Take a moment today and think about all the young men that sacrificed everything today. If you have grandchildren or young folks in your life take a few minutes and tell them the significance of D-day. So many gave everything for this country on this day and in the coming years. I lost my great uncle I never knew. He and his crew were lost in a midair collision in the fog over England. On the beach, on the cliffs and in the air. God bless them and their families. What a different time and Country

PS one of the best documentary’s ever made is “We Stand Alone Together” it can be found on YouTube

so true,

Good post

Had an old client that used to stop off at my studio every little bit. He was built like a fireplug and always bummed a dip of Copenhagen from me and called me "Pal". I knew him about the last 15-20 years of his life. I'd known him several years before he even spoke about his service, and even then I didn't know much, it took years before I heard his entire story. He was in the first wave in at H Hour, Omaha Beach. Wish he was still around to borrow a pinch of Cope and call me "Pal" some more. He had a good run and made it into his mid eighties. He was always full of beans, pee and vinegar.... and happy. I'm a better person for having known him.

Must of been a day that let a guy know if he had what takes or not. I can’t think of a more definitive moment then when those ramps dropped. God bless the greatest generation ever.

Sadly there's not very many of these brave men from that time left.

Thanks for the post, Pawnee.

And thank God for all the men in that war and every one that has followed it who had what it took to pick up a gun and go and fight for our freedom. To run into the fire, instead of away from it.

I figured that everyone had it seared into their mind the important date of June 6, 1944.
But unfortunately most people don’t have a clue.
Many a young man fell that day..probably never had a first beer,owned their first car , or even had a first kiss from a sweetheart.
Things a lot of us experienced , that they never got to.
Things they experienced we probably won’t..for many.. they knew that day would probably be their last, here on Earth…
Bullets whizzing, the smell of death in the air, so scared their stomachs are in knots..
Yet, they charged that beach…and paid the price for freedom.

Thanks for posting this Pawnee. It's crazy to me that in my life so far that I remember the connection I had with WW1, WW2, and Korea Vets, and most youngins today have no connection, they don't know what today is.

I remember right after Nam ended my oldest Brother took me to a American Legion Post to fish in their pond. They had a sign out that said todays lunch special was a bologna sammich, chips, for a buck. Don't know bout you but I can't pass up a bologna sammich so after we fished I talked my brother into buying me lunch lol.

I know this sounds strange but as a 10 year old boy, when I walked into that Post, my life changed. It had some WW1 vets but mostly it was WW2 and Korean Vets all sitting around the bar. The ceiling was a giant smoke cloud, they were smoking cigs and cigars, drinking beers and a lot of whiskey.

These men were different, you could actually feel that. They weren't mean, they treated me well but were callused and did what they wanted, said what they wanted and had a freedom about them that wasn't free if that makes sense.

I was very fortunate because I got to know some of the WW2 Vets for years, up till they passed over. They were as ornery as they come and 2 of them came to the Post everyday, poured their beer in a glass, salted it, had their shots of whiskey and would drive home, up in their 90's. They would tease each other about who would die first and call each other names. I felt blessed every time I got to sit and hang with them, they were extraordinary and I miss them.

Sorry for the long post, all Vets are near and dear to me. Our great Nation is different now, heck of a lot different than 50 years ago but we wouldn't have the freedoms we do have now if it wasn't for our brave Soldiers. God bless them all, and thanks GPa, miss ya ole boy!

I wonder how many are still alive love listening to WW 2 vets stories.

My VFW Post lost our last WW2 Vet some years ago, He had hit the beach, marched across France with Patton, and lived thru the Bulge.

Had two uncles there on 82 airborne the other Army Ranger hard to believe what they went through.

All are gone here too. GPa started in France fought to Bastogne, the Bulge, then on to take the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine in Remagen. He'd be 108 now. Those Men were amazing and least we forget all the Women too. The Nurses, Rosies, Wacs, Red Cross etc. were just as amazing.

My dad , uncle and cousins were dday vets

My Dad was in England, waiting to be part of the second wave. Company B out of Emporia, Kansas.

He never talked much about the war. Now that he is gone, I wish he would have talked about it.

Catch22 and Danvee we lost our last one (Albert) a few years ago and I was honored to be a pallbearer at his funeral. Albert was a copilot on a B-17 and put 28 missions under his belt before he came home. For those that don’t know it was rare to make it past your first mission.

Albert waited until the late 90’s before he told anyone in our small town that he caught a glimpse through the fog of my great uncle’s plane hitting another plane. I guess it took him that many years to come to grips with losing a friend and high school classmate. Hard to believe two men from the same small town would be together in such large theater.

Albert, Harold, Shorty, Jim, Vernon and James. All 6 from a town of 200 and 5 came home. Jim and Shorty both were German POWs and weighed around 90 pounds when they got back to the states.

I just wanna push a heart heart heart button bud. God love on them all is all I got.

Lost a great uncle on a bombing mission over Berlin. Good post.

There was so many lives lost and changed during that war hard to imagine after ww 1 and 2 any country could start a war again. Amazing what we were able to accomplish back then I read that the super fortress was designed and coming off the assembly line in less than a year and was the most advanced plane in the air but thousands of airman lost there life in them due to malfunctions in the planes and never made it through training. The B29s project cost more than the development of the A bomb. I think its just a matter of time until some country starts the last war, not sure how we can call the world civilized.

And I thought I was negative!

Lots of good post thanks.