D day

guypjfreak

remembering all the men and women that helped to give us our freedom

chapo

chadwick

http://youtu.be/HqfN3kWjGtk

fuck nazis

http://youtu.be/h_B-0iNnWWA

hedonist

I watched a bit of the ceremony earlier.

Looking at these old men, I wonder what memories and emotions they've held (or let go of) all these years.

My god, how young they were at the time. Some still in their teens.

Makes me think of my own father, who was just 21 when he served in WWII.

Thank you to these men, and let's hope the VA shit gets rectified, SOON.

(they probably wouldn't even consider themselves heroic, but to me, they are)

brianlux

^^^ My old man served in WWII also, Hedonist. He was an aviation machinist's mate in the Pacific.

Speaking of WWII heroes, just saw a great movie a few day ago- The Monument Men. Phenomenal!

lukin2006

Powerful Photos Of Canadians In Action On D-Day

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/05/26/d-day-photos-canada-anniversary_n_5393983.html

These men and women were asked to do an unimaginable and horrifying job ... and most did so unselfishly. I had Uncles serve in WW2 and my grandfather in WW1 ... not 1 ever mentioned the war they were involved in. Truly brave men and woman that deserve our utmost respect.

lukin2006

D-Day Veteran Escapes Nursing Home To Commemorate Invasion's 70th Anniversary

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/06/06/d-day-veteran-escapes-nursing-home_n_5460358.html?1402073850

Good for him...

hedonist

lukin2006 said:

D-Day Veteran Escapes Nursing Home To Commemorate Invasion's 70th Anniversary

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/06/06/d-day-veteran-escapes-nursing-home_n_5460358.html?1402073850

Good for him...

Hell yeah. How could the nursing home have told him he couldn't go?

This one's another good read. Not many left to directly tell us their stories.
http://www.today.com/news/d-day-vet-i-dont-want-be-hero-anybody-2D79767682

"We had overfed the troops that morning,'' DeVita told Brokaw. "They were all seasick. When we got near the beach, one particular machine gun took a liking to us and was hitting my boat. The Germans had the high ground. They were shooting down at us. It was like hitting fish in a barrel."

An emotional DeVita recalled the fear of being ordered to drop the ramp to the boat.

"I knew in my head, even though I was a young kid, when I drop that ramp, instead of the bullets hitting the ramp, they would come into the boat,'' he said. "So the coxswain says, 'Drop the ramp,' and I made believe I didn't hear him. So he said it a second time, and I made believe I didn't hear him. And the third time, he says, 'Goddamn, DeVita, drop the effin' ramp.

"We had 30 men on the boat. Three men made it to the beach. They were all wounded and some were dead."

DeVita can still remember the sounds of soldiers in their final moments.

"You know, there's a fallacy when a man is dying — they don't ask for God,'' he said. "The last word that that they say is, 'Mama, Mama."

Those painful memories have been with DeVita for 70 years, and he is just sharing them now with his children. Four generations of his family joined him at the beach in Omaha to honor his service. DeVita returned because he feels a duty to speak for the men who died that day.

"These kids were 18, 19 years old,'' he said. "They're never gonna see their son play Little League baseball. They're never gonna walk their daughter down the aisle, and they're never gonna hold their grandchild in their arms. They had their whole life ahead of them.

"My family thinks I'm a hero. I'm not a hero. When you go up to the cemetery above Omaha, those are the heroes. Those are my heroes."

DeVita is hoping his family and others take a lesson from the anniversary.

"Love your freedom,'' he said. "Because that's what we fought for. We fought for your freedom."

guypjfreak

some great stuff .
i saw that about the escapee fair play to him

lukin2006

D-Day Landing Sites Then And Now: 11 Striking Images That Bring The Past And Present Together

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/06/d-day-landing-sites-pictures_n_5458026.html?1402052492&just_reloaded=1

Amazing photographic work ...

Byrnzie

lukin2006 said:

D-Day Landing Sites Then And Now: 11 Striking Images That Bring The Past And Present Together

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/06/d-day-landing-sites-pictures_n_5458026.html?1402052492&just_reloaded=1

Amazing photographic work ...

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/jun/01/d-day-landings-scenes-in-1944-and-now-interactive

Click on the images to see them as they look now.

Cliffy6745

Byrnzie said:

lukin2006 said:

D-Day Landing Sites Then And Now: 11 Striking Images That Bring The Past And Present Together

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/06/d-day-landing-sites-pictures_n_5458026.html?1402052492&just_reloaded=1

Amazing photographic work ...

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/jun/01/d-day-landings-scenes-in-1944-and-now-interactive

Click on the images to see them as they look now.

That is one of the coolest things ever

lukin2006

Byrnzie said:

lukin2006 said:

D-Day Landing Sites Then And Now: 11 Striking Images That Bring The Past And Present Together

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/06/d-day-landing-sites-pictures_n_5458026.html?1402052492&just_reloaded=1

Amazing photographic work ...

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/jun/01/d-day-landings-scenes-in-1944-and-now-interactive

Click on the images to see them as they look now.

Very cool ... thanks for posting

hedonist

Worthy bump (with thanks to them and the footsteps that follow/followed).

mcgruff10

showed my classes that opening scene from saving private ryan....damn that's one powerful 20 minutes!

Enkidu

Someone is live tweeting WWII - https://twitter.com/RealTimeWWII

jnimhaoileoin

I'm glad to have been reminded of this

cp3iverson

The bravest men of the past 100 years. Most of the ones that came home alive worked blue collar jobs for forty years and never let on how legendary they were. Ridiculous how great they were.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

cp3iverson said:

The bravest men of the past 100 years. Most of the ones that came home alive worked blue collar jobs for forty years and never let on how legendary they were. Ridiculous how great they were.

Yup.

Godfather.

my Grandfather took two shots on Omaha beach and talked about very little of it but he was a proud American and he'd tell you too although a quiet man who carried a big stick.

Godfather.