D-Day.....a few facts you may not know

[fairgambit]

1) Germany had 55 Divisions in France. The Allies could transport no more than 8 Divisions on the morning of D-Day.
2) Some 17 million maps supported the D-Day mission (training maps used fake names).
3) The US shipped 7 million tons of supplies (14 billion pounds).
4) There are 9,386 American graves in the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Each grave faces west, toward America. 307 of those graves contain the remains of "unknown" soldiers.
Actual photo taken by Charles Turner on D-Day

 

[BobPSU92]

Seriously, thanks for the information.

 

[GregInPitt]

Thanks Gambit. Always appropriate to remember why live freely in this great country. Why we should defend the country that so many before us sacrificed for. And yea, why we are free to make fun of Pitt and Cleveland......

 

[Offside Clyde]

Thanks for the info. I honestly don't know how any of those brave young men made it out alive.

 

[fairgambit]

Thanks for the info. I honestly don't know how any of those brave young men made it out alive.

I cannot imagine what it was like going ashore. When the door to the landing craft opened and you have to face machine guns and exploding shells....the terrible noise....with men are dying all around. Certainly hell on earth.

 

[Option Bob]

My father-in-law landed at Omaha Beach, survived the initial assault, but was severely wounded a few weeks later. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star ... and the everlasting admiration of an extended family. He died at the age of 89, still carrying the scars -- and nightmares -- of the war.

It is a good thing that we take time out today to remember the courage and the sacrifices made by so many in the name of freedom, especially on this date in 1944. Thank you for posting this topic.

 

[LionJim]

My father-in-law landed at Omaha Beach, survived the initial assault, but was severely wounded a few weeks later. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star ... and the everlasting admiration of an extended family. He died at the age of 89, still carrying the scars -- and nightmares -- of the war.

It is a good thing that we take time out today to remember the courage and the sacrifices made by so many in the name of freedom, especially on this date in 1944. Thank you for posting this topic.

And thank you, Bob, for sharing your story of your dad. We all would have been proud to know him.

 

[fairgambit]

My father-in-law landed at Omaha Beach, survived the initial assault, but was severely wounded a few weeks later. He earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star ... and the everlasting admiration of an extended family. He died at the age of 89, still carrying the scars -- and nightmares -- of the war.
It is a good thing that we take time out today to remember the courage and the sacrifices made by so many in the name of freedom, especially on this date in 1944. Thank you for posting this topic.

Add to your family's admiration that of our country and of freedom loving people everywhere. We know your father-in-law's generation was called the "greatest" but they could also be called the most humble. Most WWII vets have been reluctant to talk about their service and certainly I have never heard a single one boast about it. God Bless them all.

 

[Metal Mike]

My father landed at Utah beach, nowhere near as bloody as Omaha. He was a mess sergeant in an artillery unit. He always said everyone was scarred and seasick and this caused most of them to vomit a lot. Fortunately they were on a Rhino landing craft which resembled a big raft and was designed such that holes in the raft bottom provided a place for the sick one including my dad to get rid of all the mess.