Some pics in the below tweets to commemorate this historic anniversary. The courage and bravery exhibited by the Allied troops on this day is hard for most people to comprehend.
D-Day, 75th Anniversary, Pics & Thoughts
- Thread starter Tom McAndrew
- Start date
My uncle was there and at the Battle of the Bulge. God Bless our Armed Forces.
Obituary
John Gossett
1925 - 2011
John Henry Gossett, 85, of 1 Starnes Street, husband of June Burgan Gossett, died Sunday, January 16, 2011 at his residence.
Born in Anderson County, he was the son of the late Berry and Levy Case Gossett.
Mr. Gossett was a retired mechanic and was of the Baptist faith. He was a member of the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Association.
He was a veteran of the United StatesArmy having served during World War II. He landed in Normandy on D-Day and was at The Battle of the Bulge.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are five daughters, Glenda Gallagher of Greenville, Trina Myers of Greenville, Denise Morrow of Taylors, Teresa Thompson of Greenville and Wanda Wallen of Greenville; eight grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Open Arms Hospice, 1836 W. Georgia Road, Simpsonville, SC 29680.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown. The funeral service will be held Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. in the downtown chapel. Burial will follow in Graceland Cemetery, West.
The family will be at the home of his daughter, Trina Myers, 49 Hindman Drive, Greenville.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.thomasmcafee.com.
Obituary
John Gossett
1925 - 2011
John Henry Gossett, 85, of 1 Starnes Street, husband of June Burgan Gossett, died Sunday, January 16, 2011 at his residence.
Born in Anderson County, he was the son of the late Berry and Levy Case Gossett.
Mr. Gossett was a retired mechanic and was of the Baptist faith. He was a member of the Blue Ridge Amateur Radio Association.
He was a veteran of the United StatesArmy having served during World War II. He landed in Normandy on D-Day and was at The Battle of the Bulge.
Surviving, in addition to his wife, are five daughters, Glenda Gallagher of Greenville, Trina Myers of Greenville, Denise Morrow of Taylors, Teresa Thompson of Greenville and Wanda Wallen of Greenville; eight grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Open Arms Hospice, 1836 W. Georgia Road, Simpsonville, SC 29680.
Visitation will be held Tuesday, January 18, 2011 from 6:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown. The funeral service will be held Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. in the downtown chapel. Burial will follow in Graceland Cemetery, West.
The family will be at the home of his daughter, Trina Myers, 49 Hindman Drive, Greenville.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.thomasmcafee.com.
Awesome photos, Tom. Thanks for sharing them. Heroes all.
Yell-at-cloud moment:
Today’s SNOWFLAKES.
hear “warrior hero” and only know or care about Steph Curry.
Yell-at-cloud moment:
Today’s SNOWFLAKES.
hear “warrior hero” and only know or care about Steph Curry.
Remember Charlie
Remember Baker
They left their childhood
On every acre
And who was wrong
And who was right
It didn't matter
in the thick of the fight
Heroes is too shallow a term to describe these great men. The world will forever be in their debt for the courage and sacrifice they exhibited that fateful day.
Thank you to our D-Day vets. Thank you for this post.
My uncle was wounded on D-Day and sent back to England for treatment. Another older uncle was a driver for a Major. The Major noticed my wounded uncle’s name (our last name is unique) on an wounded patients’ report. He ask my uncle, his driver, if he was related. My wounded uncle went by a nickname and used his middle name formally. So my uncle the driver said no.
The next day he realized it was his brother who had been wounded. The Major told him to go visit his wounded brother. He replied that he couldn’t because he was older and a Corporal while his younger wounded brother was a Sergeant. The Major promoted my uncle to Sergeant and went to visit his wounded brother.
This was all family myth until recently when my parents passed. We found all the letters that the three brothers had sent to my grandparents. One included this story.
My uncle was wounded on D-Day and sent back to England for treatment. Another older uncle was a driver for a Major. The Major noticed my wounded uncle’s name (our last name is unique) on an wounded patients’ report. He ask my uncle, his driver, if he was related. My wounded uncle went by a nickname and used his middle name formally. So my uncle the driver said no.
The next day he realized it was his brother who had been wounded. The Major told him to go visit his wounded brother. He replied that he couldn’t because he was older and a Corporal while his younger wounded brother was a Sergeant. The Major promoted my uncle to Sergeant and went to visit his wounded brother.
This was all family myth until recently when my parents passed. We found all the letters that the three brothers had sent to my grandparents. One included this story.
Thanks Tom, Much appreciation for this. I posted on the other D-Day thread about my grandfather. My dad calls me every year to talk about grandad today. Interesting that it’s not his birthday or other holiday, but June 6th. Always points out that if a bullet was an inch in another direction or he took a different path up the beach, that him, his brother and sisters, his 2 sons and 6 grandsons would not exist. Really puts it in perspective. I think this hits him harder the older he gets.
They gave their lives so we and many others can have & enjoy ours. We owe these men a debt that can not be totaled or re payed. As you go about your normal life, every time you come across a member of the US military active or veteran, thank them for their service and sacrifice. You owe it to them.
