D-Day....63 years ago today

[El Mudo]

The liberation of Europe began 63 years ago today....



There aren't too many summers left for the boys, so its important that we appreciate them as much as we can before theyve all "gone west"


God bless all the heroes who made the sacrifice, and my grandmother's brothers, Mike and Marvin, who put their lives and safety on the line to liberate millions of people

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/ww2-pix/d-day01.jpg

[Fat_Sunny]

Nice Post! You Are Definitely The Resident History Buff Here!

Fat's Dad Is One Of The Youngest WWII Vets And He Is 83. They Are Disappearing Very Fast.

[mildly amusing]

The liberation of Europe began 63 years ago today....



There aren't too many summers left for the boys, so its important that we appreciate them as much as we can before theyve all "gone west"


God bless all the heroes who made the sacrifice, and my grandmother's brothers, Mike and Marvin, who put their lives and safety on the line to liberate millions of people

Well said...i'm kind of surprised/disappointed that more people didn't comment on this...it's very important that we remember and respect the greatest generation while they're still around to know how much they're appreciated...not that he ever really talked about it, but i wish i could have learned more about WWII from my grandfather (silver star, purple heart) while he was still alive...i think i'll go watch Band of Brothers again...

http://www.theodoresworld.net/pics/Dday/D_DayImage1.jpg

[El Mudo]

Nice Post! You Are Definitely The Resident History Buff Here!

Fat's Dad Is One Of The Youngest WWII Vets And He Is 83. They Are Disappearing Very Fast.



Thank you for the kind words F_S...I appreciate it. History is my career...or at least im trying to make it my career


I always thought it'd be cool if we could have a history forum...we could have debates and video game and book reviews and site guides and photography and genealogy and all sorts of cool stuff....we could even call it "The Dustbin"

[Hottub]

You know I'm on board for that one, Mudo!
And yes Fat, Mudo is our resident historian. For me it is a hobby and an interest. For Mudo, it is his life, his passion, and with any luck, his career. This kid has corrected, or added to nearly every post I have made on the subject of history.

And finally, thank you all for freeing Europe. You all did your country proud,

http://www.grudge-match.com/Images/dday.jpg

[TheMojoPin]

Thank you for inspiring so many completely awesome video game levels.

[high fly]

Thanks, ElMudo.

Anyone else been to the memorial in Bedford, Virginia?
It is worth going out of one's way to see.
They gots this hilltop sculptured up good with all kinds of neat things - they're still raising money for some of it.
It's got this representation of the troops coming ashore and there's little jets in the water that come on randomly and cause little splashes like bullets would.

Bedford was selected as the site for the memorial because they had a high percentage of native sons die at D-Day.

It's down there just west of Lynchburg, as I recall.

[El Mudo]

Thanks, ElMudo.

Anyone else been to the memorial in Bedford, Virginia?
It is worth going out of one's way to see.
They gots this hilltop sculptured up good with all kinds of neat things - they're still raising money for some of it.
It's got this representation of the troops coming ashore and there's little jets in the water that come on randomly and cause little splashes like bullets would.

Bedford was selected as the site for the memorial because they had a high percentage of native sons die at D-Day.

It's down there just west of Lynchburg, as I recall.



Yeah Ive never been there personally, but ive heard good things about it

Bedford was the home of "A" Company of the 116th Regiment in the 29th Division...34 of the men in the company were from Bedford. At Omaha 19 of those men were killed in the first wave, then they lost 3 more during the course of the rest of the campaign.

[empulse]

Soon I think WWII will be forgotten. Its sad. For my honeymoon the first place I am going is to Normandy. I have a friend there in France, and he would go and take pictures so we could design maps for Wolfenstein ET (FPS). And the D-Day Invasion to me is the craziest shit we have ever tried. The only way we made it anywhere was because the germans fingers had to have gotten tired from mowing us down. I love anything WWII, its the last time we fought a war on the moral high ground.

My 83 year old neighbor was Island hopping at the time and he has the best damn stories to tell, it always makes me sad tho. He is so tiny and frail now, and has no family to take care of him, but the SOB spent years in the Pacific fighting for us, and it feels like no one gives a shit. We're a weird bunch, the things we hold dear now are retarded.

[WRESTLINGFAN]

The men who fought in Europe North Africa and the South Pacific went thru hell. My late grandfather was in one of the 1st waves to storm the beaches of Normandy. He really never wanted to talk about it in detail, but he always said "War is hell"

[TheMojoPin]

Soon I think WWII will be forgotten.

All history fades into the past, but WW2, in my opinion as a history nut, is pretty damn far from that point. Granted, it's not as huge as it was with the Boomers, but it's nowhere near being "forgotten soon."

[reeshy]

My belated father was a fireman on a submarine.....the "Gunard".....if you want to look it up...go ahead.....the sub had a record of sinking over 5000 tons of ships......he never talked about it......never!!!!

