75 Years Since D-Day

Mavric

Mavric

Yoda
Staff member
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D-Day has always been remarkable to me, particularly when taking into consideration a lot of the mistakes that happened, like the beach defenses and artillery being missed during the pre-landing bombings, or much of the airborne landing in the wrong DZ's.

I think what's even more remarkable to me is how many young men laid down their lives on that day, but also in the war in general. I have often reflected on what I would've done or thought if I had been 18 and drafted, charging up the beach with a bunch of other kids. They did what they had to. Myself and a lot of other people have led far easier lives thanks to their sacrifices, and future generations will (hopefully) experience something similar.

 
knapplc said:
D-Day was June 6th. I'm not sure why D-Day remembrances are jumping the gun this year, but I've seen it in several places today.
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Yeah, it does seem a little strange how everyone seems to be jumping the gun this year. Heck, they’ve been talking about on the local news for two days now. I was screaming at the TV (as I’m want to do from time to time :lol: ) last night as they were talking about it like it was today (June 4th).

Give it a few more years and it will be beginning in mid May with retailers touting special sales  :lol:

 
Enhance said:
D-Day has always been remarkable to me, particularly when taking into consideration a lot of the mistakes that happened, like the beach defenses and artillery being missed during the pre-landing bombings, or much of the airborne landing in the wrong DZ's.

I think what's even more remarkable to me is how many young men laid down their lives on that day, but also in the war in general. I have often reflected on what I would've done or thought if I had been 18 and drafted, charging up the beach with a bunch of other kids. They did what they had to. Myself and a lot of other people have led far easier lives thanks to their sacrifices, and future generations will (hopefully) experience something similar.
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I’ve also found it to be remarkable and incredibly interesting. Saving Private Ryan really drove it home what it would’ve been like exiting those landing crafts. Can’t begin to imagine what goes on inside someone’s head knowing what’s likely coming. Years ago I worked with a guy who landed on Omaha beach. He would talk about some things from the war but never about D day or the beach landing.

 
I posted this in a separate thread because I didn't see this one.  But, this is some of why it's being talked about today (June 5th).

The mission actually started 75 years ago today.


 
knapplc said:
D-Day was June 6th. I'm not sure why D-Day remembrances are jumping the gun this year, but I've seen it in several places today.
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Officially the invasion began on the 6th, but I think the Pathfinders dropped in late the night of the 5th. They setup navigational beacons for the planes to drop the rest of the Airborne.

 
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Andrew Higgins, the man who designed and developed the landing craft (the aptly named Higgins Boat), was a Nebraska native.

From Wikipedia:  "Higgins was raised in Omaha and completed three years at Creighton Prep High School before being expelled for brawling.[2] He also served in the Nebraska Army National Guard, attaining the rank of First Lieutenant, first in the Infantry, and later in the Engineers. He gained his first experience with boat building and moving troops on the water during militia maneuvers on the Platte River."

 
Ok...this might be a strange question. 

Why does it seem like the world celebrates America’s contribution (which I don’t mean to diminish) on D day and not include Canada and England?  The British PM spoke, but what about Canada?  

It was an allied effort and England had almost as many troops involved. 

Or, does it just seem that way because I’m watching American TV?  

 
BigRedBuster said:
Ok...this might be a strange question. 

Why does it seem like the world celebrates America’s contribution (which I don’t mean to diminish) on D day and not include Canada and England?  The British PM spoke, but what about Canada?  

It was an allied effort and England had almost as many troops involved. 

Or, does it just seem that way because I’m watching American TV?  
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I've read quite a bit about this topic and I remember talking about it a little bit in some college history courses. It's sort of nuanced.

- World War II was perhaps the biggest catalyst to establishing America as a global power. Up until this point, the U.S. wasn't really looked at or viewed in this way, but the massive economic and manpower effort to enter the war basically helped catapult America into the power we know it as today. So, it did a lot of positive things for our global perception and how people viewed our contributions.

- We live in a America, so we tend to aggrandize our efforts (often unintentionally).

- America officially launched itself into the European war on D Day and it was over less than a year later, which I think further buoys the perceived value of our contributions, fair or not.

- Some people/countries like to take America's WWII success and use it as a dig or insult, sort of like uh 'oh yeah, of course Americans think they won the war,' or 'of course America thinks they did the most' but it really boils down to bad jokes and stereotyping.

 
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