64 Years Ago Today

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Please take a moment today to remember 6-6-44.

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 the 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 Nations 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 and devotion to duty and skill in
battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great
and noble undertaking.


SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

hock: hock: hock:

It's D-day already.....where has the year gone....

[rusty myers]

Thanks.

[Jona Lendering]

Slate has put online some beautiful Robert Capa photos, including that famous one of the soldier in the water at Easy Red sector: [url:1t5ugaqw]http://todayspictures.slate.com/20080606/[/url]

[Na Saighdiuir]

Let us remember ALL,not just allied troops.True,the axis were on the wrong side of the political spectrum,but hey most of them werent even nazis.

[Jona Lendering]

Let us remember ALL,not just allied troops.True,the axis were on the wrong side of the political spectrum,but hey most of them werent even nazis.

If I remember correctly, representatives of Germany and Italy have been invited to the commemoration of Overlord since '94, and in my personal opinion, that is only fair. Europe has become some sort of unity, and the old divisions are disappearing faster than we often realize.

(Of course prejudices are to be cultivated to use them at soccer matches! :wink: We've come a long way from outright propaganda to good-natured fun like this.)

[Virilis]

Those pictures of Robert Capa are great! The opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan" was great but then the movie unfortunately turned into a sickly-sweet fairy-tale in my opinion, not much about a REAL war anyway ...

I would love to see a re-make of the movie "General Patton" with the original uncensored speech to the groups. Do I remember correctly that in that movie Patton was described a kind of "weirdo" in that movie (it has been over ten years I saw it the last time)?

[Jona Lendering]

Those pictures of Robert Capa are great! The opening scene of "Saving Private Ryan" was great but then the movie unfortunately turned into a sickly-sweet fairy-tale in my opinion, not much about a REAL war anyway ...

You can leave it to Spielberg to mess things up after a good beginning. The latest Indiana Jones is a case in point.