Today, 80 years ago, the Allies embarked on Operation Overlord, the greatest military operation and largest seaborne operation ever.
We call this day D-Day, which in the military means the day to initiate the attack or combat.
Brave men, some just babies, didn’t ask questions. They did their duty to save the world from the clutches of a tyrant.
The invasion began in the early hours of June 6 as “thousands of C-47 Dakota plane engines roared to life, ready to carry 13,348 paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions over Normandy.” The men jumped in the pitch black, greeted by gunfire from the Germans.
Hours later, the unforgiving mad sea greeted the Allies, foreshadowing what they would face on the Normandy Beaches.
The brave men used bombers, tanks, and other weapons built and inspected by women. They used maps drawn by one special woman.
Americans heard the good news on the radio. NBC News declared, “Men and women of the United States! This is a momentous hour in world history. This is the invasion of Hitler’s Europe!”
Because of these brave men, the Allies laid the foundation to liberate the Western Front from Hitler.
Today is not about Biden or Trump. It is not about today’s politics. It’s not about the Middle East, Ukraine, or Russia.
Today is about the brave men. We owe them everything.
The Allies lost over 4,400 men on D-Day.
Unfortunately, we lose their voices every year. We lost one hero as he made his way to France to commemorate the anniversary and honor his fallen brothers.
Robert Persichitti, 102, “suffered a medical episode” as he sailed to Normandy by ship. They airlifted him to Germany, where he passed peacefully listening to Frank Sinatra.
Last week, American Airlines sent 70 WWII veterans to Paris on special planes. They threw a party for the heroes the night before.
Patriot Gary Sinise and others sent off the brave men.
At the ceremony, “14 U.S. veterans and a British female veteran” received the Legion of Honor from French President Macron.
Christian Lamb, 103, also received the honor:
Macron also bestowed the Legion of Honor on 103-year-old Christian Lamb, the daughter of a Royal Navy admiral who was studying in Normandy in 1939 when her father called her back to London. There, Lamb created detailed maps that guided the crews of landing craft on D-Day.The French president bent down to Lamb in a wheelchair, pin the medal and kiss her on both cheeks, describing her as one of the “heroes in the shadows.”
Then, the audience applauded the veterans as they made their way down the aisle:
At the international ceremony later, the veterans received a standing ovation as they were paraded before the stands in a stately line of wheelchairs to avoid the long walk across the beachfront promenade.“We just have to remember the sacrifices of everybody who gave us our freedom,” said Becky Kraubetz, a Briton now living in Florida whose grandfather served with the British Army during World War II and was captured in Malta. She was among a crowd of thousands of people that stretched for several kilometers (miles) along Utah Beach, the westernmost of the D-Day beaches.In a quiet spot away from the pomp, France’s Christophe Receveur offered his own tribute, unfurling an American flag he had bought on a trip to Pennsylvania to honor those who died on D-Day.“To forget them is to let them die all over again,” the 57-year-old said as he and his daughter, Julie, carefully refolded the flag into a tight triangle. Those now dying in Ukraine fighting the invading Russian army were also on his mind.“All these troops came to liberate a country that they didn’t know for an ideology — democracy, freedom — that is under severe strain now,” he said.For Warren Goss, a 99-year-old American veteran of D-Day who landed in the first waves on Utah Beach, the sacrifice was affirmed by a visit years later to the same place where his comrades fell.“I looked at the beach and it was beautiful, all the people, the kids were playing and I see the boys and girls were walking, holding hands, with their life back,” he told the Danish king and prime minister, who hung on his words.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s D-Day Message:
Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
I got my title from the NBC radio bulletin alerting America of the Allies’ success in Normandy.
“Men and women of the United States! This is a momentous hour in world history. This is the invasion of Hitler’s Europe!”
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