OT: Thinking about D-Day

[veryolddog]

I am in awe and will always be in awe of the sacrifice that our great men and women made on that day. I also was impressed with the stories of the survivors who were there and were lucky enough to return home and make a life.

D-Day was a meat grinder. In my 23 years in the Marine Corps, I have never been in a meat grinder like that which occurred on D-Day. I get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach thinking about the hell that these men went through especially the first wave on the beach. These folks were truly the Greatest Generation.

 

[JeannoCT]

^ thank you for your post - they were the Greatest Generation. My mother was in high school at the time, and when I looked at her yearbook, there were about a dozen men "camera-shy". I asked her why they weren't in the yearbook, and she said they all left for the war. Just stunning in my mind. I had an uncle wounded at Omaha Beach. He survived but was permanently disabled with a leg injury. I wish I had talked to him about it, but not sure he would have shared his thoughts. God bless all the veterans. I hope to go to Normandy within the next couple of years. I need to see it.

 

[Topsail]

My wife and I went to Normandy last Fall. The American cemetery brings it all home. I wish I had talked to my grandmother's younger brothers about the war. They never wanted to talk about it. Her youngest brother was captured at Anzio and spent the rest of the war in Stalag 2 B in Prussia. It was hell there from what I read about it. I thank veterans all of the time for serving. My dad was in the Korean war but never talked about.

 

[Shenandoah]

Every Sunday, we would go over to my Godfathers house in West Haven after church. I knew that my Dad was a WW2 Navy Vet, but didn't know about my Uncle. As is typical of those who have seen combat first hand, they never talked about it. I only recently found out, after my Uncle passed, that he was in the Navy, and was on a Battleship that participated in the D-Day invasion. So, slow hand salute to my Uncle, Roger Lauzon, and for all those who participated in the D-Day invasion, that turned the tide of WW2.

 

[Rixxx]

I know it has been mentioned, but I have to ask. Do you know of any of the Greatest Generation that will talk about WW2? I know my Dad didn't.

 

[winlots]

I am in awe and will always be in awe of the sacrifice that our great men and women made on that day. I also was impressed with the stories of the survivors who were there and were lucky enough to return home and make a life.

VOD: Thank you for this thread, and thanks also to the others who have and will participate. With appreciation and blessings to you and to our troops.

 

[JeannoCT]

I agree, they didn't talk about it. I only found out my uncle was wounded at Omaha about 15 years ago. I also will salute him, Joseph Dickson from Carbondale PA.

 

[Bama fan]

I am pleasantly surprised to hear the veterans of that terrible struggle to save the free world remark that it was "just what we had to do". When they came home, they just went about building their lives and families without stopping to contemplate the enormity of their efforts. It is only now, 75 years later, that many of them have begun to realize that they were the ones who saved the world. And even now, many point to the rows of crosses and say that there lie the true heroes. In a time when there is so much divisive speech and so many American institutions under constant attack, these brave men and women make us all proud to be Americans. Our gratitude is not enough, but it is all we have to offer!

 

[BroadwayVa]

I am in awe and will always be in awe of the sacrifice that our great men and women made on that day. I also was impressed with the stories of the survivors who were there and were lucky enough to return home and make a life.

D-Day was a meat grinder. In my 23 years in the Marine Corps, I have never been in a meat grinder like that which occurred on D-Day. I get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach thinking about the hell that these men went through especially the first wave on the beach. These folks were truly the Greatest Generation.

@veryolddog It takes one who has been in combat to understand (almost) the horror of facing a dug in army whose only job is to kill YOU. It becomes very personal.
Sacrificed they were. Did they "willingly" GIVE up their lives, hell no. 2 of my cousins dropped on D-day. 2 uncles arrived the next day. Brother in law went from end to end and met the Russian, who shelled him and his friends. I would argue the slaughter vs others but this D-Day. Semper Fi.
Brother, cousins, uncles were in the other ocean and had been fighting for nearly 2 years previous and continuous to that day.
Virginia's 29th Division hit that beach the town of New Bedford, Va paid aterrible price, it was a Va National Guard Div. Much like the Okla 36th div at the Rapido, Italy.

