Here's to Moose and Vee, who are taking in the sites today in Normandy, the 64th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in northern France on June 6, 1944. We look forward to your stories, impressions, feelings and photographs. Here's to the opportunity for two of our forum members to meet for the first time in person.
Here's to everyone who took part in that infamous day 6 decades ago, and especially to those who gave their own lives so unselfishly, so all those who followed could live as free men and women today.
The following link to a new movie coming out, No Better Place to Die, was sent to me by a member of the 82nd Airborne, Howard Huebner. Many thanks Howard.
It is known as the bloodiest small-arms battle in the history of U.S. warfare. Paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division jumped in the night through a torrent of gunfire into the swamped Normandy countryside. Hundreds were killed before they landed. Many drowned. Those who survived faced a deadly and vital mission. They were outnumbered and outgunned.
To the brave men whose blood and guts made possible the D-Day assault of June 6, 1944, there was “No Better Place to Die.â€
Based on the true story of a young private who defied death to deliver orders from the commanding officers to the front lines at the La Fiere Bridge Causeway, “No Better Place to Die†relives the horrific fight that opened a route to victory for troops storming Utah Beach on D-Day.
The American soldiers had two heavily defended bridges to overtake and capture. They had 800 yards of hell to cross. Their only passageway: a narrow, elevated road surrounded by floodwater. As the hours and days passed, the water turned to blood in a battle of no turning back. Victory would bore a hole into Nazi-occupied France. It all came down to the heart, courage and will of heroes like PFC Charles DeGlopper, Gen. James Gavin, 1st Lt. John "Red Dog" Dolan, Private Bob Murphy and Lt. John Marr who could be found everywhere on D-Day.
My grandpa's Iwo Jima Vetran friend gave me his latest issue of Spearhead News to look at the reunion information and I found an ad for Indestructible, the book written by WWII's youngest MOH recipient Jack Lucas.
I called to order the book today and the lady on the phone told me he passed away this morning.
We attended a memorial service at the Korean Wwar Veteran's Memorial in a nearby town. My grandpa got to take a ride in the jeep. He said he'd like to have a quarter for every mile he put on one of them things. He hasn't sat in one in since he was in the service.
Jim Davis from Maui, Hawaii here. In our Big One I was a member of te 1204th Army Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany.
