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| Photo found on http://www.ibtimes.com/d-day-anniversary-2017-photos-quotes-about-normandy-invasion-omaha-beach-2548288 |
Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the beginning of the end of WWII. On this day, in the very early hours, the Allied Forces launched one of the largest seaborne military assaults in history. On this day, 156,115 men (made up of American, British and Canadian men) landed along a 50-mile strip of beaches in France’s Normandy region.
D-Day is particularly interesting to me, because my Great Uncle Dallas was part of it.
Although you may have been taught about D-Day, here are some facts that you may not have known.
Facts:
In reading more about the Invasion at Normandy, I was surprised at how long this attack had been in the works. They had begun planning the attack in May of 1943. It had been deemed “Operation Overlord.”
The Americans were marked to land at the areas codenamed Omaha and Utah; the British at Gold and Sword; and the Canadians at Juno.
Of the 156,115 troops—73,000 were American, 61,715 were British, and 21,400 were Canadian.
The weather was not ideal, but it actually worked to the Allied Force’s advantage. Because of the weather, the Germans had been caught off guard.
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., the oldest son of the former President was the oldest man involved in the invasion. He was 56. He was also the only one who’s son also landed that day. He died of a heart attack on July 12, 1944.
According to the D-DayRevisited website, the beaches of Normandy saw 9,387 US soldiers fall during the landings and the operations that followed. Another 1,557 soldiers were listed as missing in action. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is now built on the site of the burial ground that was established by American forces on June 8, 1944.
In doing a little research, I found some quotes on the International Business Times website:
Here are links to where I found a majority of my information:
http://d-dayrevisited.co.uk/d-day/cost-of-battle.html
http://www.ibtimes.com/d-day-anniversary-2017-photos-quotes-about-normandy-invasion-omaha-beach-2548288
D-Day is particularly interesting to me, because my Great Uncle Dallas was part of it.
Although you may have been taught about D-Day, here are some facts that you may not have known.
Facts:
In reading more about the Invasion at Normandy, I was surprised at how long this attack had been in the works. They had begun planning the attack in May of 1943. It had been deemed “Operation Overlord.”
The Americans were marked to land at the areas codenamed Omaha and Utah; the British at Gold and Sword; and the Canadians at Juno.
Of the 156,115 troops—73,000 were American, 61,715 were British, and 21,400 were Canadian.
The weather was not ideal, but it actually worked to the Allied Force’s advantage. Because of the weather, the Germans had been caught off guard.
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., the oldest son of the former President was the oldest man involved in the invasion. He was 56. He was also the only one who’s son also landed that day. He died of a heart attack on July 12, 1944.
According to the D-DayRevisited website, the beaches of Normandy saw 9,387 US soldiers fall during the landings and the operations that followed. Another 1,557 soldiers were listed as missing in action. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is now built on the site of the burial ground that was established by American forces on June 8, 1944.
In doing a little research, I found some quotes on the International Business Times website:
"Sixty-five years ago in the thin light of gray dawn, more than 1,000 small craft took to a rough sea on a day that will be forever a day of bravery. On that June morning the young of our nations stepped out on those beaches below and into history. As long as freedom lives their deeds will never die." — Former British Prime Minister Gordon BrownToday, we honor those who fought so bravely that day. They dealt with much more than we can even begin to fathom. It was because of their bravery, and sacrifice, that the tables began to turn. It is because of those men that the French would become liberated, and the stronghold that the Germans had on Europe would begin to loosen. It was the beginning of the end of the War…
“This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. This operation is planned as a victory, and that’s the way it’s going to be. We’re going down there, and we’re throwing everything we have into it, and we’re going to make it a success.” — Eisenhower
"They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate." — Former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
"The 6th June is not a day like others: it is not just the longest day or a day to remember the dead, but a day for the living to keep the promise written with the blood of the fighters, to be loyal to their sacrifice by building a world that is fairer and more human." — French President Francois Hollande
"The first night in France I spent in a ditch beside a hedgerow wrapped in a damp shelter-half and thoroughly exhausted. But I felt elated. It had been the greatest experience of my life. I was 10 feet tall. No matter what happened, I had made it off the beach and reached the high ground. I was king of the hill, at least in my own mind, for a moment." — Sgt. John Ellery
Here are links to where I found a majority of my information:
http://d-dayrevisited.co.uk/d-day/cost-of-battle.html
http://www.ibtimes.com/d-day-anniversary-2017-photos-quotes-about-normandy-invasion-omaha-beach-2548288
Great to remember those fallen
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