[reeshy]

BTW...how about the men that served in Viet Nam......I can't tell people about that without getting into a fight!!!!!!

[waltermitty]

I really can't imagine my generation (halfway between gen x and gen y) stepping up the way we did in WWII...
Even in Vietnam... Today's privledged culture would not take well to draft lotteries and 65,000 soldiers in pine boxes...

[TheMojoPin]

I really can't imagine my generation (halfway between gen x and gen y) stepping up the way we did in WWII...
Even in Vietnam... Today's privledged culture would not take well to draft lotteries and 65,000 soldiers in pine boxes...


It's hard to really compare...WW2 was fought for much "bigger" and better defined reasons than we've seen since. Back then, it was easy to see who we were at war at, especially after Pearl Harbor. We were fighting massive military forces that were pretty easily identified. Even after, say, 9/11, you didn't have a clearcut and massive enemy like you did in WW2. Most of our wars since then have been with ideaologies much more than the actual enemies.

[Mike Teacher]

Well said...i'm kind of surprised/disappointed that more people didn't comment on this...it's very important that we remember and respect the greatest generation while they're still around to know how much they're appreciated...not that he ever really talked about it, but i wish i could have learned more about WWII from my grandfather (silver star, purple heart) while he was still alive...i think i'll go watch Band of Brothers again...

=

I sent the show an audio montage of movies featuring D-Day and battle, but they didn't use it. Started with Patton, ended with Saving Prv Ryan; you woulda liked it.

[Hottub]

Mike, can you put it up here? I would love to listen to it.

[El Mudo]

All history fades into the past, but WW2, in my opinion as a history nut, is pretty damn far from that point. Granted, it's not as huge as it was with the Boomers, but it's nowhere near being "forgotten soon."



I agree....it was such a massive event in the history of the world, it pretty much overshadows everything else in the 20th century. As gigantic and as important as the Great War was to influencing almost every single major political and social event in the 20th Century, its completely overshadowed by World War Two, because it was that much of a bigger event


Even today, if you go out on the street and ask 200 random people whats the first word they associate with "Germany" I bet there's a good chance that 80-90% of the responses will either be "Nazis" or "Hitler"


Hell...have you ever read Tony Horowitz' "Confederates in the Attic"? The Civil War is still very fresh in our nation's consciousness....and that happened almost 150 years ago

[El Mudo]

It's hard to really compare...WW2 was fought for much "bigger" and better defined reasons than we've seen since. Back then, it was easy to see who we were at war at, especially after Pearl Harbor. We were fighting massive military forces that were pretty easily identified. Even after, say, 9/11, you didn't have a clearcut and massive enemy like you did in WW2. Most of our wars since then have been with ideaologies much more than the actual enemies.



That's a good point too.

I am of the opinion that the idea of "conventional" war with massive, well-defined armies and goals simply just cannot exist anymore...the weapons are too good. I mean, if you had a buildup like the Allies had before D-Day today, it would never get off the ground because you could just paste it with missiles and air and artillery and tac nukes constantly. The only conflicts that we have nowadays are guerilla conflicts, because theyre the only ones that can exist. No one has quite figured out yet how to win a guerilla war...you can't go around wasting all the civillians, you can't conduct massive encirclements (as the French learned in the 1950s against the Viet Minh) and political pressure has become a very real, very useful weapon against countries (it even helped the Confederates in the Civil War, when one of their goals in 1864 became to pin their hopes on a Democrat Party win in the Presidential Election)

Like the title of the Studs Terkel book (which I highly reccomend), World War 2 was "The Good War"...its the ultimate good vs. evil fight

[TheMojoPin]

Hell...have you ever read Tony Horowitz' "Confederates in the Attic"? The Civil War is still very fresh in our nation's consciousness....and that happened almost 150 years ago

Great book, though a little scary/frustrating. The other is a really cool guy, though. He did some signings at my store when the book first came out, and he's a lot of fun to listen to as a speaker.

[high fly]

All history fades into the past, but WW2, in my opinion as a history nut, is pretty damn far from that point. Granted, it's not as huge as it was with the Boomers, but it's nowhere near being "forgotten soon."

You are correct, sir.
That war was so big, and so complex, involving so many people that there is a practically endless amount to learn from it.

I had the pleasure and honor of growing up with a bunch of Marine vets from World War II and the Pacific campaign was the one I was first acquainted with.
I believe I am obligated to make sure the deeds of men I knew like "Chesty" Puller, "Silent Lew" Walt Lou Wilson, and "Jumpin' Joe" Chambers, to name a few, are not forgotten.
So what I have done over the years when I meet a young kid just getting into WW II, I'll tell the kid what these chaps did and recommend some books. Several times I have given as gifts history books I believe to be good.