June 6th 1944.

[TJX]

6 am was H hour. The greatest seaborne invasion in the history of man. There were almost 7,000 ships of every type except aircraft carriers from battle ships to transports to supply ships. 3 nations, England, Canada and the united States invaded 5 beaches. Within hours the surf was red with blood. The beaches were littered with the dead and body parts. By the end of the day there were 5,000 dead allied soldiers and 150,000 men had established a beachhead. The liberation of Europe had begun. This was not an American victory but an allied victory.

I can't remember if it was Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather who coined the term greatest generation but they were. The soldiers, the families back home even the political leadership set aside differences to come together . They endured rationing. They went to the movie theaters just to learn what was happening in the war. They enlisted in droves. Many lied about their ages to serve.

I wonder if we'd be up to the task today. I wonder if we will ever have another greatest generation. I wonder where and why the world has gone so wrong.

I'd like you to think about how you treat people and how people treat you. It seems to me that every generation has to be a little nastier than the previous generation. Someone, somewhere , sometime has to break the cycle. Can that time be now?

 

[sircumvent]

Thanks for posting this. Every generation gets a little more watered down. I don't think we will ever see the likes of the Greatest Generation again.

 

[TJX]

The movie Saving Private Ryan had the most realistic depiction of that beach invasion ever shown. The rest of the movie was total fabrication. Everybody should watch the opening scene. And then be VERY humbled.

Also the mini series Band of Brothers is a very compelling story. The interviews of the surviving members of the 101st are priceless.

 

[ronmcc2448]

My Grandfather was a Sgt in the US Army In Normandy. He lost many troops that day. Normandy affected him greatly and changed who he was. He never talked about Normandy. but when he did he had some amazing and heart felt stories. RIP.

Those who survived and came back to the states and kept in touch had a work ethic long gone. My grandfather and his buddies worked for Kaiser Steel. My grandfather cut the tip of his finger off at work and they took him to the hospital for whatever reason they couldn't re attach. My grandfather told the Dr sew it closed he had to go back to work. Kaiser told him to take as much time as he needed. He was back at work in three hours. His buddies were the same way.

They all played golf three times a week into there 80s at one of toughest courses in northern california. The course has water on 13 out of the 18 holes. They were there at sunrise every Monday Wednesday Friday walking all 18.

I saw a post if we went to war today and we had a beach invasion and water how many troops could do and would do so?

 

[TJX]

My Grandfather was a Sgt in the US Army In Normandy. He lost many troops that day. Normandy affected him greatly and changed who he was. He never talked about Normandy. but when he did he had some amazing and heart felt stories. RIP.

Those who survived and came back to the states and kept in touch had a work ethic long gone. My grandfather and his buddies worked for Kaiser Steel. My grandfather cut the tip of his finger off at work and they took him to the hospital for whatever reason they couldn't re attach. My grandfather told the Dr sew it closed he had to go back to work. Kaiser told him to take as much time as he needed. He was back at work in three hours. His buddies were the same way.

They all played golf three times a week into there 80s at one of toughest courses in northern california. The course has water on 13 out of the 18 holes. They were there at sunrise every Monday Wednesday Friday walking all 18.

I saw a post if we went to war today and we had a beach invasion and water how many troops could do and would do so?

If your grandfather is still alive then please give him my thanks for his service.

 

[IG_88]

I saw a post if we went to war today and we had a beach invasion and water how many troops could do and would do so?

The idea that modern troops would not do the same as their WWI or II counterparts is fallacy. It's repeated over and over again but usually by non-veterans.
A tour in Iraq was as dangerous as any in Europe. Different types of warfare don't change the danger.
I absolutely guarantee that if we needed to do another massive beach invasion that we could do it.

 

[AnAmericanDarling]

The Greatest Generation had its pricks in it just like every bag of generation. And guess what? There's a young generation fighting in a war right now.

 

[Oblimo]

Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but during an address to an assemblage of WWII veterans, he said something that will stick with me forever:

When these men were boys, they saved the world.

 

[TJX]

The idea that modern troops would not do the same as their WWI or II counterparts is fallacy. It's repeated over and over again but usually by non-veterans.
A tour in Iraq was as dangerous as any in Europe. Different types of warfare don't change the danger.
I absolutely guarantee that if we needed to do another massive beach invasion that we could do it.

My point was NOT weather the U S military COULD do it. It was more of can our society do it. I have grave doubts.

 

[IG_88]

My point was NOT weather the U S military COULD do it. It was more of can our society do it. I have grave doubts.

