the line. Let freedom ring, and let the whole world know that these brave soldiers are the reason they walk free on the streets.
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Post by KippySmi7h on Jun 6, 2007 15:43:22 GMT -5
For all those who fought and gave their lives 63 years ago today, you shall be remembered.
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Post by hoodude on Jun 6, 2007 15:49:55 GMT -5
My great Uncle fought and died taking those beaches
happy D-Day
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Ersatzjack
Corporal
"That silly Franz... he thinks we are winning."
Posts: 1,093
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Post by Ersatzjack on Jun 6, 2007 16:54:58 GMT -5
I received a message that might hold some interest for some that has relevance to this date. I formerly was the 440th Airlift Wing Historian at the Milwaukee Air Reserve Base and had the honor of attending several reunions with members of the 440th Troop Carrier Group, who amongst other accomplishments participated in the D-Day drops. This story is therefore of interest to me and I hope to others. See below:
A 440th crew chief tells his story of D-Day By Henry Cuningham Military editor
Shortly after midnight, Everett Bullard took off from Exeter, England, in a C-47 transport airplane to drop paratroopers over Normandy.
It was exactly 63 years ago today. Bullard was a crew chief of an airplane nicknamed “Roger the Dodger” in the 440th Troop Carrier Group.
The 101st Airborne Division paratroopers were part of the D-Day invasion that would turn the tide of World War II against Nazi Germany in northwestern Europe.
“When that jumpmaster hollered ‘Geronimo!’ or ‘Jump!’ there was mayhem for just a few minutes and the plane was empty,” Bullard said, speaking by phone from his home in Cameron, S.C.
In preparation for its wartime role of airdropping paratroopers and delivering supplies, the 440th trained at places including Pope Army Airfield at Fort Bragg.
On Sunday, the 440th will return to Pope Air Force Base.
The headquarters of the Air Force Reserve wing will relocate to Pope from Milwaukee as part of the 2005 BRAC mandates. A ceremony at 2 p.m. will mark the return.
“I like that, simply because it’s nearer home,” said Bullard, who left the military in 1945 as a technical sergeant and went on to manage soybean factories.
“When they get there, I’ll make it a point to go.”
Nowadays, the 440th flies the C-130H Hercules cargo airplane, which was manufactured in 1989. Those will replace the Vietnam-era C-130E airplanes flown by the active-duty 43rd Airlift Wing.
The BRAC plans call for the Air Force base to go back to its former designation of Fort Bragg’s Pope Army Airfield.
“Pope was like a tent city,” Bullard said. “That’s all Pope was, sitting on the outskirts of Fort Bragg.”
Bullard wrote a book about his wartime experiences, “Little One and His Guardian Angel: One Man’s Story of the 440th Troop Carrier Group During World War II.” His nickname was Little One because of his size.
He joined the 440th at “our jumping off place” at Baer Field near Fort Wayne, Ind.
“I picked up a brand-new airplane in Fort Wayne and took it over and brought it back,” he said. The crew chiefs had to maintain the airplane and ride with the plane everywhere it went.
A C-47 also had a ground crew, pilot, co-pilot, radio operator and, sometimes, a navigator.
“In Europe, the 440th was in just about every jump,” Bullard said. “We dropped paratroopers, we towed gliders, we hauled gasoline. We were like UPS over in Europe. We hauled wounded.”
Sometimes, the airplanes would land in cow pastures to deliver gasoline and return with wounded soldiers.
“I was just over 19 years old,” he said with a chuckle. “I was not married. I didn’t have too much fright. I guess I was too young and stupid. It would be different today.”
He recalled the paratroopers who were going to leap out the door into the darkness over France on D-Day. They had sat and sweated while waiting for the decision to go ahead with the operation.
“Some of them were gung-ho,” he said. “Some were very downhearted. Some of them sat quietly. Some of them smoked. You couldn’t say they did any particular thing. There was all kinds of moods, depending on the individuals.”
The flight over the English Channel on D-Day morning was rough.
“We could hardly see what was going on,” he said. “It was so dark.”
Ships in the channel blinked toward England.
“That was our navigation points,” he said.
He sat behind the door from which the paratroopers jumped.
“I had to be sure that they all went out, including the jumpmaster,” he said.
Author Stephen Ambrose criticized the 440th, Bullard said.
“I’m not a Stephen Ambrose fan,” he said. “He did not give us much credit. He interviewed some paratroopers who had bad experiences. Some were dropped in water. Some were dropped in bad places. When you are going 140 mph and dropping paratroopers in the middle of the night with very little information, there are going to be mistakes.”
Some members of the 440th wanted an apology from Ambrose, who died in 2002.
“As far as I know, all ours were dropped right where they were supposed to be,” Bullard said.
