65th Anniversary of the D Day landings

[Von Frag]

I read today where one of the 101st veterans who made the trip and was very ill passed away in his sleep last night in France.

 

[Gnomey]

RIP to him

And as I forgot to put it in my last post, here is "Les Fleurs de Normandie".

Les Fleurs de Normandie.

From the Fields of Normandy I bring back many memories.
Beneath them. I leave many friends,

For they are;
Les Fleurs de Normandie.

Les Fleurs de Normandie.

On Norman soil, they fought and died.
Now young men's graves in rows abound.
In Mother Earth's arms, now sanctified,
The fragrant flowers of our youth are found.

And yet, to rise again, as in a distant song.
Small voices that call, in dead of night.
Fleeting figures only in our dreams belong.
Alas, they fade, in dawn's bright light.

I see them yet, a sad, forgotten throng.
Shadowed, lost faces, marching on.
Over dusty roads, and high golden corn.
The call of long lost friends are borne.

We must not forget, the flowers of our days,
Lest they lay unquiet, in numbered graves.
For we lived, and loved, and life was sweet.
Still yet, for us, awaits our last retreat.

Flowers of our youth, now long since past.
Our sweet autumn days are fading fast.
We, who are left, flowered in our prime.
Enjoyed golden moments, on borrowed time.

Remember our friends, who passed this way.
For all our tomorrow's, they gave their today's,
On Utah and Omaha, Juno, Sword and Gold.
Oh! Dear Lord! See that they grow not old.

 

[Flyboy2]

To all those brave men who gave the ultimate sacrifice for freedoms sake.

 

[Ferdinand Foch]

To all the Allied soldiers to risked everything to liberate Europe on June 6th, especially the men on Omaha. Thank you for your sacrifice in helping to rid the world of Nazi tyranny. I'm glad that I wore my D-Day pins at work today. I felt kinda proud wearing them.

I think this song maybe appropriate for this occasion.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf_odQE4gLw

 

[evangilder]

Let's not forget this scene from Band of Brothers. Those were some bad-ass dudes.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IrB68Xs4kU

 

[Vassili Zaitzev]

You are correct. the Polish airborne participated in Market Garden.But The in the D-day were involved the Polish Air Force, the Polish Navy and the 1st Polish Armour Division of Gen Maczek.

Thanks Wurger, forget about their role in D-day.

 

[pbfoot]

You are correct. the Polish airborne participated in Market Garden.But The in the D-day were involved the Polish Air Force, the Polish Navy and the 1st Polish Armour Division of Gen Maczek.

we have tons of Polish veterans here in fact there are 3 polish Legions locally heres a pic of one of them

 

[spit5]

The British sectors were supported by British battleships NELSON, RODNEY,WARSPITE, RAMILIES, monitor ROBERTS, cruisers MAURITIUS, SCYLLA, ORION, GLASGOW, BELFAST, ENTERPRISE, FROBISHER,DANAE and Polish DRAGON. Moreover in this operation took part the French cruisers MONTCALM and GEORGES LEYGUES, the Dutch cruiser JAVA.
At 0530 hours on June 6th 1944, the battleships and cruisers opened fire against the enemy shore batteries. DRAGON /C.O. Cdr. St.DZIENIESIEWICZ/ belongs to Force D : the battleships WARSPITE, RAMILIES monitor ROBERTS and the cruisers MAURITIUS, ARETHUSA, FROBISHER, DANAE and DRAGON - Their task was to destroy the German batteries in sector S /Sword/.Very soon the German torpedo-boats / T-21, MOVE, FALKE and JAGUAR/ made a torpedo attack against this ships firing a salvo of 24 torpedoes .Only the Norwegian destroyer SEVER was hit and sunk. At first DRAGON /1st Gun.Off.Lieut.cdr.J.LUKASZEWSKI,2nd Gun.Off.-lieut.T.LESZISZ/ opened fire against shore battery 105 mm Calleville sur Orne, then to battery 150 mm Trouville, then to fortifications Caen and at last against the German tanks concentration near Varaville.
About 0600 hours the Polish destroyer SLAZAK/C.O. Cdr.R.TYMINSKI/in sector S/Sword/ and the Polish destroyer KRAKOWIAK/C.O. Cdr.W.MARACEWICZ/in sector G/Gold/ who were with landing crafts, opened fire against first lines of German shore defence together with the British destroyers. Ahead of the landing crafts were motor barges with rockets 127 mm shelling beaches from short distances.
About 0730 hours landing crafts in sector S came to beaches and fierce fighting has began.Thanks to artillery support of SLAZAK in this sector the German were forced to withdraw and C.O. of the Canadian Marines ashore sent a signal to SLAZAK:

"I think you saved our bacon.Thank you. Stand by do it again "

Afternoon SLAZAK received another message of appreciation for the effective fire against the German defenders :

"SLAZAK - fine work !"

