Thank you. 6/6/44
nice find...! truely
Wanna hear it? http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/dl/DDa … audio.html
A great invasion force stood off the Normandy coast of France as dawn broke on 6 June 1944: 9 battleships, 23 cruisers, 104 destroyers, and 71 large landing craft of various descriptions as well as troop transports, mine sweepers, and merchantmen—in all, nearly 5,000 ships of every type, the largest armada ever assembled. The naval bombardment that began at 0550 that morning detonated large minefields along the shoreline and destroyed a number of the enemy’s defensive positions. To one correspondent, reporting from the deck of the cruiser HMS Hillary, it sounded like “the rhythmic beating of a gigantic drum” all along the coast. In the hours following the bombardment, more than 100,000 fighting men swept ashore to begin one of the epic assaults of history, a “mighty endeavor,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it to the American people, “to preserve … our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.”
The attack had been long in coming. From the moment British forces had been forced to withdraw from France in 1940 in the face of an overwhelming German onslaught, planners had plotted a return to the Continent. Only in that way would the Allies be able to confront the enemy’s power on the ground, liberate northwestern Europe, and put an end to the Nazi regime.
A great invasion force stood off the Normandy coast of France as dawn broke on 6 June 1944: 9 battleships, 23 cruisers, 104 destroyers, and 71 large landing craft of various descriptions as well as troop transports, mine sweepers, and merchantmen—in all, nearly 5,000 ships of every type, the largest armada ever assembled. The naval bombardment that began at 0550 that morning detonated large minefields along the shoreline and destroyed a number of the enemy’s defensive positions. To one correspondent, reporting from the deck of the cruiser HMS Hillary, it sounded like “the rhythmic beating of a gigantic drum” all along the coast. In the hours following the bombardment, more than 100,000 fighting men swept ashore to begin one of the epic assaults of history, a “mighty endeavor,” as President Franklin D. Roosevelt described it to the American people, “to preserve … our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity.”
The attack had been long in coming. From the moment British forces had been forced to withdraw from France in 1940 in the face of an overwhelming German onslaught, planners had plotted a return to the Continent. Only in that way would the Allies be able to confront the enemy’s power on the ground, liberate northwestern Europe, and put an end to the Nazi regime.
Xbone Stormsurgezz
Whenever I hear that speech, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Good find ATG.
Damn fucking right. Those boys are legends.
Blackbelts are just whitebelts who have never quit.
m3thod advances in rank in my eyes.m3thod wrote:
Damn fucking right. Those boys are legends.
Thanks for saying that.
May we never forget the actions of those who gave their lives, sixty-three years ago.
Hoorah.
Hoorah.
been to a lot of the memorials(WW1/2), makes you really think deap. respect
(not my picture)
(not my picture)
Rip.
edit: Bloody caps lock filter
RIP
edit: Bloody caps lock filter
RIP
Last edited by Hurricane (2007-06-06 15:22:06)
ATG wrote:
Thank you.
I just remembered that it was D-Days anniversary today.
Thank you veterans.
Thank you veterans.
i second that, thank you.ATG wrote:
m3thod advances in rank in my eyes.m3thod wrote:
Damn fucking right. Those boys are legends.
Thanks for saying that.
truly the greatest generation.
m3thod wrote:
Damn fucking right. Those boys are legends.
More than legends.
Indescribable heroes that turned this entire world around.
Indescribable heroes that turned this entire world around.
Great Plan. Great soldiers. America, UK, Canada and everyone else who participated in the Invasion. Truly their finest hour.
Never Forget
Never Forget
Last edited by Mekstizzle (2007-06-06 16:24:00)
one of the greatest events in our military history. i dont know how they did it, i would have freaked out.
thats why i am thankful for servicemen and women, they do the job i wonder if i could do.
thats why i am thankful for servicemen and women, they do the job i wonder if i could do.
I was running out of time and couldn't elaborate on this picture.
Imagine doing a life or death thing, when the consequences of failure lay at your feet.
Jesus, how could those people function let alone win?