 

[CL82]

I had an uncle wounded at Omaha Beach. He survived but was permanently disabled with a leg injury. I wish I had talked to him about it, but not sure he would have shared his thoughts.

That's the issue, isn't it? There is really no way to tell. We grappled with the same question..

My wife decided that she wanted to research my father-in-laws service in WWII. He was a typical WWII vet in that he really never talked about his service. She asked me if it would be a good idea to get a replacement set of the medals he earned and give them to him for Christmas. I told her I didn't know - that it could go either way. She decided to do it. (She didn't really think of how to give them to him and by the time she got the medals, badges, etc. there wasn't time to have them professional mounted. I offered to help and used double matting on a green felt and gold frame to shadow box them after adding a brass plaque with his name rank and unit. First and only time I've ever done something like that and have to say it came out pretty well.) We gave it to him, and he stopped and absorbed it a second and then got a huge smile on his face and thanked us. Then he started to open up about his service, mostly to me, but somewhat to my wife and her mom.

What an amazing story, though I suspect not all that unusual. He was younger than my kids are now. Rated as expert in rifle, handgun and machine gun. He fought with Patton's 3rd and was part of the group that liberated the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camps. He had friends die in his arms in due to the most random of circumstances (taking turns being first through door) and still grieves some of the lives he had to take. He was one day away from having both hands amputated due to frostbite and spent the night before his surgery in prayer. The next morning during the doctors pre op exam they discovered that circulation had returned. He won a contest for Stars and Stripes for his essay "Why We Should Occupy Europe." He is the most quiet soft-spoken guy, yet as a teen he willingly went into circumstances that are beyond most of our imaginations. I have the utmost respect and admiration for his sacrifice and for all those who fought and those who fight today. Their oral histories are so important. I encourage everyone to reach out to them.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I am pleasantly surprised to hear the veterans of that terrible struggle to save the free world remark that it was "just what we had to do". When they came home, they just went about building their lives and families without stopping to contemplate the enormity of their efforts. It is only now, 75 years later, that many of them have begun to realize that they were the ones who saved the world. And even now, many point to the rows of crosses and say that there lie the true heroes. In a time when there is so much divisive speech and so many American institutions under constant attack, these brave men and women make us all proud to be Americans. Our gratitude is not enough, but it is all we have to offer!

The problem with crosses and numbers is: We lose sight that under each cross or each number is a single human being, young kid usually who only wanted to LIVE. He lies there while we who have lived a long life exist. Did we do good for them? Did we live up the their potential??? I take each life intospectively and God Forgive me: I'm happy my brother and cousins and uncles got to live and made it through the multiple gauntlets.

 

[UNHAlumInCT]

Interesting article in the Courant.

My father was at Normandy on D-Day 75 years ago today. Until he was close to dying, he never talked about it.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I am in awe and will always be in awe of the sacrifice that our great men and women made on that day. I also was impressed with the stories of the survivors who were there and were lucky enough to return home and make a life.

D-Day was a meat grinder. In my 23 years in the Marine Corps, I have never been in a meat grinder like that which occurred on D-Day. I get a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach thinking about the hell that these men went through especially the first wave on the beach. These folks were truly the Greatest Generation.

Just picking a nit, but there were no female casualties on D-Day. The only female to land was a stowaway civilian journalist and she was not injured. The first American women to land were WACs that came ashore more than a month after the invasion.

 

[rbny1]

I live in a busy neighborhood in New York City. I had an elderly neighbor who dressed poorly and was very shy. He sometimes searched through public garbage cans for soda bottles so he could return them to the store and get the refunds. Although I'm pretty outgoing and know many people in my neighborhood, I never talked with him. He didn't seem interested in talking, and I didn't try. Then when he died, I learned he had been a tail gunner in WWII and had flown 25 bombing missions over Europe. I was astonished. Suddenly I wished I had at least tried to say hello.

