To commemorate the Allied invasion of Europe, which began 73 years ago today, here is one of my favorite speeches, delivered 33 years ago at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, by Ronald Reagan. The text can be found here. June 5 was the 13th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s death.
I cannot imagine what those young men thought and felt that June day in 1944, except that they had a mission assigned to them that they were honor bound to fulfill, that it would be difficult, and that they might not make it to the end of that day. I will do them the honor of always remembering what they did, and call them heroes.
I remember what my mother said about my older brother, who joined the Navy when he was 17, in 1943: “He left a boy, and came home a man.”
Today we honor all of those men, many of them who left this earth those fateful days in June, 1944, and others who survived, but never forgot.
More:
D-Day as it happened: AP’s June 6, 1944 dispatch:
The newsflash came on a slip of paper in a red-and-white striped courier pouch: “EISENHOWERS HEADQUARTERS ANNOUNCES ALLIES LAND IN FRANCE.”
The Associated Press had some two dozen writers and photographers among the Allied forces as they landed on Normandy’s coast on June 6, 1944. From Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s London headquarters, Wes Gallagher — who later went on to become AP’s general manager — wrote up the first Allied official dispatches announcing D-Day and sent them in the sealed pouch to AP’s London office by military courier, after the military censor authorized their release.
SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (AP) — Allied troops landed on the Normandy coast of France in tremendous strength by cloudy daylight today and stormed several miles inland with tanks and infantry in the grand assault which Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”
German broadcasts said the Allies penetrated several kilometers between Caen and Isigny, which are 35 miles apart and respectively nine and two miles from the sea.
Prime Minister Churchill told the House of Commons part of the record-shattering number of parachute and glider troops were fighting in Caen, and had seized a number of important bridges in the invasion area.
German opposition apparently was less effective than expected, although fierce in many respects, and the Germans said they were bringing reinforcements continuously up to the coast, where “a battle for life or death is in progress.” Continue reading ….
Stella's Place 
Thank you, stella.
God bless our military–and may the heroes of the past rest in peace.
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Thinking of my father, who with a few thousand of his friends parachuted into Normandy, has been on the ground a few hours.
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The greatest generation gave their all to keep the world free. The current generation is trying to destroy what they fought for. My heart aches.
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I’m laughing Ms.WeeWeed!!!!!!!
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Thank you!
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Ms.WeeWeed!!!!!!! Fantastic!!! Still see the shell holes around Point de Hoc. (Greener than the normal vegetation)
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United States: 29,000 killed; 106,000 wounded and missing.
Gratitude fills me.
Words fail me.
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I know what you mean lovely. And I’m a combat veteran……….
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Thank you for your service Col. Ken! ❤️
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well….I guess we let a lot of American Boys die so that the mayor of London would tell our President to “F ” off and so the Muzzies would get a chance to take Europe for a Caliphate while Christian workers pay for their food and healthcare.
Could we maybe get a do over.
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Matt Bracken has a new book out that deals with you do over Joshua.
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Reblogged this on hocuspocus13 and commented:
✌
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The assault companies of 116th Infantry Regiment 29 Infantry Division on Bloody Omaha beach were rendered combat infective (in the water, edge of water, and on a few feet of sand) within minutes due to high casualties. Some casualties rates were as high as 90% in some companies. Some survivors of these companies made it to the sea wall. Those few survivors were pin down by concentrative indirect, direct fire from a German Infantry company dug in on top of the sand dune…..lesson learned from the Dieppe raid in ’43 by Canadian forces.
A local Pittsburgh newscaster, Bill Burns, was in the 29 Infantry Division on Omaha, made it to top of sand dune before a German bullet smash his knee cap. That was the extent of his WW2 combat experience. Burns wore that brace until he died.
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Amazing, dedicated men.
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Reblogged this on Debatable News: Mainstream to Tinfoil Hat and more.
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Reblogged this on Lost Dudeist Astrology.
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