Of course we would. Americans have no problem with sacrifice when it's for a just cause. We just haven't had one in a long time.

 

[TJX]

Of course we would. Americans have no problem with sacrifice when it's for a just cause. We just haven't had one in a long time.

I hope you're right.

 

[McMax]

https://i.redd.it/se73umrhte211.jpg

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

D Day was the major turning point in World War II. Seventy-four years ago today, June 6, 1944, the allies stormed ashore in France to drive the Germans out. Less than a year later, the bloody conflict was over.

When he reached the beach, the scene that greeted his eyes was even more grim than what he had expected. Wrecked Higgins boats floated aimlessly on the crashing surf. The water was colored a muddy pink from blood; the sand was dotted and splotched with lines and circles of crimson. Body parts—everything from arms and legs to heads and fingers—littered the sand and stones. Angry-looking obstacles still honeycombed the beach, seemingly oblivious to the prodigious and costly efforts of the Gap Assault Teams to clear them. Blood-soaked bandages, discarded equipment, and sand-choked rifles lay in random clusters. Dead and wounded men—some facedown, some faceup on arched backs—littered the waterline and the sands. Other figures lay huddled at the shingle. Some looked dead. Others howled for medics. Several tanks were burning or immobilized. Mortar and artillery shells exploded—oily puffs of smoke, dust, or sand floated in the wake of the explosions. Bullets snipped against the sand and stones of the beach.


http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/06/06/d-day-74-year-anniversary


The carnage of the beach was overwhelming to such a youngster—so many jagged, bloody wounds, so many cries for medics. A mortar shell exploded nearby, bouncing him in the air but otherwise leaving him unhurt. The same could not be said for his littermate, a young man with a brand-new baby daughter at home. Several times Borden tried to rouse him. Finally he turned him over and was greeted by the sight of “glazed eyes and sandy face in that awesome fixed expression. His helmet . . . rolled upward . . . exposing a handful of gray matter surprisingly clean!” Having never seen death, Borden began to administer a vial of human serum albumen before the terrible truth dawned on him. “Tears gushed. I begged my God with all my heart to allow me to exchange places with [the] youth before me.” Angry and devastated, Borden stood up and roared at the unseen Germans on the bluffs, “God-damn you, everyone!” He also raged at God. “What is life about that you should do this to my friend?!”

-John McManus

 

[TJX]

The Greatest Generation had its pricks in it just like every bag of generation. And guess what? There's a young generation fighting in a war right now.

You're 100% right. These young men AND women are beacons of hope.

 

[mackiemack]

Thanks for posting this. Every generation gets a little more watered down. I don't think we will ever see the likes of the Greatest Generation again.

they were not great

 

[o2baPrince]

Say what you will about Bill Clinton, but during an address to an assemblage of WWII veterans, he said something that will stick with me forever:

When these men were boys, they saved the world.

Nice.

 

[beew]

6 am was H hour. The greatest seaborne invasion in the history of man. There were almost 7,000 ships of every type except aircraft carriers from battle ships to transports to supply ships. 3 nations, England, Canada and the united States invaded 5 beaches. Within hours the surf was red with blood. The beaches were littered with the dead and body parts. By the end of the day there were 5,000 dead allied soldiers and 150,000 men had established a beachhead. The liberation of Europe had begun. This was not an American victory but an allied victory.

I can't remember if it was Walter Cronkite or Dan Rather who coined the term greatest generation but they were. The soldiers, the families back home even the political leadership set aside differences to come together . They endured rationing. They went to the movie theaters just to learn what was happening in the war. They enlisted in droves. Many lied about their ages to serve.

I wonder if we'd be up to the task today. I wonder if we will ever have another greatest generation. I wonder where and why the world has gone so wrong.

I'd like you to think about how you treat people and how people treat you. It seems to me that every generation has to be a little nastier than the previous generation. Someone, somewhere , sometime has to break the cycle. Can that time be now?

When using the term "the greatest generation", one thinks of course about the military strategists and American and British soldiers who showed bravery or sacrificed their lives for others.

Let's not forget that :

1. American Elite supplied Hitler with armament for years, and only turned on him when the turn of events no longer served their interests.

2. British Elite disregarded Churchill's warnings about Hitler for years.
In fact, in the beginning they even signed a secret pact with Hitler to not intervene, when he invaded some European countries.

That dirty history of ww2 gets consistently watered down.

 

[richard_daily]

Thanks for posting this. Every generation gets a little more watered down. I don't think we will ever see the likes of the Greatest Generation again.