Cool story....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070606/ap_ … ry_dog_tag
"That was until the young soldier's dog tag, recently discovered in the sands of Omaha Beach in France, was returned to his native Tennessee on Wednesday — exactly 63 years after that tragic day."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070606/ap_ … ry_dog_tag
"That was until the young soldier's dog tag, recently discovered in the sands of Omaha Beach in France, was returned to his native Tennessee on Wednesday — exactly 63 years after that tragic day."
Here is an edited version of an address given by Walter D. Ehlers, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient from Buena Park, at the D-Day 50th anniversary observances, June 6, 1994, in Normandy. Today is the 63rd anniversary of the invasion.
Good afternoon. What a peaceful, pleasant place this is today. How different it is from 50 years ago when I and many of you and many thousands of our comrades approached this shore.
"What was it like on D-Day?" That's the most-asked question of veterans who were here then. We will surely all agree that it was the longest day of our lives.
We prepared for D-Day in England. I was not new to battle, having survived the North Africa and Sicily invasions where my brother and I fought side by side. Still, I remember my amazement when we came into the Southampton area prior to our embarkation. Rows and rows of tanks, artillery guns, trucks, jeeps, armored personal carriers and warehouses of logistical supplies lined England's lush fields. The harbors were so filled with boats that we could have walked their length stepping from craft to craft. I suddenly appreciated the United States' support of the war effort.
A final battalion briefing readied us for the invasion. My brother and I had been assigned to different companies, and as the briefing ended, we waved to each other. We would make the landing from separate ships.
Two days later, when the ship I was on pulled out, we certainly were not alone. There were ships in front of us and to each side of us for as far as we could see. We looked skyward, where planes from horizon to horizon headed toward Europe.
When we got near the beaches, battleships and cruisers were firing toward shore. We could hear bombs exploding in the distance. There was such firepower from the ships and planes that we didn't expect much resistance on the beach. I believe a lot of us wondered how anyone on shore could have survived the onslaught of that massive firepower.
"What was it like on D-Day?"
My platoon boarded an assault craft to approach the beach. Luckily for us, the Germans were concentrating their firepower on the larger landing craft. When we hit a sandbar, the ramp went down and as soon as we left the boat we were in water up to our armpits. We waded and scrambled toward shore.
We found men pinned down on the beach, many wounded or killed and many terrified, all surrounded by ruined and swamped landing craft. The dead and wounded soldiers, the wreckage, the ability of the enemy to cause so much damage, made us realize that this war was far from over.
However, D-Day turned the tide. Sadly, it was the end of the war for a great many brave men who died here that day. But it was also the beginning of the end for Hitler.
The world changed June 6, 1944, the day the good guys took charge again. The spirit of D-Day carried momentum across the hedgerows of France, through the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge and toward Berlin; it put new hope into the battle-weary troops in the Pacific.
While we braved these then-fortified beaches to beat back Hitler and to liberate Europe, to stop his massacres and to rescue his prisoners, we fought for much more than that. We fought to preserve what our forefathers had died for. We picked up our guns to protect our faith, to preserve our liberty. It was to save our way of life, for our parents and siblings and home, for our children and the children we hoped to have, and for their children.
It has been a way of life that was worth fighting for. We must not forget, however, what this freedom cost. We earned that security with our sweat and blood, some of us with our lives. Much of it was earned right here in Normandy. Many of those who enjoy freedom know little of its price.
This anniversary must be not only a remembrance, but a new beginning. Many of us still live with D-Day but never talk about it. We need to talk about it, not for ourselves, but for those who weren't here; not to the media, but to the heirs of our accomplishments, those we did it for. Our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren must know the price of freedom. I pray that the price we paid on this beach will never be mortgaged, that my grandsons and granddaughters will never face the terror and horror that we faced here. But they must know that without freedom, there is no life, and that the things most worth living for may sometimes demand dying for.
Today, the beaches are quiet. We come back to mourn our losses, and to celebrate our success. Our presence here commemorates our comrade's lives, and it validates the sacrifice we all made on D-Day.
"What was it like on D-Day?"
That wave in Southampton, England, was the last time I saw my brother. He died here, on Omaha Beach. That we can be here today proves that it was not in vain.
Good afternoon. What a peaceful, pleasant place this is today. How different it is from 50 years ago when I and many of you and many thousands of our comrades approached this shore.
