DieHardBrownsFan Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 D-Day's greatest lesson By Walter R. Borneman Published June 06, 2013 FoxNews.com D-Day anniversary commemorations in France A full day of ceremonies have been planned to honor of the 150,000 troops who participated in the Allied invasion of Normandy that began on June 6, 1944. Sixty-nine years ago today the combined forces of the United States and it allies waded ashore on the beaches of Normandy. Aside from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, June 6, 1944 has become the defining memory marker of a generation that is rapidly disappearing. Everyone of age to understand when they heard Franklin Roosevelt’s voice crackle out of their radios to announce the Allied invasion of France knew that three years of united effort were paving the way to inevitable victory. On that day, the situation was tenuous for a time, but individual acts of heroism—parachuting into St. Lo, scaling the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, or charging machine gun nests on Omaha Beach—ultimately determined the outcome. Beyond those acts of personal courage, D-Day showed the enormous outpouring of America’s industrial might that in three short years provided the ships, planes, and vehicles to undertake the greatest amphibious assault in history. Those veterans of D-Day who remain are in their late eighties and nineties. They have many memories of long and fulfilling lives, but in the twilight of their years so many of their sharpest memories seem to be of that time long ago when as fresh-faced teenagers they gave their all to a common purpose. Much has been written about their leaders, but it was their individual efforts that made this difference. The memories of those who fell sixty-nine years ago at Normandy are sacred, but no less so than the contributions of those who served on every front. Sixteen million American men and women served in the armed forces during World War II. Today, only an estimated 1.2 million are still living and they are dying at a rate approaching 1,000 per day. Some of their memories have been preserved, but the tangible link of their presence is rapidly disappearing. Perhaps the greatest lesson of D-Day is that nothing is impossible for the American people. The most amazing transformation in American history may be the 1,366 days between December 7, 1941, and September 2, 1945—and the speed with which the Axis powers were reduced to ruin once the United States entered the Second World War. During this time, the tremendous outpouring of America’s industrial strength in ships, planes, tanks, and other armaments was exceeded only by the bravery and determination of the nation’s men and women. They were a “can-do” generation who did not take “no” for an answer. They did not put off until tomorrow what needed to be done today. We should remember their resolve, honor their commitment, and seek to emulate their example from the factories of America’s heartland to the beaches of Normandy. Walter R. Borneman is the author of "The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King—The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea" just released in paperback from Little Brown. Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/06/06/d-day-greatest-lesson/#ixzz2VTpq4hn7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heckofajobbrownie Posted June 6, 2013 Report Share Posted June 6, 2013 Every American should go there. It's an even more amazing feat once you look at the beaches from the bluffs. It makes you wonder how it ever succeeded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 When men were men. Hoo-rah to my grandfather's generation. My grandfather was a marine at Iwo Jima and he refused to say anything about it except that they had to roll equipment ashore over makeshift bridges of corpses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewy Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 When men were men. Hoo-rah to my grandfather's generation. My grandfather was a marine at Iwo Jima and he refused to say anything about it except that they had to roll equipment ashore over makeshift bridges of corpses. Yep, when girls were girls and men were men...but even back then there were anti war liberals that would have much rather offered Hitler a rose and a box of candy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 That generation fought to change the world, save the world. How nazism got a start, and became such a huge force, is scary stuff. There's been some great WWII movies the last couple of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Vaguely related, I'm sitting in Narita airport right now. Okinawa was absolutely beautiful, but didn't get time to look at the military history of the area (not that they'd want to talk about it). Again, saw some people that looked like they were straight out of an anime. Just learned that on this day in history, the Japanese landed troops on Aleutian islands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleutian_Islands_Campaign Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westside Steve Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Vapor.... pardon the joke but I couldn't resist. Anime?? you mean the women had huge breasts and the men had pixelated penises??? WSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Your moving into something else there Steve, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dste Ace Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Not long after my wife and I began dating, she mentioned that her grandfather had driven one of the landing craft at Normandy. I was intrigued and asked him about it. As is typical for members of that generation who saw and experienced true horror firsthand, he shrugged it of by saying, "Yeah, I couldn't swim so they put me behind the wheel of a landing craft." R.I.P. Charles Lewis. The nation owes you and your generation a debt of gratitude for your sacrifice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calfoxwc Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 That is one place I'd love to see - Normandy... We've been to the navy base in Hawaii - they still have the bullet holes in the concrete building walls.... they leave them there and paint the walls. And the Arizona memorial - that's an incredible place to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Vapor.... pardon the joke but I couldn't resist. Anime?? you mean the women had huge breasts and the men had pixelated penises??? WSS Haha, there were these kids who looked like fucking caricatures. The guys had their hair gelled up like Cloud in Advent Children or Goku in DBZ and they were both wearing wife beaters. The guy in the white wife beater had a matching white fedora with a long black feather coming out of it. The guy with the black wife beater was wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses. The girls were wearing tiny skirts and just giggling at every little thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 I had heard that Japan really wasn't like the stereotypical crazy ass Japan we think of here. But hell, maybe it kind of is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DieHardBrownsFan Posted June 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Right, your in a country for a few days and learn everything about it going through an airport. Fucking idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Projecting much? You'd think that I'm making blanket statements about all Japanese people. No, the vast majority of them were dressed in what I'd consider normal clothing, but that's not worth mentioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLD Woody Posted June 7, 2013 Report Share Posted June 7, 2013 Right, your in a country for a few days and learn everything about it going through an airport. Fucking idiots. Your thread tags are great btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cysko Kid Posted June 8, 2013 Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Haha, there were these kids who looked like fucking caricatures. The guys had their hair gelled up like Cloud in Advent Children or Goku in DBZ and they were both wearing wife beaters. The guy in the white wife beater had a matching white fedora with a long black feather coming out of it. The guy with the black wife beater was wearing a leather jacket and sunglasses. The girls were wearing tiny skirts and just giggling at every little thing. Could it actually be that you only know cloud from 'Advent children' and haven't played FF7 which is easily one of the greatest and most groundbreaking games of all time? Damn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaporTrail Posted June 8, 2013 Report Share Posted June 8, 2013 Could it actually be that you only know cloud from 'Advent children' and haven't played FF7 which is easily one of the greatest and most groundbreaking games of all time? Damn. Absolutely not. FF7 was my first RPG, but their hair wasn't that spiky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowburn Posted June 10, 2013 Report Share Posted June 10, 2013 When men were men. Hoo-rah to my grandfather's generation. My grandfather was a marine at Iwo Jima and he refused to say anything about it except that they had to roll equipment ashore over makeshift bridges of corpses. Iwo was a bloodbath. Of the 18000 Marines killed in WWII over a third died on Iwo Jima. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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