Lest We Forget - June 6, 1944

Today is the 64th anniversary of the allied invasion of Normandy in an attempt to route the Nazi's from occupied France, and to double the efforts against the Nazis that had started with the invasion of Anzio months before. The invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious assault in the history of the world. The first day of the assault has gone down in history simply as D-Day. It should be needless to say it was one of the bloodiest battles of all time - but lest we forget I make mention of it here that total losses in the Battle of Normandy were approximated at: over 425,000 for both sides combined, with 209,000 allied casualties. On D-Day alone there were an estimated 10,000 allied casualties. There were also an estimated 15,000 - 20,200 French civilians killed, mostly due to allied bombing. (Yet the allies were praised for liberating France, could you imagine the outcry of the libs if this happened today in these numbers.)

As I said, I make note of this here lest we forget. We should never forget those who were wounded or who died in service of our nation, or in pursuit of true freedom in the world. We should hold them in a place of honor as long as there is one man or woman among humanity who is left standing. They were scared, they were brave, they were tenacious, they were tender, they were fathers, they were sons, they were soldiers, they were civilians, they were all there to defeat a common enemy, they were there to help liberate our allies, they were the men and women who lost their lives, their limbs, their innocence forever doing the right thing for the rest of us. Lest we forget.

More info on D-Day can be found at:

http://www.army.mil/d-day/

http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/faq.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_701702421/D-Day.html

http://www.warchronicle.com/numbers/WWII/ddaycasualtyest.htm

All the best,

Glenn B

A Missed Tribute...

...by me yesterday was the result of me having to be awake by now to go to work today. In other words I had little time after getting home last night to do anything before I hit the hay.

Of course the missed tribute that I am writing about is the fact that it was the anniversary of D-Day yesterday, and I did not pay tribute as I should have. It was another of those lest we forget days (see my blog of two days ago about The Battle of Midway), and one of the most important ones at that for we as a nation. Thousands of allied forces gave their lives on June 6, 1944, and in all with wounded and missing there were about 10,000 allied casualties. The German casualty count was estimated to be between 4,000 to 9,000. Despite the fewer losses, the Germans were beaten decisively, and the way was paved for the allied take over of Nazi occupied Europe. If you do not know which battle I am writing about, maybe you have seen the opening battle in Saving Private Ryan. We owe those brave souls an awful lot, without their bravery and dedication we may have been goose stepping today, and their would have been very few if any of the Jewish faith left amongst us. Life would have been very different indeed, had the Germans won WWII; and not for the better.

Now off to work for me. Maybe another blog later tonight.

All the best,
Glenn B