Military editor Henry Cuningham can be reached at cuninghamh@fayobserver.com
<end of story>
For my two cents, despite some controversy surrounding Ambrose, no other author has done so much to tell the story of the veteran's contributions during the war.
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Nimlas
Master sergeant
grumpy
Posts: 1,594
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Post by Nimlas on Jun 6, 2007 17:51:10 GMT -5
Thanks to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice. God Bless.
Now if people would quit bitching about the war we're in now everything would be peachy keen, the lack of patriotism is abysmal.
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YankeeDiv26
Staff Sgt.
Frustrated Mac Owner
BDM<33
Posts: 2,462
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Post by YankeeDiv26 on Jun 6, 2007 19:52:27 GMT -5
I just got an e-mail from a friend currently in the 26th infantry division who's preparing to be deployed in either afganastan or iraq. He talked about how they held a memorial service for the 26th "yankee" division vets this morning. He said that plenty of people took pictures and if he can find them and send them to me. I'll try to post some.
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Post by polak on Jun 7, 2007 19:13:26 GMT -5
It still amazes me how Coasties are nearly entirely forgotten. Oh well, the invasion still worked.
But as far as I am concerned, the Russians deserved much less than the applause they recieved. I think a punch in the nose is much more of a sound plan.
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mccallion
Private 1st Class
Official Road Sign Reader (retired)
Posts: 770
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Post by mccallion on Jun 7, 2007 19:22:27 GMT -5
happy d+ plus 1 -mccallion
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Post by Tough Ombre on Jun 7, 2007 23:40:11 GMT -5
Alright... i forgot to post this the other night I wrote this on the eve of June 6th Right now, I should be in full pack and gear, in a C-47 heading for the Normandy Coast, in a Huge fleet of Aircraft, waiting, thinking about my Duties, and their consecuences, preparing myself, talking to men, my "Brothers" who some of which, I shall never see again. At this time, 63 years ago 12,000 US Abn troopers and three times as many Infantry men were on their way for the Normandy Coast, at the time they didnt know how big what they were doing was, or would be. They just knew, that each on of them had to do their job to bring an end to Hitlers reign of Tyrany. In all an estimate of 10,000 casualties were suffered by the Americans alone, on two beaches and inland during the Paradrops. Remember these men, not just on the Normandy beaches, but every where in Europe and the Pacific. For it is these men who rose to the call of duty, many of whom never to return, making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Freedom. These men are said to be the Heros of WW2, the ones who didnt return, but in my eyes, any one that served is a Hero. Remember them! -Cary
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click
Sergeant
Company G, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Posts: 1,764
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Post by click on Jun 8, 2007 13:31:21 GMT -5
Happy D+2! O great! What happens when we reach June 1st next year?.....Happy D-Day+359? Click
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Post by Tough Ombre on Jun 9, 2007 12:05:22 GMT -5
lmao o and by the way happy D+3 ;-) -Cary
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click
Sergeant
Company G, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Posts: 1,764
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Post by click on Jun 9, 2007 16:56:49 GMT -5
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Post by mauser98k on Jun 9, 2007 17:17:11 GMT -5
Today, June 6th, the day of infamy. The day our fathers and grandfathers sprinted across the beaches of Normandy, the day our fathers and grandfathers dove from planes to liberate the world from tyranny. Let us not forget this day... Nobody seemed to pay attention to the first D-day thread, so I'll just put this back over here.
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Post by valtteri on Jun 9, 2007 17:22:11 GMT -5
9. June 1944 Russians started a massive attack on the Karelian isthmus, with the objective of crushing Finnish resistance with one massive blow and submitting Finland so they could freely concentrate on destroying Germany for good. After initial breaking of the front line Finnish defenders were able to rally themselves - with no little credit for German assistance and especially the anti tank weaponry they supplied. Once again Finland prove that Soviets marching into Finnish soil would not do so in parade and would never get far. By July lines were once more stabilized and the Russians, having not achieved any decisive victory, stopped trying. Final peace was made 4. august, though Russians continued shelling for 24 hours.
Finnish defenders had 14 infantry divisions, 7 brigades and a armoured division. Russian invaders had on this front 54 infantry divisions, 11 infantry brigades and more.
We remained a western democracy while all the other Soviet border countries were submitted to Russian rule, imposed straight or "covertly" from behind the curtains.
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Post by polak on Jun 10, 2007 22:34:27 GMT -5
We remained a western democracy while all the other Soviet border countries were submitted to Russian rule, imposed straight or "covertly" from behind the curtains. Thanks, FDR.
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click
Sergeant
Company G, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Posts: 1,764
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Post by click on Jun 11, 2007 3:48:09 GMT -5
We remained a western democracy while all the other Soviet border countries were submitted to Russian rule, imposed straight or "covertly" from behind the curtains. Thanks, FDR. Ditto.
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