D-Day 75th Anniversary
- Thread starter Harvard Gamecock
- Start date
Anyone know of any good D-Day Documentaries / Specials that will be aired today? There are so many channels on cable it's easy to miss some of them. I love to watch everything about D-Day and WWII.
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National Geographic had several good documentaries this week. You may be able to go back and find them if you have a OnDemand type service from your CATV provider.
America's greatest generation of heros. The ones that came home built the greatest country in the world.
Nat Geo has been running specials all week long!
Should only use Bing today.
https://www.bing.com/?toHttps=1&redig=914C572EA2AD459FA9EB793E7FD6721A
Maybe I'll just switch to Bing for good.
https://www.bing.com/?toHttps=1&redig=914C572EA2AD459FA9EB793E7FD6721A
Maybe I'll just switch to Bing for good.
I can't believe that but they did! However if it had been a foreigner that have invented something a 100 years ago that most people have never heard of it would be "front and center" of the search page. I'm beginning to believe Google is Anti - American.
I may have told my dad's D Day story here before. He was on a minesweeper in the Pacific. His ship was sailing into Kwajalein Atoll, a natural harbor. He heard over armed forces radio that D Day was happening in Europe. They announced that over 2,000 capital ships and 7,000 ships total were involved in the operation. Those are staggering numbers and my dad said to someone that they must have moved every capital ship in the Pacific to the Atlantic to accomplish that. About then they entered the huge harbor and Admiral Halsey's task force 58 was there. Dad sailed for two hours past battleships, aircraft carriers, heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers, etc lined up as far as the eye could see. He said that was the minute he knew that the US would win the war. Before that he only hoped and wasn't sure. To have that kind of fleet in the Pacific while also having what was being reported at D Day.
D-Day actually means the day a war operation commences. For example, my father landed on Iwo Jima D-Day +3, i.e., he landed on this island the fourth day after the invasion.
June 6, 1944 was D-Day for Operation Overlord.
February 19, 1945 was D-Day for the Battle of Iwo Jima.
June 6, 1944 was D-Day for Operation Overlord.
February 19, 1945 was D-Day for the Battle of Iwo Jima.
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How inspiring that must have been to see. It also showed the true impact of a nation FULLY mobilized for war. Not just the people in the armed forces, but all the men and women back home sacrificing and contributing to the war effort and mobilizing the greatest industrial machine in the world. Despite that feat, look at how difficult it was to achieve victory. It was not a war that could have been won with half measures. Of course, few are.
What makes this story more extraordinary is that during WWII, we were engaged in the Europe First strategy, so most of our resources were being allocated to the European Theater.
Thanks, I have checked it out and have taped some programs for tonight. But, I can't believe none of the major networks aren't airing any specials tonight.
Great story Texas that I had not heard before. All of the island invasions in the pacific needed some safe place for ships to form up and there are several others. Kwajalein atoll is a remarkable place and the largest conjoined atoll in the world. Over 70 miles long and fairly wide, bordered by a string of corral islands that shelter a great sailing area in the middle of the huge Pacific. Only big ship in the middle when I was the was the German pocket battleship Prinz Eugen and it was upside down after capsizing in a storm. It was used in the BIkini H-bomb test at Bikini and towed there. Prinz Eugen is now owned by the king of Kwajalein since, after it capsized and rested on the bottom, he laid claim to it as part of his natural territory.
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I hate how Hollywood shows the invasion as a short landing craft ride for the GI's when it actually was 12 miles and 2 hours.
I had read about the Prinz Eugen's exploits in the Atlantic during the war, but had no idea that was its final resting place.
Yes. One sad story is that we actually had a lot of cameramen embedded with the invasion forces 3rd and 4th waves that took hundreds of hours of film as it happened. Once the beachhead was well established, the HQ gathered up all of the footage from more than half a dozen cameramen, put it on an LST and sent it out towards the flagship. The LST swamped and capsized, losing all of that footage irretrievably. That is why there isn't better pictures of D-Day. You will see some taken from ships and airplanes, maybe some quite later, but it is pretty sparse. I wish that hadn't been lost.
I heard one survivor say yesterday that the waves were so rough that when the men did reach shore and hit the beaches they first had to run though puke because of the rough waters that made many sick. Bless their hearts.
HEART
Never bet against it!
We are blessed folks to follow those who paved the way before us.
Never bet against it!
We are blessed folks to follow those who paved the way before us.
If you ever get the chance to visit France by all means go to Normandy. The American Cemetery will bring tears to your eyes. When you see Pont Du Hoc and the beaches you will wonder how they ever made it through. My wife’s dad drove a tank in WWII and landed DDay +3 so he wasn’t in the first wave but still never wanted to talk about his time there. We went over a couple of years ago and followed some of the routes his 2nd armored division took. The WWII museum in Caen is a good trip. If you can’t make it to France try to make the DDay museum in New Orleans. It’s very good.
Today we honor Heroes
My dad wasn't part of the invasion, but was stationed in England at the time and then in France and Germany later. Germany, obviously, after the war.
This is uncanny. My father-in-law also landed on D-Day +3. He was in the tanks maintenance crew.
I would very much like to visit the American Cemetery, by your and other accounts I've heard it is extremely moving
Some stated that the bottom of the Higgins craft were covered in vomit due to rough seas. It made it difficult to stand as their feet kept sliding around
If you can arrange it, try to be there at taps. The horn, the flags and all those grave markers make an indelible impression. Two things cannot be duplicated on film. Standing near the graves and looking down at the beach, it does not appear all that impressive as an obstacle for the invaders. Go down to the beach and look back up and its a different story. My first thought was "you mean I've got to climb back up there with all those guns shooting at me."
The other thing that was something of a surprise was that, by far, most of the visitors at Normandy were French. The French visitors we talked to at Normandy were very appreciative of the sacrifices made by the Allies buried there. There has been far too much negativity hurled at the French when, it is the French who were responsible for the success of our revolution.
What many are not aware of is that the members of the French Resistance were a contributing factor for activities on D-Day (sabotage of electrical & communication lines and destruction of ammo, oil and command posts). Also members of the Free French Army landed on Sword Beach on D-Day.
I was in NO once and had that on my list but we left early and I didn't get to see the DDay museum.
And what pisses me off is those that don't appreciate the fact that many gave their lives and act disrespectful toward the flag.
I took posters advice above and tape the shows on Nat Geo last night. Several things I learned and have never read or heard about before. One was the Utah invasion was under the command of General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
I went once a couple of years after it opened and it is world class. We spent most of a day there and probably could have spent more time there. They have since expanded the museum, adding Pacific theater exhibits. Likewise, they have changed the name of the museum to the National WW2 Museum.
Now, I'm even madder at myself for not being able to see the museum. I was with some people and a storm was moving in and they wanted to go. So dang, I didn't get to see the DDay Museum.
I certainly understand the 12 miles but why did it take 2 hours? Was it due to the rough waters? Or was it due to the design of the boats or both?
What pisses me off are those who equate a piece of cloth for true patriotism. If you think those that are buried there gave their lives so that superficial patriots here could wave a bloody flag a few times a year, some reprogramming is needed.
I hope that is not what you meant.
When all those shells from Trumps new best friends ancestors were coming at me, was I thinking that it was OK since Freddy will be able to wave his flag 75 years later?
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