June 6, 1944

[luckyman]

My grandfather crossed the secured Normandy beaches on the 8th with one of the 3rd Army’s infantry divisions. Lots of action. Battle of the Bulge. 3 PH, 1 Bronze Star.

Same for my dad, except he was in the 5th infantry division.

[NWshooter]

One of the main reasons France doesn’t speak German

[Lon]

This is also the anniversary of the Liberation of Rome. Uncle James - grandma's kid brother- was a combat engineer who participated in the Anzio landing and fought his way up Italy, including Monte Cassino.
On this day in 1944, he was with a mortar team at the outskirts of the city; they had either a dud round or took counter fire, and he was the only survivor from the squad.
That ended the war for him; it was 6 months before he was able to leave the hospital. He passed in 2019.

They were such determined people.

Attachment 72428

Field above Juno Beach, Normandy, 6/6/2019, taken by a Canadian friend who was there with his dad to commemorate the 75th anniversary. Dad was a CANLOAN officer leading a unit of The Gordon Highlanders.

For the last week I’ve been doing a bunch of research about the Sicily/Italy/Aegean campaigns - I help edit/research for Phil Ward’s Raiding Forces series. Truly inspiring stuff. And truly WTF worthy sometimes when looking at command decisions that were made. Do you remember what unit/division he was in?

[Lex Luthier]

For the last week I’ve been doing a bunch of research about the Sicily/Italy/Aegean campaigns - I help edit/research for Phil Ward’s Raiding Forces series. Truly inspiring stuff. And truly WTF worthy sometimes when looking at command decisions that were made. Do you remember what unit/division he was in?

No. I will contact my cousin and what he knows about his dad's service records. Is there some way I can do that research myself based on names?

.

[pangloss]

Every year on June 6th I wake up feeling humbled and grateful.

I haven't the words to say what I feel about those brave men. All of them, those who survived, and especially those who did not.

We visited Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery in 2018. Of course I knew the story of D Day before ever thinking about that trip, but I didn't truly grasp the magnitude of the sacrifice until I visited. None of my relations participated in the invasion, but it was a very emotional day. My family will need to go back when our kids are old enough to understand the significance of the place.

[S Jenks]

I don’t have any known relatives who were a part of D-Day operations but my paternal grandfather did lie about his age to enlist in the Canadian Army at 16 or so.

From what I’ve been told by family, he was a proud member of the Canadian Army’s Royal Highland Regiment, or Black Watch, and was gearing up for deployment to Europe when his mother (my great grandmother) dropped a dime and notified his command staff of his actual age.

He was removed from the unit and reassigned to a training role, where in a weird twist he somehow ended up with his drafted older brother under his tutelage in some forgotten capacity.

Which is selfishly fine by me as the unit he likely would have deployed with suffered a 94% casualty rate when the went up against a Panzer SS unit at the Battle of Verrières Ridge.

[Suvorov]

My dad was part of operation Torch in N Africa, 1st ID. He talked about the campaign in Sicily. Somehow he missed D day but was in Europe for the rest of the war. He made it home, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

The operations in North Africa that lead to Italy and then Southern France and ending in Austria were no cakewalk for certain. Some of the toughest fighting in the ETO.

Massive respect!

[Coyotesfan97]

My great Uncle was a Lieutenant in the Super Sixth 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion in Patton’s Third Army in a Tank Destroyer and rode across France and Germany. Silver Star 2 Bronze Stars 2PH. He never really talked to any family about what he’d seen and done. He did tell my Dad what it felt like when he was wounded.

I was going through some old family papers and found his award citation for the Silver Star and a letter he’d written home which showed his rank and unit. He wrote about liberating POWs and slave laborers and the joy on their faces when they were free. He said it made being there worth it.

I wish I’d had a chance to talk about his experiences with him. RIP Uncle Ronnie.

[Cheap Shot]

Every year on June 6th I wake up feeling humbled and grateful.

I haven't the words to say what I feel about those brave men. All of them, those who survived, and especially those who did not.

This

Much RESPECT

[Coyotesfan97]

This letter was written April 25th, 1945


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