In another instance, I had a friend who I thought was a bit wimpy -- until I learned after he died that he had been a member of the 101st Airborne Screaming Eagles and had jumped into Europe behind enemy lines and had fought in the Battle of the Bulge. And he was just a teenager when he fought in the war!

It's amazing what millions of brave Americans did during the war to protect our freedom and how little if anything they asked in return.

 

[Bama fan]

Just picking a nit, but there were no female casualties on D-Day. The only female to land was a stowaway civilian journalist and she was not injured. The first American women to land were WACs that came ashore more than a month after the invasion.

Just to repick your nit, there are three women service members buried in the American cemetery at Normandy,and a female Red Cross worker. They did not die on that day, but later during the mop up months that followed. Couple that with the ships, planes, tanks ,and jeeps built by women that allowed the invasion to take place, I hope we can forgive @veryolddog for including the women. And let's get some RID for those nits!

 

[CL82]

Interesting article in the Courant.

My father was at Normandy on D-Day 75 years ago today. Until he was close to dying, he never talked about it.

He told the stories without melodrama or fanfare. There’d been an enemy to defeat, a fascist who wanted to take over the world. There were ships that needed to be sailed, attacks that needed to be planned, men that needed to be led. One win, then the next. Death always looming but never given quarter. He could have made it personal: There were aunts, uncles, cousins in Poland who were slaughtered at Auschwitz, Treblinka or elsewhere. This he never spoke of.

This is the reoccurring theme with WWII vets in my experience. There was a job to do so we did it. They are an amazingly and consistently humble group.

 

[Bama fan]

He told the stories without melodrama or fanfare. There’d been an enemy to defeat, a fascist who wanted to take over the world. There were ships that needed to be sailed, attacks that needed to be planned, men that needed to be led. One win, then the next. Death always looming but never given quarter. He could have made it personal: There were aunts, uncles, cousins in Poland who were slaughtered at Auschwitz, Treblinka or elsewhere. This he never spoke of.

This is the reoccurring theme with WWII vets in my experience. There was a job to do so we did it. They are an amazingly and consistently humble group.

I had five uncles who served in WW2. Some in Africa and Europe, some in the Pacific, one on the battleship Iowa. My Dad was married and had three kids, and worked in a shop that made Long Tom artillery guns. He felt guilty for not serving overseas his whole life. But I never heard a war story from them. My dad always said that growing up during the Great Depression lent a spirit of shared sacrifice and common cause to their generation. Still a sense of duty back then that seems lacking now. Necessity is a harsh taskmaster, hopefully we never again have to see if we are up to the task.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I lost cousins on Okinawa and the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge). An uncle served on B17s in the 8th Air Force. Flew 59+ missions. He was shot down (bailed) and survived a crash on landing. He never spoke about it much after the war. I do know that he never flew again until very late in life.

 

[JimGunther]

I often think that WW2 was very much the crucible that served to create the American Century. So many examples on my street - in my family - all around - of guys who didn't waste a minute of time after saving the world. They got educations, started businesses of every stripe and gave us much of the prosperity we still enjoy today.

PS: Went to Normandy a few years ago - regret I hadn't researched it as much as it deserved - regret I hadn't experienced the awe 25 years earlier.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Just to repick your nit, there are three women service members buried in the American cemetery at Normandy,and a female Red Cross worker. They did not die on that day, but later during the mop up months that followed. Couple that with the ships, planes, tanks ,and jeeps built by women that allowed the invasion to take place, I hope we can forgive @veryolddog for including the women. And let's get some RID for those nits!

I disagree and believe the "nit" should stand if only because it is accurate. It's just that in this PC world I think we need to be mindful of relating history as accurately as we can and not be inclusive out of habit. I also believe that was not veryolddogs intent.

Just a bit of perspective - US military war dead (from all causes) totaled more than 470,000. Of those an estimated 543 were female. Only 16 female military died from direct enemy fire. US military deaths at Normandy on D Day are estimated at something over 4,000 - all men.

