Just a moment's thought (a day late) for those fine gents who "visited" the beaches of Normandy 65 years ago yesterday, and for all who died there that day. What a different place the world might be if they hadn't. God bless.

Indeed.

And it's good to see that June 6, 1944 is still remembered in the mass media and world leaders every year unlike, say, when Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese (the latter event receiving less and less attention every Dec. 7th). It's amazing that some of those troops who ran up the beaches of Normandy or who the para-troopers who came down behind German lines are still alive today to tell about it. And they all seem to remember it like it was last week!

To younger generations, it's fascinating that we can hear such stories from people who had actually "been there, done that." But the vets themselves may not share the same sentiment, as most get quite emotional when they reflect on the events long enough. I've often found myself crying with them. Here's to them...

Good to see others remember and honor this historical date. I live about 30 mins. from the National
D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va, they had a grandious to-do there yesterday.

One of my Father's coworkers was a paratrooper on D-Day. He got lost behind Utah and met up with the American forces a few days later.

Despite the lack of action then he must have been a tough son of a gun back then, if he's anything like he is now--last we checked he was still working well into his 80's!

-Will

I am couple days late, but wanted to post my gratitude and respect for all those who participated in that fateful day in Normandy. I grew up with my grandparents practically and heard most of the stories from back in the day. When someone say "the war" I still think WWII first. I hope that the next generation doesn't forget.

Thank you.

My great uncle was seriously wounded on D-day, His story was typical (told my grandmother, as he would never talk about it) his entire platoon was killed or wounded. He didn't make it past the beachhead.It took him years to recuperate......still has scrapnel in him.

James,
My father's last piece of german metal was removed from his shoulder in 1976... Doctor kept saying it was a bursitis from overuse while gardening and moving stones ...it was a pîece of metal lying there since 44 or 45 ( he was wounded twice during the war, receiving the last rites one week before the end of the war while cleaning out the last pockets of resistance around Oldenbourg).
Major Lucien A. Hudon ( Regiment de Maisonneuve) passed away last year at age 91. His first wound was incurred near Caen in Normandy. He played dead in a field overrun by germans and made his way back to Allied positions on his own steam. They patched him up in England, where he married my mother, and rejoined his unit as they entered Belgium. It took me years to gather information by my own means, so that he had to answer some of my questions, because otherwise, like all true veterans who were in the thick of it as opposed to those who decide behind the lines, my father would never talk about the war. Even when old comrades would come by the house, never any reminiscing, it was the subject they never talked about. Then most of it came out, like a dam bursting, the night that he heard of the passing of his last close comrade. That night I learned a lot about what needed to be done in times of war, by then I was an adult, studying Law and capable of a certain degree of discernment.
In 95 I had the privilege of accompanying my father back to Holland at the invitation of the Dutch People celebrating the 50th anniversary of their liberation by Canadian troops. The reception by the Dutch went a long way in explaining how gratefull they still were, 50 years after the fact, to all those Canadiens and Canadians who lost their lives to free them from Nazi oppression..
We children of the survirors of WWII gave our fathers & mothers a hell of a hard time in the 60's, flower power & peace, long hair and anti-establishment... but they new that we were free to express our views because of all those comrades burried in Italy, Normandy, Belgium, Holland and Germany...and as we matured, we also understood : That generation was the last generation of giants.