75 Years Since D-Day

[knapplc]

Some photos of D-Day. Check out the German "beetle" tank. Never saw those before.

https://www.dispatch.com/photogallery/OH/20190606/NEWS/606009997/PH/1

 

[NM11046]

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.

I was in Normandy and at the sites a year ago, and there they sort of group the efforts of the Americans and the Canadians together, but the numbers of Canadians, while significant were far less than the British or American (we had almost 3x the soldiers) members serving in that battle.

One of the things that struck me the most was in that area of France any local person that sees you makes a point to seek you out and thank you for what we did during that time.  They share stories of their parents or grandparents experiences with US soldiers.  They fly American (and Canadian) flags from their homes near the beaches.  It's one of the most patriotic things I've experienced, stateside or overseas.  It's still very fresh there, even 75 years later.  They had given up hope until we showed up.  

 

[RedDenver]

I was in Normandy and at the sites a year ago, and there they sort of group the efforts of the Americans and the Canadians together, but the numbers of Canadians, while significant were far less than the British or American (we had almost 3x the soldiers) members serving in that battle.

One of the things that struck me the most was in that area of France any local person that sees you makes a point to seek you out and thank you for what we did during that time.  They share stories of their parents or grandparents experiences with US soldiers.  They fly American (and Canadian) flags from their homes near the beaches.  It's one of the most patriotic things I've experienced, stateside or overseas.  It's still very fresh there, even 75 years later.  They had given up hope until we showed up.  

It's like that in some parts of Thailand as well. I went there when I was in the Navy, and a lot of the locals thanked us for freeing Thailand from the Japanese. It was really weird as I tried to explain that we weren't even alive then so no need to thank us (in fact, I doubt many of them were alive then either), but I ended up just saying "you're welcome" because it seemed less rude.

 

[NM11046]

It was humbling - made me swing between pride for what American (finally, but that's another topic) stepped up to do, and then depression that we've fallen so far from that perspective of helping others because it's the right thing to do to make the world a better place.  

America is a great power when it wants to be, these last 2 years have been an eye opener for the rest of the world that those morals and ethics that once defined the US in their minds weren't something to take for granted.  

 

[BigRedBuster]

I've wondered what the feelings are for people in Germany.  I was there a few years ago and it struck me seeing elderly people thinking that they lived through the other side of the war.  In the US, we celebrate our elderly doing great things like today.  It made me wonder their feelings about the era.  

My wife and I both commented on the fact that elderly people over there seemed to look very tired and worn out (more than normal).  If you think about it, an 80 or 90 year old person in Germany has lived through hell (caused by their own country) then an incredible rebuilding of a country.

 

[knapplc]

Having never served, I know my take on D-Day and these kinds of remembrances is very different than for those who did.

 

[Cdog923]

I teach history to some incredibly disadvantaged kids; kids from low socioeconomic statuses, with screwed up home lives and some who are in trouble with the law. Naturally, a history class can get pretty dry, and interest in the subject material fluctuates from day to day. However, when I taught WWII, the minute I showed them footage from D-Day (including the opening of Saving Private Ryan), it was the most hooked I had them all year. It was the most questions I had during class, ranging from "Did this really happen?" to "Holy s#!t, why didn't they have body armor?".  I was able to build on this a bit and show them some clips from Band of Brothers; I even had some of these "hard" kids run out of the room crying during the Concentration Camp scene. 

 

[Stumpy1]

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?  

Honestly,  It is because the war was going to end very badly for the British and their earlier allies before the US got involved.   Churchill constantly begged Roosevelt for help, asking for weapons and anything else we could provide,  because he even knew it wasn't going to end well for them.   

 

[knapplc]

Honestly,  It is because the war was going to end very badly for the British and their earlier allies before the US got involved.   Churchill constantly begged Roosevelt for help, asking for weapons and anything else we could provide,  because he even knew it wasn't going to end well for them.   

It is likely that, had Germany invaded the British Isles, they would have conquered them. But I wonder how a German crossing of the Channel would have looked considering the Luftwaffe had been unable to destroy the RAF, and in fact were suffering pretty staggering losses during the Battle of Britain. Hitler never invaded because even a successful invasion could have meant crippling his ground forces.

Worst-case scenario for Hitler is maybe he blockades England and tries to starve them out. But even that would be a years-long process considering they can grow their own food.

 

[husker98]

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?  

It's rather complicated, but in short while it was an allied effort, D-Day and the Western / Eastern, allied successes weren't possible without American Economic, and eventually military intervention. While American media certainly plays up our angle of the story, Europeans are fairly thankful for it their only other option for liberation was going to be at the hands of Stalins Soviet Russia, Which was as bad/worse than the Nazi's. So far as i have heard it form friends over there, they celebrate it as dodging the proverbial bullet day.

I've wondered what the feelings are for people in Germany.  I was there a few years ago and it struck me seeing elderly people thinking that they lived through the other side of the war.  In the US, we celebrate our elderly doing great things like today.  It made me wonder their feelings about the era.  

My wife and I both commented on the fact that elderly people over there seemed to look very tired and worn out (more than normal).  If you think about it, an 80 or 90 year old person in Germany has lived through hell (caused by their own country) then an incredible rebuilding of a country.

WWII is a complicated and difficult subject in Germany. But if you really want to know how the Germans view this period of the war, look up the fire bombing of Dresden, it goes a long way to explaining why people from that generation look the way they do.

 

[Hooked on Huskers]

My dad passed away 5 years ago. He was 93 years old, WWII veteran.   Never discussed his WW2 experience but my mom third party info.

He was landing on Omaha beach .... not D-Day date but about one week later.  Very few enemy troops if any .... German retreat and/or ran out of ammo.

He was a mobile anti-aircraft gunner.  Later on, he was involved Battle of Remagen bridge.

To protect the bridge against aircraft, the Americans positioned the largest concentration of anti-aircraft weapons during World War II[7]:189 leading to "the greatest antiaircraft artillery battles in American history." The Americans counted 367 different German Luftwaffe aircraft attacking the bridge over the next 10 days. The Americans claimed to have shot down nearly 30% of the aircraft dispatched against them.