 

[JordyG]

I disagree and believe the "nit" should stand if only because it is accurate. It's just that in this PC world I think we need to be mindful of relating history as accurately as we can and not be inclusive out of habit. I also believe that was not veryolddogs intent.

Just a bit of perspective - US military war dead (from all causes) totaled more than 470,000. Of those an estimated 543 were female. Only 16 female military died from direct enemy fire. US military deaths at Normandy on D Day are estimated at something over 4,000 - all men.

In living in a post fact check society I think it's necessary that we always make the attempt to get the facts straight. Yes, women contributed to the war at home and on the back lines, and were essential in the effort; dying in droves was not part of it.

My father came home from the death pit that was New Guinea. Although it was a crushing defeat for Japan my father never spoke of it. I lost two uncles in the WW2. Every Memorial Day we hung a giant flag from our window to commemorate their and our sacrifices. To this day I cannot watch a certain car race and never will. But Memorial Day still doesn't quite move me like this day. To me it is a day of tears and pride. My father's wasn't merely the greatest generation. It was, as @JimGunther said, the first modern generation. The generation that fostered and molded the modern world. It's a world where I'm proud to march shoulder to shoulder Americans or every race and gender. This is their legacy and the America I am most proud of.

 

[CL82]

I lost cousins on Okinawa and the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge). An uncle served on B17s in the 8th Air Force. Flew 59+ missions. He was shot down (bailed) and survived a crash on landing. He never spoke about it much after the war. I do know that he never flew again until very late in life.

Flying Fortress, right? Very cool. I was fascinated by them and the Liberators as a kid. 59 missions is astounding. I read somewhere that if you flew 30 missions your chance of death was was 70%.

 

[MSGRET]

I was stationed in Europe for over 15 1/2 years, most of the time in Germany, but spent 3 1/2 years in the Netherlands. In 1994 the 50th anniversary of the D-Day landing the unit I was assigned to helped in the logistical support of the activities. It was an honor to meet many of the veterans of the landing and was tear jerking from the stories that were told. Many of them were honored to meet us and even thanked us for our service to the US. In 1995 I participated in the 50th anniversary of the Dutch Memorial Day celebration at the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten, there are 8,291 Americans buried at the cemetery and they also recognize the 1,722 MIA's with the Tablets of the Missing which ring the Court of Honor. The Dutch townspeople were there to help prepare for services by laying small wreaths with both US and Dutch flags to not only honor the fallen but also the missing. I made many friends while I was stationed in the Netherlands and they were always thankful for the allies that freed their Country.

 

[meyers7]

In living in a post fact check society I think it's necessary that we always make the attempt to get the facts straight. Yes, women contributed to the war at home and on the back lines, and were essential in the effort; dying in droves was not part of it.

My father came home from the death pit that was New Guinea. Although it was a crushing defeat for Japan my father never spoke of it. I lost two uncles in the WW2. Every Memorial Day we hung a giant flag from our window to commemorate their and our sacrifices. To this day I cannot watch a certain car race and never will. But Memorial Day still doesn't quite move me like this day. To me it is a day of tears and pride. My father's wasn't merely the greatest generation. It was, as @JimGunther said, the first modern generation. The generation that fostered and molded the modern world. It's a world where I'm proud to march shoulder to shoulder Americans or every race and gender. This is their legacy and the America I am most proud of.

Why is that?

 

[tchalla1]

I know it has been mentioned, but I have to ask. Do you know of any of the Greatest Generation that will talk about WW2? I know my Dad didn't.

My father who is now deceased was in the South Pacific during WWII, and he often talked about his experiences, mostly on Sundays after dinner. He was in transport and island hopped with MacArthur's forces through New Guinea, Corregidor, the Philippines, etc. It still chills me, some of the atrocities and unmentionables of war and insufferable examples of inhumanity that he spoke of. But the things that stand out most are the supremely courageous acts of heroism and sacrifices those men made...