At 0530 hours Force K consisted of the cruisers AJAX, ARGONAUT, EMERALD and ORION moreover the Dutch gunboat /3 x 150 mm/FLORES and 13 destroyers including KRAKOWIAK opened fire against German shore batteries in sector G /Gold/. About noon beachhead was conquered but with heavy losses of commandos.
DRAGON during invasion of Normandy, between June 12th and 18th fired together 1297 shells of her 152 mm guns against German ashore.

After short refit at Portsmouth the Polish cruiser DRAGON /C.O. Cdr.St.DZIENISIEWICZ/ joined force CS 10 /BELFAST/ on July 7th 1944. According instruction from BELFAST she was anchored in position La=49.22,2 N and Long= 000.21,9 W at 2345 hours.

On July 8th at 0427 hours DRAGON was torpedoed by so called "human torpedo"/Neger or Ein-Man-Torpedo/. In effect one officer /Sub.lieut.K.MARKS/ and 37 PO.s and Seamen were killed and 17 wounded.

The Landing operations in Normandy was protected at sea against eventual German surprise attack from West by 10th Destroyer Flotilla /S.O.-Captain B.JONES/. The Flotilla was composed of : 19th Division- TARTAR /D/, ASHANTI, HAIDA, HURON and 20th DivisionBLYSKAWICA /D/, ESKIMO, PIORUN, JAVELIN.

Source THE POLISH NAVY

 

[syscom3]

Anyone read "Six Armies In Normandy" by John Keegan?

An excellent book for anyones library.

 

[diddyriddick]

"...But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced..."

Abraham Lincoln

To those who gave the "last full measure of devotion."

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Very brave men landed on that beach that day. My American grandfather was one of them. He was an engineer who landed on Omaha beach. Unfortunately he died when I was very young and was not able to ask him about his experiences.

On a side note, I was in Normandy for the 50th Anniversary Celebrations. It was a great experience that I will never forget.

 

[Hansie Bloeckmann]

I always have felt that Capa's soldier in the surf shot was actually enhanced by the faults in the proccessing it added a sense of urgency in that moment.
I spoke at Southend air show just a couple of weeks ago to two D-Day vets one a matlot on a LST the other a squaddie both saw action on Sword beach the sailor told me how on the build up to D-day he was sent to the states to ferry his LST across the pond in convoy with 10 others each piggy backing a LCT as deck cargo half way over they hit a storm and being flat bottomed and not good sea craft two of his convoy capsized with the loss of all hands. The vet soldier said that his landing was rough but it got much rougher when they moved inland and he got involved a little later in the Bocage fighting most of his mates died withing 3 weeks of landing in France. They both said that this was probably going to be their last visit so I gave them my dads combined ops badge to leave on the beach.

The old vets may slowly die off but I think their stories of that time will live on through their children and grand children for a long time to come.
images such as those of Frank Capa remain even after 65 years a very potant symbol of that day

To all thoses gentlemen special those who never came home we owe a very big debt.

I think you might mean "Robert Capa"- unless Robert had a brother named Frank who was also a photographer in WW11-- Robert Capa and writer Ernest Hemingway were "friends" in the 1940's WW11 era- also Robert Capa took photos of Hemingway hunting pheasant in Sun Valley area, Idaho-Fall of 1941.

 

[Airframes]

Perhaps not the right place for this, but I've just seen the up-date from Warbird News regarding the 75th anniversary of 'D-Day', next year.
The D-Day Squadron are forming, to organise a mass transit of genuine, WW2 C-47s across the 'Pond' to the UK, and then on to the Normandy beaches and drop zones on June 6th, where paras will be dropped on the original DZs.
I'd need to check the dates again, but I think that activities will be in Europe between 2nd and 8th June, 2019, with various fly-pasts at numerous locations in the UK, over the Channel, and in France, and with the aircraft on view at locations in the UK, and probably France also - I'm guessing, and hoping, that Duxford will be one of the event locations.
Final numbers of C-47s have yet to be announced, but the organisers state that this will be a BIG gathering, with the largest formation of C-47s ever seen since D-Day itself, with, at present, at least three of the aircraft participating having actually taken part in the D-Day operations in 1944.

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Damn, 75 years. I might have to make my 3rd trip to Normandy next year. I was there for the 50th Anniversary and then again 7 years ago.

 

[Airframes]

I wouldn't mind going also Chris, although I'm guessing it'll be busy, and hotels etc will be at a premium. Don't know if I can get there though, as I'm planning on going to Holland around the same time .... might have to do some re-planning !

 

[pinehilljoe]

I had the opportunity to visit Normandy in 2008, it is one of the most moving places I have ever been.

 

[Peter Gunn]

Rows of US tanks and halftracks just before the invasion on Normandy. D-day 1944. Source World war photos
View attachment 511750

Not sure if the black clouds are smoke but I prefer to think of them as clouds symbolic of the coming storm, what a great shot.