Today is the 65th anniversary of the landing on the beaches of France by the Allied Armies. General Dwight Eisenhower chose to go on that day because the weather reports showed that day as the only possible window in a stormy period. He met with his troops before the invasion to talk to them and send them off with prayers and well wishes. He composed a letter to be read in case the invasion failed. The letter took full responsibility for that failure if it occurred. Because of the leadership of Dwight Eisenhower and the courage of the American, Canadian, and British troops, we are free today to do our Saturday errands, enjoy our children, and generally live our lives in freedom.
Just a quick personal note about D Day. My father was one of the soldiers who landed on Utah beach. He never talked much about his wartime experiences, but there are two things I remember from talking to him. When the Allied troops landed on Utah Beach, they had been blown off course by the winds and heavy surf. Because of that, they encountered less resistence from the Germans and were able to more forward more quickly than they might have otherwise moved. The other thing he mentioned was the total secrecy surrounding the invasion. There were cardboard tanks placed in England to make it look as if they were going ashore at Calais (which was the closest point to England). Everything was top secret--but the payday before the invasion, they were paid in French francs!!!
Dear Granny G
Perhaps you will know all this already, and I hope you won't mind if I share it with those who read your notes online. But when your Dad (my uncle) was very elderly and was in Philadelphia once visiting his brother he told me about the day before D Day. When his commanding officer wasn't available he represented his unit at the official briefing for D-Day. Imagine what that knowledge and the responsibility to then brief his troops was like.
Even compared to the typical young officer (and he was still very young) he was a bit older than most of the soldiers he was leading. I can imagine how he was regarded by the "kids" in his outfit and have no doubt they trusted him. That's because as I grew up (even though I didn't know him nearly as well as I would have liked because we lived on the "other" coast and saw you infrequently) I learned to trust him completely. Maybe that is because my mom absolulely always trusted him and we learned from her he was truthful and so very, very dependable. You could count on him.
Since he was in the "chemical corps" (I'm not sure of the correct name of his unit) and considering the tasks they were assigned it is not surprising he did not talk about it much after the war. But I wish today we all were aware of what was asked of them and the reality of it, and I mention this so others will know. As I understand it one task of the chemioal corps was to be immediately behind the front, with all that implies on the aftermath of the battlefield.
As you know he served through the entire conflct all the way to the end of the war in Europe. Thank God the war in the Pacific ended before the plans in place to send them to the Pacific were necessary. I am proud his unit liberated one of the camps in Germany at the end of the war but am so sad each time I think of him or anyone else seeng that. But let us not forget.
I don't remember if he told me or if it is from another source, but Utah beach was expected to be the best defended and to be really tough because it was a logical assult location. It didn't turn out that way as we now know but each and every person going ashore in the first few days faced the same challenge.
I miss his entire generation and am so very thankful to have known many of them, including my aunts and uncles who served literally all over the world and those who "served" in a different way at home. Imagine what it must have been like for aunt Dottie in India, fresh out of nursing school and tending for the troops in one of the very worst campaigns of all.
May God bless all who served then and all who serve now. No matter where our current service men and women are now they have each and every one sworn to go in harms way and have volunteered to do so whenever and wherever asked.
One other personal note. A friend asked this morning if I believe today's generation would stand up the same way. Obviously those already serving would, but people sometimes wonder about everyone else. Granted it is only opinion, but the truth is I believe they would. It just seems like our leadership hasn't asked much of them in a long, long time. Perhaps we should just be thankful we have not had to ask in quite the same way as during WWII.
I render my very best salute to your Dad.
Thank you for your comments on a very special man to me.....my grandfather. I only wish he could have met the wonderful military man I have married and I wish that he would have shared his experiences with me, even if they would have been hard to relive.
Just know that today's military, those that I know, those that I have seen from afar, and those families that support ARE serving, are stepping up to the plate and are obeying the leadership, regardless of our political standing. I am VERY proud to be the wife of a Marine and to be a friend of many others!