This Day in History

Some days just do not go as planned. Ever found yourself in that situation? Of course, most of us have at one point in time or another. For me, today is a very special day that needed to be recognized from the early morn. Unfortunately, interruption after interruption topped off with doctors' appointments that resulted in wait, wait, wait, wait. . .did not allow for things to go as planned.

BUT, it shall NOT go unnoticed!

Today, thoughts should have awoken to June 6, 1944. For on this day, American forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. Thus began the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi control during World War II. This invasion was crucial to ending Hitler's sweep across the European continent and ending the war.

The effects of this war was felt all across America. While the homeland may not have incurred the devastation, it was still deeply rooted in perils resulting from death and depression. U.S. history's pages overflow with accounts where families on the home front were profoundly effected.

Remember our military, for theirs is the ultimate sacrifice!

June 6, 1944 is a date forever brandished as D-Day:

A mighty armada crossed the English Channel

between England and the Normandy beaches of France

liberating the Nazi grip on Western Europe.

Hundreds of thousands were killed,

wounded, or reported missing in action

during the Battle of Normandy.

The Longest Day

A vile campaign to end conquest
Sent our men into battle for liberation
Beaches under incessant fire
Marked heavy casualties and desecration

US Naval destroyers fired inland
Offering mortar support round after round

Seasick soldiers endured the dark, rough seas

To fervently welcome the sight of dry ground

Lowered ramps opened the door ashore

But spent bullets sprayed the open waters

Shells ricocheted off the landing craft

Thousands said goodbye to sons and daughters

Floating craft and soldiers faced heavy guns
Mounted firmly in concrete fortifications

Machine gun fire from German infantry

Shattered Americans beyond recognition

What seemed like insurmountable cliffs
Loomed eerily over open beaches

Lateral moves trampling broken bodies

Left pools of blood in freshly dug trenches

When darkness arrived, tracer bullets from a plane

Lit up the sky like a Fourth of July celebration

Reiterating what we were fighting for—

Our homes, towns, freedom for future generations

Memories will always reflect war's wrath—

Lives of friend and foe lost along the way

Withstand sands of time embedded in the terror

Of the sights, the sounds, the smells of D-Day!

—General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969)

“I’m quite positive we must give the order.

I don’t like it, but there it is.

Gentlemen, I don’t see how

we can possibly do anything else…but go.”

(June 4, 1944)

 The heroism and bravery displayed by troops from the Allied countries on D-Day has served as inspiration for several films, most famously The Longest Day (1962) and Saving Private Ryan (1998). It was also depicted in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers (2001).