D Day

[Scrumhalf]

June 6, 2004 is the 60th Anniversary of D-Day.

Please take a moment today to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat tyranny of unimaginable magnitude.

For those of us with school-age children, please take the time to explain to them how the world stood by and allowed a dictator to come to power and the crimes against humanity that his regime perpetrated before they were finally exterminated.

History must be studied by each generation and taught to the next so that evils of the past are never repeated in the future.

[Scrumhalf]

9387 Americans are buried here in the Normandy American Cemetery, most of whom fell on D-Day.

[Luftdude]

Not to sound like an asshole, but there were Germans on the other side that had the same convictions as us. If we celebrate D-day, it shouldn't be geared toward Americans, it should be geared toward all the sides that fought. I have German blood in my veins and I feel the same amount of love for the fatherland as I have for this great country.

LD

[Scrumhalf]

I don't understand your anger.

D-Day was a momentous event that, along with the battle of Stalingrad, surely was momentous in Hitler's defeat. It was an Allied offensive and while the Germans defended bravely, the glory at the end of the day is on the side of the Allies.

I have said nothing to insinuate that the ordinary German soldier was not brave. Nevertheless, you must admit that the cause of the Allies was just and that while the ordinary German soldier may not have had much of a say in the matter, the world is right to celebrate the Allied victory in WWII.

I don't want to engage in some unseemly argument on this day. I am American and I am entitled to grieve for American losses while acknowledging the heroic efforts of the British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand troops as well. And yes, the ordinary German soldiers who had to die because of a madman.

[Stonecold54]

I think he might be saying that there were germans against hitler as well that were agreeing with americans and the allies that he should not be in power. correct me if I am wrong Luft.

[Scrumhalf]

If there were, I salute them. It would have taken uncommon bravery to stand up to the Gestapo.

I consider myself fairly well-read on history and while I am aware of isolated instances of Germans standing up to Hitler and his policies, especially through the protection of Jews, I am not as knowledgeable of any organized underground resistance. I would love to see references or reading material on this topic from anyone more knowledgeable than I am.

[Tinfish]

Here is the picture that I took of the American Cemetary in Normandy about 2 weeks ago.

[Tinfish]

damn, that was way larger than i expected. i will shrink.

[Tinfish]

Here i am standing in one of thousands of creators that dot the Normandy coast. This is Point Du Hoc

[Tinfish]

Family shot at Utah Beach.

We spent 10 days in Normandy last month visiting and researching all the D-day sites.

[Luftdude]

Originally posted by stonecold54
I think he might be saying that there were germans against hitler as well that were agreeing with americans and the allies that he should not be in power. correct me if I am wrong Luft.

You got it spot on stone! And on a similar note, here's something y'all will find interesting, Hitler had a half-nephew who lived here in America and served in the Navy fighting against his empire. Also Claus von Stauffenberg was an ardent opposer of the Nazi party inside Germany. And Luftwaffe Marshal Hermann Goering had a brother who was against the party. Here is an anecdote about how against it he was. When Albert Goering was stationed in Bucharest, Romania, 2 officers saw him standing on the balcony and recognized that he was the brother of the Marshal. They gave the Nazi salute and his reply to them was a cold "You can kiss my ass!"

LD

[Scrumhalf]

Nice pictures. I hope to make it there one day, as well as to Auschwitz if I can, maybe when my son is old enough to understand.

I don't have as much of a personal attachment to the European theater of WWII as my family didn't immigrate to the US until much later and I don't have any immediate family who fought in any of the armies of the western countires. I have however visited the British Army Cemetery in Kohima, India where my Indian brothers fought in the Battle of Imphal when the 2nd Infantry Division of the British Army with many Indian soldiers in it stopped the Japanese. It is also an impressive site and one can't but be moved when visiting it.

The Kohima cemetery is the place where the well known epitaph is written - "When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today."

[DS-COUSIN]

In a word, AWESOME! Awesome as in what a massive level of destruction and loss..

[ECKARDT]

I know where you are coming from LD. My family immigrated from Germany both were born in 1941 and raised in the aftermath of WW II. They did not agree with the Nazi ideals. My grandfather turned Nazi and was killed in the war. It hurt my father pretty bad I think. My grandmother was Jewish and grandfather was not. It was tough for a undesireable half Jewish kid growing uo in East Germany after the war. The bottom line is that what America did was honorable and important regardless of who they were fighting. As a US Marine I can tell you that you have a certain amount of respect for your adversary, after all he is fighting for many of the same reasons that you are. You cannot let that stand between you and mission accomplishment however. I take pride in my German heritage, but make no mistake I am an American fighting man.:usa:

[Primal Instinct]

Considering the communications abilities and vast types of advanced weaponry developed at that time, it was probably the most important battle in the history of mankind. It changed the way that we envision the world, as there was so much to lose. The allied invasion of Normandy was a definite make or break deal. If England had eventually succumbed to the Nazis there would be no way to gain any sort of foothold in Europe from a US based invasion and the world would be so much different today, probably much worse off. It came down to good vs evil in the truest sense of the meaning. We are very fortunate to have the right men at the right time in positions of authority such as FDR, Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, and yes, even Stalin. I certainly appreciate all of the sacrifices that the allied soldiers and civilian resistance movements made to defeat the Nazi machine and will never forget how close the world came to an evil domination.