I worked a temporary job for 3 months at the WWII museum in New Orleans last year (got laid off from my previous job in October 2017 after 29 years due to new owners). If you are ever in N.O. I recommend visiting the museum. Just seeing all of the veterans that visit is worth the price of admission. BTW, I start a permanent job on the 17th after having not working since December 31.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
Great points Tom.... I know Hollywood glamorizes and stretches things but the opening of Private Ryan gave me a little taste of what those people faced. The soldiers landing on the beach was just incredible. Climbing up the cliffs on ropes while snipers hanging over picking guys off left and right the bravery exhibited by these men was off the charts. To me they will be for now anyway the greatest generation.
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Thanks so much for this post. Sitting here at work looking at these images I find myself paralyzed with tears in my eyes. As I study each photo, I can see the fear and hear the gunfire and screams. Cannot imagine, just cannot imagine ! GOD BLESS each and every one of them.
If you ever travel to France, be sure to visit the American cemetery at Omaha Beach. It is very moving and puts into stark perspective the sacrifice by so many on that day and afterwards.
It took the Army Rangers two days to scale the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, and take out the German guns that were making a mess of the American troops on Omaha and Utah Beaches. At the end of the fighting, only 90 of the 225 Rangers could still bear arms.
Thanks for posting Tom. Like many on here, I had family (grandfather) that was at D-Day and other major European theatre battles in WWII. While he has long passed after losing a horrible battle with lung cancer, days like this remind me of how different the world would be without him and his generation (or if a German's aim was a little better at the Bulge, how my family history would be non-existent). And the thing that always seems the hardest to grasp..... so many of these heroes were simply boys. Younger than the athletes that we cheer on wearing the blue and white. That had to be a hell of a way to lose your innocence. And yet, they mustered the courage to do what needed to be done. And, when all was said and done, they never considered themselves heroes or special.... or really even wanted to talk about it.
I would like to think that if called upon today, young men/women would rise up and face tyranny and evil in the same way..... but man, I just do not know.
As an aside, my paternal grandfather drove landing craft onto islands in battle in the Pacific theatre during WWII. While he was never wounded like my maternal grandfather, nor received the commendations and honors, I also cannot fathom the amount of courage that the actions of those men in the Pacific had to summon to fight an equally ghastly enemy. There does not seem to be as much of a remembrance of these heroes. Maybe it is lost in our Remembrance of Pearl Harbor or the dropping of the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But if you are reading this, and you or your family made the sacrifices in the Pacific, thank you as well.
I would like to think that if called upon today, young men/women would rise up and face tyranny and evil in the same way..... but man, I just do not know.
As an aside, my paternal grandfather drove landing craft onto islands in battle in the Pacific theatre during WWII. While he was never wounded like my maternal grandfather, nor received the commendations and honors, I also cannot fathom the amount of courage that the actions of those men in the Pacific had to summon to fight an equally ghastly enemy. There does not seem to be as much of a remembrance of these heroes. Maybe it is lost in our Remembrance of Pearl Harbor or the dropping of the bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. But if you are reading this, and you or your family made the sacrifices in the Pacific, thank you as well.
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When you are standing at Pointe du Hoc its just crazy to imagine people having to scale the cliffs with the enemy's gunfire raining down on them...truly a humbling area to visit. God Bless Em
Seeing MacArthur’s underwear reminds me of this famous quote:
"Doc," he said, "some time when the crew is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to get out there and give it all they got and win just one for the Zipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Doc," he said, "but I won't smell too good, that's for sure."
"Doc," he said, "some time when the crew is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to get out there and give it all they got and win just one for the Zipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Doc," he said, "but I won't smell too good, that's for sure."
And Tom......not to forget PSU’s legendary Wrestling Head Coach who landed on the beaches of Normandy 75 years ago.
Cheers to Bill Koll.
Cheers to Bill Koll.
I read a couple controversial articles about Pointe du Hoc, where there were no guns at the top of those cliffs. Then I watched this video of President Regan speaking with two vets and they tell the same story. Never knew this...
Well said ewb75. As well, my father also fought in the Pacific theatre, Iwo Jima to be exact. He never, not once, spoke of his experiences. Hell, all I ever knew was my mother told me he was in WW2. It wasn't until his death that I heard what he went thru. During his last week's he shared with one of my older brothers so he could share with the rest of the family. To learn of the hell he'd been thru after his death was especially difficult for me. You see, me being the last boy in a family of 6 of a self employed ex-marine in the 70's was . . . well, let's just say that it was very very difficult and leave it at that. We rarely got along, butted heads most of the time and never had a father-son relationship. I never could figure out the lack of a relationship and it is something that still bothers me to this day. I can't help but wonder if he had told me about some of his experiences that things between us would've been different. One of the stories my brother shared was that even though he was a sharp shooter, his main job on Iwo Jima was to carry a saddle tank, as he called it, which was a flamethrower. Using this weapon became so mentally stressful that soldiers were directed to only carry this weapon every other day. Can only imagine the visual horror let alone the stench. Anyway, you're exactly right about remembering the Pacific theatre heroes as well as all veterans.
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