D-Day Anniversary

As we pass the 65th anniversary of the Allies' storming of the Normandy beaches I think it fitting that we take a moment to remember not only those brave boys who stepped from their transports into a hail of gunfire but all who would put themselves in harm's way for the principles which make this country great. Bravery in the face of personal loss of liberty is one thing (and a fine thing) but those who would put their lives at risk to preserve the liberty of others are true heroes, which is a word thrown around much too loosely these days.

Omaha Beach in Normandie, France
These small stones were the 'shingles' which troops had to run through to get to the relative safety of the bluffs

There were five beaches the Allies landed on that day. Going from west to east, using their code names, they were Utah and Omaha, where the Americans landed and Gold, Juno and Sword, where the British and Canadians landed. German resistance was much lighter on Juno and Gold beaches. The worst beach for Allied casualties was Omaha beach, whose attacking American soldiers bore the brunt of the roughly 9000 casualties that day.

While the events of June 6th, 1944 are covered extremely well in Cornelius Ryan's book, 'The Longest Day' (later made into a wonderfully done movie of the same name), one thing that must be remembered is the fact that there were still 11 more months of fighting in the European Theatre remaining. As the Allies tried to push south and east farther inland, German resistance was staggering. The city of Caen a short distance from Sword beach was supposed to be taken by the British General Bernard Law Montgomery within 72 hours of D-Day. In fact, it took almost a month before Caen would fall to the Allies, and only after the almost utter destruction of every building in the city. One of the few still standing was the Caen Cathedral.

Caen Cathedral, in the Normadie region of France

After a month of small gains, the Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to re-institute General George S. Patton, giving him command of Third Army and telling him to break through the German lines. Patton's troops (of which my father was one), along with the rest of General Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group, proceeded to do just that. By the end of the war, Patton's Third Army had liberated over 12,000 towns, villages and cities, taken over 1 million German POWs and to ensure the relieval of the 101st Airborne at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, Third Army marched almost 100 miles in the course of two days, going straight into combat on the third day and pushing back the German offensive.

So let's tip our hat to all those who would put their own lives on the line so that others may breathe free air.

Salute!