Bloody Beaches in Normandy.....1944

[SASless]

A small town in Virginia called Bedford is not too far from here. Each year at this time.....D-Day.....we take a moment to remember some very brave Men and their families.

You see, Bedford in 1944 had a population of 3,200 people....and they paid a terrible toll that day.

The Virginia National Guard's 116th Infantry Regiment landed in the First Wave at Omaha Beach. Company A of that Regiment had 30 Men from the Bedford area when it landed.

The unit took 95% casualties that morning and by dark....19 of the 30 men from Bedford had been killed in action.

Take a minute today and remember all those who went ashore that day in 1944 from all the nations involved....they deserve our admiration and respect.

The Bedford Boys - National D-Day Memorial (http://www.dday.org/history/the-bedford-boys.html)

[OA64]

Well said.

[glad rag]

strange, strange moderation on this site. some thread go, some stay, who knows..

http://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/487289-lt-billie-d-harris-cbs-evening-news-5-6-june.html

[Chugalug2]

Didn't get your drift, glad rag, until I spotted your link was to the history & nostalgia forum. From that I deduce that it was sent from here to there by the mods. If that is so then I share your sentiments. If there is one forum aware that:
Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors are destined to repeat them.
then it is surely this one. The 6 June 1944 isn't just history, let alone nostalgia, but a message to us all that we should, each and everyone of us, live our lives to ensure that such prodigious sacrifice is not required of future generations. At the moment Europe is teetering on going down that old familiar nationalistic dark alley yet again. Time for some serious reflection and for not sweeping such reminders out of the way.
Thank you for the OP SASless, and for not being tidied away!

[Lonewolf_50]

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

*And now, the bugle plays taps*

[Milo Minderbinder]

My father landed on Omaha beach on D-Day +3 (or 4 - I can't remember)
One thing he's commented on many times were the number of Americans still in the water, drowned with not a mark on them. No wounds.
Why drowned? Because - he's always claimed it was common knowledge at the time - that many of the landing craft crew refused to get close enough to the beach and dropped their ramps and kicked the troops out into water that was too deep. Heavily laden with all their kit, many unable to swim anyway, they didn't stand a chance.

[Samuel]

I've walked along Omaha Beach, and behind it, and it is a very sobering experience believe me.

[CoffmanStarter]

Well said SASless. My father was a 2nd Lt with the Royal Engineers who landed on Sword Beach at H Hour for mine clearing duties on D Day. He was awarded the MC by FM Montgomery in person for his subsequent actions under fire during the Battle for Caen. Despite being seriously wounded he went on to live a full and active life until aged 90 ... a great man... as were all those allied troops who took part on D Day to secure the freedoms we all now enjoy.

[minigundiplomat]

My Grandfather went ashore on the morning of 6th June, but I actually know very little about it. He refused to speak about the war when he got back, and it was only just before his death in 1996 that we realised he was a D-Day veteran.
Suffering with alzheimers, he provided vivid recollections of the landing, but couldn't have told you what he'd eaten for dinner 30 mins earlier - very sad.

Without him knowing, he provided me with a great deal of inspiration during my own service. At times when things looked grim [and there has been a few], I thought of him on D-Day and zipped up the man suit without question or further thought.

[SASless]

Mom's brother crossed the beach a few days after the landing....toured France with Patton until he went MIA for two weeks during the Battle of the Bulge....was in a Tank Destroyer outfit that got over run. He escaped and evaded until he found friendly lines again at a place called "Bastogne".

He had some frozen turnips to eat during that furlough, crossed through German picket lines on three occasions, and only talked of his experience to me twice.

The first time he told me about it was when we were headed out for him to repair a church member's TV. I saw him put a sandwich in his pocket and knowing we were only going to be gone an hour or two asked him about that.

He stopped in mid-stride....got a very odd look on his face....and when we got into the car.....he told me the story. He said at the end....he promised himself he would never....ever....be that hungry again. Thus, the sandwich.

Tell me War doesn't affect you.

Uncle Bob was the hardest, most caring Man I ever met......and a Soldier.

I do believe they were the Greatest Generation.

[Haraka]

Haraka Senior was an ex- Halton Brat (39 entry) who was in Malta during a lot of the Second Great Misunderstanding.
Recently I read that more bombs were dropped on Malta in two months than on London during the entire worst year of the Blitz.
His stories kept me fascinated as a child, although he avoided telling me too much of the horrors; as probably did his father to him about when he was on the Guns at Passchendale; as also possibly did his father about his times in the field in South Africa during the Boer War.
I feel I got off extremely lightly during my " Cold War" years in the Service ( ex-99 entry Cranwell) , particularly when I read about the sacrifices being made today by the current serving generation.
Surely they can hold their heads high and , metaphorically, look their D-day forbears proudly straight in the eye as they continue fulfilling "The finest traditions".

[Bertie Thruster]

My Dad, I'm ever so proud.

Dieppe. North Africa. and first wave (beachmaster) Gold Beach, Normandy.

Glad he got back to my Mum to be.

He never, ever spoke of the war.

[PPRuNe Pop]

glad rag. So that you understand. Nothing strange. The story was posted as a multiple post, which we do not allow. It is in AH&N where it should be.