Today, June 6, is the 71st anniversary of the Normandy landings. See the Wikipedia article for an overview. Arthur Seltzer, who was there, describes his experiences.
Don Sensing points out that success was by no means assured: the pivot day of history.
Two earlier Photon Courier posts: before D-day, there was Dieppe and transmission ends.
See Bookworm’s post from 2012, and Michael Kennedy’s photos from 2007
A collection of D-day color photos from Life Magazine
Neptunus Lex: The liberation of France started when each, individual man on those landing craft as the ramp came down – each paratroop in his transport when the light turned green – made the individual decision to step off with the only life he had and face the fire.
The Battle of Midway took place from June 4 through June 7, 1942. Bookworm attended a Battle of Midway commemoration event in 2010 and also in 2011: Our Navy–a sentimental service in a cynical society.
See also Sgt Mom’s History Friday post from last year.
General Electric remembers the factory workers at home who made victory possible. Also, women building airplanes during WWII, in color and the story of the Willow Run bomber plant.
Update: a very interesting piece on the radio news coverage of the invasion
Updated to include a very interesting piece on the radio news coverage of the invasion
https://ricochet.com/sidebars-of-history-d-day-as-it-happened/
The author also says:
“We’ve thrown the youth of the nation to war across the globe many times since that day. Would those that gave all look at America today and do it all over again?”
Good booK: Citizen Soldiers
Other good books by Stephen Ambrose include Undaunted Courage and Path Between the Seas.
The Ricochet piece is fascinating.
I did another one today. Not much different from the other although I added a link to SLA Marshall’s account of the first wave.
Interminable funeral today for Beau Biden. It makes me wonder if Joe is going to run.
American Digest: a walk across a beach in Normandy
My mother quit college in 1942 when she learned her fiancée had been killed in North Africa. She went to work at the Midwestern airport nearby installing various parts into B-24’s en route to Europe. The plane crews landed for fuel and sleep, coming from the west coast on the way to the east coast and then England.
She spoke of the unbearable tension when they heard the invasion was underway, the relief when it became clear they had secured the beachhead, and the near-hysterical reaction from audiences some time later when newsreel footage from D-Day and later was shown in theaters. People were screaming, in tears, singing and applauding, until the entire theater was in an uproar. Many theaters showed several newsreels back to back because the audiences couldn’t get enough of the images of our troops.
I doubt I will ever see such solidarity of our society in my lifetime, but I haven’t given up all hope. I do fear, however, the magnitude of the incident that would be sufficient to inspire that feeling again.
Thanks, David.
Reagan speaking about the Boys of Pointe du Hoc.
Let us never forget that peace and freedom must be constantly defended.
One should keep in mind that it was the Russians made this possible.
D day was not really a sideshow but if you run the numbers it comes close.
Nobody argues that the Russians did not play a major role. I had a bit of a debate at PJ Media where what I thought were unrealistic arguments were made.
Could the Russians have beaten the Germans without our invasion ? Probably although they might well have ended with an armistice. The Russians’ supply lines were getting longer and longer. Would we have kept feeding the Russians supplies and equipment if they had begun to take over Europe beyond the German borders ? Probably not.
Had we not invaded, for whatever reason, we probably would have focused on the Japanese and won that campaign sooner.
What would have happened after that is anyone’s guess.