Thoughts on D-Day

You're not rambling Ranger, glad to hear what you and my son told me about the Norman French. Thanks for the info . God Bless America.

Very well said Ranger,we owe them all a deep debt of gratitude,words alone can never describe what they went through,quite a few U.S. soldiers were stationed over here before the "off" for the "D"day landings.

If you want to read a dizzyingly detailed account of D-Day planning that may completely change your

image of Dwight D. Eisenhower, read his book "Crusade in Europe." Well written it is not, which lets you

know that Dwight wrote this himself, with stacks of notes and papers all over the desk and floor. The

amount of detail that he mastered in the years of planning D-Day is oppressive. He had to learn the

personalities of all of the heads of nations involved in the war, their military leaders with all their egos

and peculiarities, infinite detail about the beaches used for the landings, tides, weather patterns, and

vast information about logistics and what could be made available when. It was surely one of the most

expansively planned events in the history of the world, and Eisenhower was pretty much responsible for it

all. And through these hundreds of pages of text, he never once sounds even pleased with himself, just

dogged and determined and unflinching. There were more inspiring generals, but this was the man for this job.

http://ww2ni.webs.com/countyantrimpart1.htm

I'm hopeless at computers.....about three quarters of the way down this link there is a Memorial to the U.S. Rangers in Carrickfergus....might interest you Ranger.

Thank you Ranger. It's good to hear that the sacrifices weren't forgotten. What an incredible experience to go and see history!

I found this on line and when I read it, I just had to post it here
In a thousand year old church in Angoville-au-Plain, a tiny village in Normandy just a few miles inland from D-Day’s Utah Beach, there is a stark reminder of the cost of war. In that church, on June 6, 1944, paratrooper medics Robert Wright (then 20) and Kenneth Moore set up a field hospital. They treated both American and German wounded as the battle raged around them. They used the pews as makeshift beds for their patients.
70 years later, the blood of the young fighting men still stains the pews.
A stunning stained glass window commemorates the parachutists of the 101st Airborne Division who rescued their village from Nazi tyranny in the early hours of D-Day.
The church at Angoville-au-Plain was just one of the Normandy invasion sites I visited in a 2006 pilgrimage to this seminal battlefield of World War Two. I walked the beach at Omaha, where thousands died under heavy fire; and at Utah, where they had an easier time of it – “only” 400 died there. I visited the gun emplacements at Point du Hoc, where Rangers scaled 200 foot high cliffs to silence German artillery batteries.
And I visited the American War Cemetery near Omaha Beach, where nearly 10,000 young American fighting men, just a portion of those killed in the battle for Normandy, lie buried. At American military cemeteries around the world, and across our country, hundreds of thousands of our fighting men and women lie at rest.
The trip to Normandy was sobering. A trip that brought up conflicting feelings. Even though I am a veteran, I am basically against war. And yet, if there was ever a war that was justified, it was the fight against Fascism in Europe. And so I am proud of those young fighting men who gave their lives so that we could have our freedom intact.
Another conflicting thought: Why do young men and women have to die, when old men make mistakes that lead to war? The men and women who fought the wars of the 20th century were young – their average age was in the late teens to young 20s. What makes our leaders think that they can so easily spend one of our most valuable resources – our youth?
We observe Memorial Day to remember their sacrifice. And in a week and a half, we will observe the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Europe that stemmed the Nazi tide, and led to victory in Europe.
Our soldiers have been there for us when we needed them. They were there for us at Angoville-au-Plain in 1944. They were in Normandy to save our freedom. And for many, all they have for us to remember them are the blood-stained pews in a 1000 year old church in Normandy, a white marble cross in the cemetery at Omaha Beach, and our undying gratitude.
Remember their sacrifice today, and on June 6th.
by Rob Howard, Associate Editor
The Gayly – May 26, 2014 @ 11:40am

I had an uncle that was actually saved from going to Normandy because he could type. Back then, not many men knew how to type and the army needed men who could to transcript messages, etc. It probably saved his life.

Big boy I used to make trips from Baton Rouge to my hometown in S La, passing thru a small town of Lovina, about 5 miles west of it was a big Country home set back in the woods, filling up

There one day I inquired about it. The old man that owned the station told me this story. He said that man saved a lot of lives in WWII, he was an infantryman but also a welder, hitting the hedgerows the tanks would rear up exposing the underbelly. He said that man told his captain we need a plow to cut thru that row, Captain said can you make it, said sir I"ve made blades to cut trees and welded them on bulldozers , don't see why it won't work on tanks. He made em and pretty soon they were busting thru hedgerow after hedgerow. Came back home and perfected his tree cutting blade and was a rich man. Little ole Cajun from Lovina, how about that?