Bullshit. Give me 20 minutes of a walking tour, and I can show you how there's no "watering down" going on.

Kids today have it just as rough as ever, it's just a slightly different set of problems.

Your opinion is just a sign that you're getting old, much like that goshdarned rock music now being too loud.

 

[mackiemack]

Bullshit. Give me 20 minutes of a walking tour, and I can show you how there's no "watering down" going on.

Kids today have it just as rough as ever, it's just a slightly different set of problems.

Your opinion is just a sign that you're getting old, much like that goshdarned rock music now being too loud.

kids r still kids. These betas don't get it.kids have it rougher today

 

[sircumvent]

they were not great

Yeah and who the fuck are you?

 

[mackiemack]

Yeah and who the fuck are you?

does it matter, homeless faggot?

 

[Hypoxia]

When using the term "the greatest generation", one thinks of course about the military strategists and American and British soldiers who showed bravery or sacrificed their lives for others.

Let's not forget that :

1. American Elite supplied Hitler with armament for years, and only turned on him when the turn of events no longer served their interests.

2. British Elite disregarded Churchill's warnings about Hitler for years.
In fact, in the beginning they even signed a secret pact with Hitler to not intervene, when he invaded some European countries.

That dirty history of ww2 gets consistently watered down.

One might research rates of non-fire by infantry in various wars. You'd be amazed how many troops chose to not fire, or to fire into the air, rather than shoot at an enemy. Those numbers may help judge the generations' greatness.

Note: My father was in the Pacific and had three carriers sunk under him. His brother's Army unit opened concentration camps. My other uncle drove a destroyer in the Atlantic. My father-in-law was too tall for the Navy but survived the Merchant Marine. None were in D-Day. None wanted to talk of war experiences. It's over. Move on.

PS: My quiet Quaker Dad visited and we went to an air show. A WWII carrier fighter sat in a shed. Dad said, "I used to work on those." He was a propeller technician. To see if a prop was properly balanced, the plane was tied down on deck, the most powerful rotary engine in the world revved up, and Dad sat on the canopy, watching. Sometimes a plane would break loose and shoot off into the drink. Oops. They lose a few prop techs that way. But Dad made it.

Every veteran is a quiet heroine or hero.

 

[mdbigdee]

If you are talking about statements made by S.L.A. Marshall in his "Men Against Fire" book then you should know Marshall's statement that "Only 30% of men in a firefight actually fire their weapon" has been challenged. Marshall claimed that he interviewed thousands of combat veterans asking if they fired their weapons in a firefight but the military attache assigned to help him doesn't remember Marshall interviewing nearly that number. And only a few pages of notes he took have ever been discovered. S.L.A. Marshall also claimed that he led troops in combat during WW1 but his service record show no such action. Marshall also claimed that he was the youngest officer to serve in the AEF (American Expenditionary Force) in WW1 but his service records show that he wasn't commissioned until December 1918 which was after the Armistice was signed.
My father was a combat veteran who fought in North Africa,was captured and spent 25 months in POW camps and he told me he could not remember of anyone in his unit not firing their weapon at the enemy. My uncle who came ashore with the 2nd wave on D-Day and had part of his right ear shot off by a German MG-42 bullet and fought from France into Germany once told me that if someone in his platoon wouldn't shoot at the Germans he'd be roughed up and sent to the rear with the label "coward".

 

[mdbigdee]

If you are talking about statements made by S.L.A. Marshall in his "Men Against Fire" book then you should know Marshall's statement that "Only 30% of men in a firefight actually fire their weapon" has been challenged. Marshall claimed that he interviewed thousands of combat veterans asking if they fired their weapons in a firefight but the military attache assigned to help him doesn't remember Marshall interviewing nearly that number. And only a few pages of notes he took have ever been discovered. S.L.A. Marshall also claimed that he led troops in combat during WW1 but his service record show no such action. Marshall also claimed that he was the youngest officer to serve in the AEF (American Expenditionary Force) in WW1 but his service records show that he wasn't commissioned until December 1918 which was after the Armistice was signed.
My father was a combat veteran who fought in North Africa,was captured and spent 25 months in POW camps and he told me he could not remember of anyone in his unit not firing their weapon at the enemy. My uncle who came ashore with the 2nd wave on D-Day and had part of his right ear shot off by a German MG-42 bullet and fought from France into Germany once told me that if someone in his platoon wouldn't shoot at the Germans he'd be roughed up and sent to the rear with the label "coward".

 

[spacekowboy]

All they sacrificed so that idiots are free to drop racial slurs on the internet day after day after day.