The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

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 hopes 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 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 Nations1 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 all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

The weather conditions, which were vital to the success of the mission were marginal at best. The invasion was a great gamble. Eisenhower was hoping and praying for the best outcome, but was prepared for the worst.

Because of the bravery and devotion of our troops, and the sacrifice of 4,414 American lives, the following message, from Esinhower that did not have to be read:

Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."


Most are Gone, but not Forgotten.

Well said Steve......

Our WWII Veterans are becoming fewer and further between. I'm thankful that I had the opportunity in my life time to sit down and talk to some of these heros and hear their stories. The look and tears in their eyes as they recalled the fear and horror of battles, long since passed, told me the true price of our freedom. But I know some of my grandchildren will never have that honor.

Our WWII Veterans should be looked upon as a National Treasure in my opinion, and more of their stories told and recorded before it's too late.

Ours are now all gone, the ones I personally knew anyway. They are very much missed.

Funny Normady visit story for yall.......

In 1984, the Summer between my Junior and Senior year of High School in Germany, my dad and his Maintenance Officer (MSgt and a Capt strange duo) took me to some of the battle sites and war cemeteries across Europe. They both had a love of history, and so do I.

Let me give you some context here. I was a long haired, leather and stud wearing, pierced ear, head banging, metal head, that used every excuse to fight authority. I could have passed for an extra in a Judas Priest video or a Mad Max movie.

My father almost wrecked the car as we were leaving one cemetery after I had made the following remark.

"How can something so beautiful be born of something so ugly......"

My dad sat there with a shocked and confused look on his face, and could only mutter....

"What did you say?"

The Captain laughed, looked at my dad and said.

"Berny, how many times have I told you, to quit judging a book by its cover, looks like there's more going on under all that hair than you know or give credit for"

When we stopped for lunch at a little French cafe the Capt asked if the remark just happen or did I think about it before hand. I told him it just came out of nowhere.

My dad would recall and tell people about that moment for years to come, the last time I heard the story from his mouth was a few days before his passing in 2011, he just had to tell it to the hospice nurse, it was one of his last lucid remarks.

Thank you for this post, it seems that most of the country has forgotten. How sad.

Sad that this day is over shadowed by news stories about riots and such. I found one mention of D-Day on the Fox News webpage.

I honestly believe at this rate, it'll soon pass to just a page in the school history books........

ffuries wrote: ↑Sat Jun 06, 2020 5:51 pm Sad that this day is over shadowed by news stories about riots and such. I found one mention of D-Day on the Fox News webpage.

I honestly believe at this rate, it'll soon pass to just a page in the school history books........

The only mention of D-Day in the Baltimore Sun newspaper was a cartoon by the late Charles Schultz of Snoopy as a GI going ashore. All you see is his head and his helmet as he advances through the water to the beach. Sad example of a newspaper.

For most part, the stories die with the men. There were still some surviving Civil War veterans alive when I was born, although the final known Confederate died a few months before my birth. The last surviving WWI vets died during my lifetime. My paternal Grandmother's only sibling was killed at Croix Rouge Farm and she never got over it. We no longer speak of these soldiers as individuals. If I live a few more years, I will see the last WWII vet buried; it will be a sad day whether I am here or not.

When I grew up, most of the middle aged adults in my community were WWII vets, although you may have never known it. Our postmaster had a son my age and we used to play with the Japanese sword that he claimed to have taken from a dead Japanese officer; I have no reason to disbelieve the story. My 8th grade and 9th grade history teacher was one of Patton's finest who was blooded at the Bulge. He was not a fan of Patton and repeated the saying, "Our Blood, his Guts." I believe that the teacher was suffering from PTSD as he dabbled in alcoholism and was not the most stable man in the world, but he was an outstandingly fine teacher. My high school principal was another decorated war vet and he was also a mean drunk who probably carried visions of war in his head. The men were scarred from their experiences; it wasn't their fault.

My fourth grade teacher was a Korean combat vet, I got to know him fairly well and he never spoke a single word of his experiences. He flat refused to discuss his service. He died last year, and he was the last Korean vet that I personally knew. I joined the Navy near the end of the Vietnam war, so many of the people I grew up with were 'Nam vets. The Vietnam veterans I knew remained in the shadows until about the time of the first Gulf War when national pride began to restore some of their lost valor. Many Vietnam Vets I know are still raw and bitter about the lack of respect they received from their countrymen. It is hard to blame them, "Thanks for your service" only goes so far.....

My last conversation with a WWII vet was about six years ago, he was a machine gunner who's unit was overrun during the bulge. He was a mild mannered, calm devoutly Christian man who appeared to carry some guilt over the slaughter. To my knowledge, he never spoke of the war until the final months of his life.


I wish that I had known, when I was a child, what I have since learned about WWII, I would have shown them much more respect.