If it was not for Montys inflated ego .Patton would have rolled all the way to Berlin with operation Huskey ending the war much sooner .They even told Patton to slow down and not take Messina so Monty could catch up .Even in the battle of Lorraine Montys boys got fuel while Patton had to stop advancements due to the lack there of .Monty was a coward all through the war placing Americans in harms way to pad his own glory even on D-DAY he chose the easier of the beach's .That's the way I see it .YMMV

Hero's all around. God help us if that degree of sacrifice is needed again. We don't have the number of real heros in the country left that we sadly lost that day. My grandfather was one who survived that day. Would not even speak of it no matter how asked. He just couldn't. I saw him try once it was if he just didn't know the words to start to describe it. God bless you members that have served. Thank you all. Great post!

Igloo,F.M.Montgomery of Alamien and Tobruk was no coward,my father served under him in the 8th Army throughout the war,(2 weeks home in 5 years)he knew the value of allowing the supply columns to keep pace with the advancement,the Russians fired off 1 million rounds of cannon fire and lost 70,000 soldiers taking Berlin,if without supply columns "catch up" the loss of Allied Soldiers would have been enormous,he was a tactician.

Monty was not a coward. He loved his men and was unwilling to place them in harm's way unless he had everything on board to ensure a victory; ammunition, fuel, food, clothing, medical supplies, in short, everything that the troops would need for the operation ahead. However, Monty was a colossal egotist, taking credit for virtually everything he could, getting to the press first, telling his version of events, and then sending the press off, telling them there was nothing more to be said, so it was Monty's telling of the tale that made the front page news, and gave the impression that he was running the war. Eisenhower and Churchill had several discussions about him, but Churchill said it would be impossible to remove him because the British public was so far on his side that to do so would have caused people to turn against the government.
A couple of (true) anecdotes. Actor David Niven was a major in the British Army, and landed in Normandy on D-Day. Coming in on the landing craft, looking at his men, seasick and frightened, he said to them "buck up lads, you've only got to do this once today. I shall have to replay the scene a dozen times with Errol Flynn."
Churchill insisted to Eisenhower that he would be present at D-Day, standing aboard one of the British Navy destroyers, so that the men would see him and be encouraged by his presence there. Eisenhower, of course, was concerned about the security of having Churchill in plain view of the German defenses. He mentioned this in a meeting he had with King George VI. The King smiled and said to him "don't you worry. Just leave Winston to me." At a subsequent meeting between the King and Churchill, the King mentioned that Eisenhower had discussed the issue with him, and Churchill responded that he had to be there in plain view of the men so that they would be encouraged by his presence. The King mused for a moment and said "yes, I see your point, and I shall have to be there beside you." That was the end of the issue.

I think someone was basing their outlook on Monty from the movie 'Patton'. Great movie, but certainly not factually detailed.
Other than that, my stepfather, God bless his soul (passed away in Jan/1978) made it as far as St. Lo where he was hit by shrapnel and lost his face and both of his eyes. He was left for dead for over day until another soldier tried to take his wristwatch and my father moved. He was one hell of a guy and didn't let his blindness get in the way. Hell, even though he was blind he taught me most of what I know. He would repair the plumbing around the house and even do electrical work. Could play poker like a bandit with Braille cards which I helped him make when I was a child on a Braille typewriter. Damn... the stories I could tell about him are simply amazing and I miss him terribly. He was the only father I knew as my real father died when I was only six months old.

Each and every man that fought for their country was a brave man that faced unspeakable horrors. Thank God that such men exist.

I have never been to Normandy, but I have visited the Allied cemetery in Luxembourg. Many men who died in the Battle of the Bulge are buried there. Row upon row of white crosses sobered the callous youth that I was. My uncle was a teenage engineer with Patton's 3rd Army that was rushed to the relief of those holding out. He is now 90 and still gets emotional talking about it.

With Operation Overlord being the largest amphibious assault in the worlds history not to mention the secrecy, counter espionage, troop and supply buildup, it's some fascinating stuff. My now late Father in Law was 82nd Airborne, 506th B company and jumped into St. Mere Egliese (sp?). We never heard all of what he did until a couple years before his death and to say that those stories were riveting would be a huge understatement. What always amazed me was how much he respected the Pathfinders in the 101st. He said they were the toughest, meanest SOB's that ever walked the earth. His unit fought and advanced for 33 straight days with no re-supply, not one inch of ground given and no quarter to their enemy. One thing he repeated several times as he recalled being stationed in England during the buildup was how vividly he remembers seeing the bottles of human plasma and the empty bottles for collecting blood, which they started as D-Day neared. He said they all new they were f#%€ed.