"What was it like on D-Day?" That's the most-asked question of veterans who were here then. We will surely all agree that it was the longest day of our lives.
We prepared for D-Day in England. I was not new to battle, having survived the North Africa and Sicily invasions where my brother and I fought side by side. Still, I remember my amazement when we came into the Southampton area prior to our embarkation. Rows and rows of tanks, artillery guns, trucks, jeeps, armored personal carriers and warehouses of logistical supplies lined England's lush fields. The harbors were so filled with boats that we could have walked their length stepping from craft to craft. I suddenly appreciated the United States' support of the war effort.
A final battalion briefing readied us for the invasion. My brother and I had been assigned to different companies, and as the briefing ended, we waved to each other. We would make the landing from separate ships.
Two days later, when the ship I was on pulled out, we certainly were not alone. There were ships in front of us and to each side of us for as far as we could see. We looked skyward, where planes from horizon to horizon headed toward Europe.
When we got near the beaches, battleships and cruisers were firing toward shore. We could hear bombs exploding in the distance. There was such firepower from the ships and planes that we didn't expect much resistance on the beach. I believe a lot of us wondered how anyone on shore could have survived the onslaught of that massive firepower.
"What was it like on D-Day?"
My platoon boarded an assault craft to approach the beach. Luckily for us, the Germans were concentrating their firepower on the larger landing craft. When we hit a sandbar, the ramp went down and as soon as we left the boat we were in water up to our armpits. We waded and scrambled toward shore.
We found men pinned down on the beach, many wounded or killed and many terrified, all surrounded by ruined and swamped landing craft. The dead and wounded soldiers, the wreckage, the ability of the enemy to cause so much damage, made us realize that this war was far from over.
However, D-Day turned the tide. Sadly, it was the end of the war for a great many brave men who died here that day. But it was also the beginning of the end for Hitler.
The world changed June 6, 1944, the day the good guys took charge again. The spirit of D-Day carried momentum across the hedgerows of France, through the Ardennes and the Battle of the Bulge and toward Berlin; it put new hope into the battle-weary troops in the Pacific.
While we braved these then-fortified beaches to beat back Hitler and to liberate Europe, to stop his massacres and to rescue his prisoners, we fought for much more than that. We fought to preserve what our forefathers had died for. We picked up our guns to protect our faith, to preserve our liberty. It was to save our way of life, for our parents and siblings and home, for our children and the children we hoped to have, and for their children.
It has been a way of life that was worth fighting for. We must not forget, however, what this freedom cost. We earned that security with our sweat and blood, some of us with our lives. Much of it was earned right here in Normandy. Many of those who enjoy freedom know little of its price.
This anniversary must be not only a remembrance, but a new beginning. Many of us still live with D-Day but never talk about it. We need to talk about it, not for ourselves, but for those who weren't here; not to the media, but to the heirs of our accomplishments, those we did it for. Our children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren must know the price of freedom. I pray that the price we paid on this beach will never be mortgaged, that my grandsons and granddaughters will never face the terror and horror that we faced here. But they must know that without freedom, there is no life, and that the things most worth living for may sometimes demand dying for.
Today, the beaches are quiet. We come back to mourn our losses, and to celebrate our success. Our presence here commemorates our comrade's lives, and it validates the sacrifice we all made on D-Day.
"What was it like on D-Day?"
That wave in Southampton, England, was the last time I saw my brother. He died here, on Omaha Beach. That we can be here today proves that it was not in vain.
Last edited by ATG (2007-06-06 18:13:22)
Amen to all the brave servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives to destroy Hitler.
World War 2 has this mystical aura. It's hard to comprehend that what happened actually did. A dictator trying to take over the world, massive scale battles on all fronts, nuclear weapons...
I would've rather served and died fighting in that war than die an old man in present-day society.
I would've rather served and died fighting in that war than die an old man in present-day society.
My squadron had a moment of silence today in honor of the fallen allied troops of D-Day. They are truly the greatest generation our world will ever see. I'd like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all allied soldiers currently serving and to those that have fallen. Greatest battle we will ever see, thank god!
Thanks to all the brave solders that fought on that day.