June 6th. 1944!

[charlotte49er]

The largest amphibian force the world has ever seen converged on the French coast so that we can live in freedom!

The Normandy landings were the landing operations of the Alliedinvasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 (D-Day), beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time (UTC+2). In planning, D-Day was the term used for the day of actual landing, which was dependent on final approval.

The assault was conducted in two phases: an air assault landing of 24,000 American, British, Canadian and Free Frenchairborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France commencing at 6:30 AM. There were also subsidiary 'attacks' mounted under the codenames Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable to distract the German forces from the real landing areas.[4]

The operation was the largest amphibious invasion of all time, with over 160,000[5] troops landing on 6 June 1944. 195,700[6] Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000[5] ships were involved. The invasion required the transport of soldiers and materiel from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

God Bless all who served or continue to serve today!

[2plankingpanther]

Omaha beach was by far the bloodiest,of course everybody knows that!

[charlotte49er]

NATION /

SECTOR

ESTIMATED CASUALTIES

U.S. AIRBORNE2,499U.S. / UTAH197U.S. / OMAHA2,000U.K. / GOLD413CAN. / JUNO1,204U.K. / SWORD630U.K. AIRBORNE1,500CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE

8,443REASONABLE

GUESS9,000 total (of which 3,000 may have been fatalities

[Davidson Deac II]

Omaha beach was by far the bloodiest,of course everybody knows that!

It was the bloodiest, but one of the reasons Utah was not as bloody was due to all the paratrooper actions of the 101 and the 82nd. They cleared a lot of the troops that might have been at Utah. True cost of Utah is reflected in the Airborne casualties.

[cookinbrak]

We were sitting at dinner last night, and my wifes great-uncle said "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing 66 years ago today".

[charlotte49er]

My Dad would have been in Hawaii preparing to return to the Phillipines with Gen. Douglas McArthur.

[Hawk]

hopefully its a day none of us will ever after come close to living again...the loss of life was incredible!

[Razzy]

While we're at it, let's remember those on the Italian front. June 4th, 1944. Rome falls after the battle of Anzio/Montecassino, one of the most costly battles of the war. And tip o' the hat to those airborne boys, by stalling the German reinforcements they saved a lot of lives on those beaches. The main reasons reason the D-Day landing was even successful.

[Kevin Greene]

The evil USA once again sticking their nose in world affairs that were none of their business.

[Jangler]

Yup, KG we all know Socialist are really just good people and they care...

[cookinwithgas]

Omaha Beach is a place I could not imagine trying to land on with a few pistols aimed at me, nevermind what was actually there. It's a long beach next to a freaking cliff that had machine guns and cannons on it.

[charlotte49er]

James Doohan ('Scotty' in Star Trek) - served in the Canadian artillery during WW2 and fought in Normandy in 1944.

US TV, stage and occasional movie actor Charles Durning had an extraodinary experience in WW2. As a soldier in the famous 1st US army division, he survived the bloody landing on Omaha beach on D-Day. Six months later, he was captured by the Germans during the battle of the Bulge and he was one of only three men to survive the infamous Malmedy massacre where over 100 captured Americans were machine-gunned by Waffen-SS.

[KillerKat]

66 years and I still have nightmares

[cookinwithgas]

James Doohan ('Scotty' in Star Trek) - served in the Canadian artillery during WW2 and fought in Normandy in 1944.

here over 100 captured Americans were machine-gunned by Waffen-SS.

Doohan did not land on the beach, he was in a spotter plane that crashed behind enemy lines. He lost a finger in the crash and you can see it a couple of times in Star Trek: