80 years since D-Day

66Mustang

Tomorrow will be 80 years since D-Day which was a significant event seeing as it paved the way for the liberation of France and then the rest of Europe, so it was pretty much sowing the seeds that would mean the end of the war

A little fact is that it should be the 80th anniversary today, but the invasion was delayed at the last minute due to bad weather

No real reason for writing this but just thought it noteworthy and in case others wanted to share their thoughts

Jimm_Scope

It's a really interesting topic to read up about. From all the organisation and logistics of it, to the individual stories of the soldiers who had to undertake it.

66Mustang

I agree @Jimm_Scope - something I found surprising was how so little actually went to plan and they basically just had to make it up as they went along!!

Jimm_Scope

A lot of it had never been fully tested before. They'd made large landings in North Africa and Italy but nothing on the scale they had planned on D-Day, or against the defences they would have to face. The North African and Italian landings did not have to contend with anything as well defended as the Atlantic Wall.

vikingqueen

My father was there aged 22, he told me amusing stories of the crossing when I was little, but of the actual landing he said very little. As I got older I once asked him what he saw and his reply was " a Canadian in pieces". He never spoke of it again.

To those men and women who fought to give us out freedom I thank each and every one of you. May we never forget.

KG100

My granddad was there, I used to live with him back in the 1970's, he never said much about it though.

He just spoke a bit about landing on the beach and then fighting at Caen, he went back to visit it again in 1977.

My other granddad was in the royal navy.

66Mustang

@vikingqueen

I find it interesting how British soldiers don't seem to like talking about what they got up to. Americans seem to love telling everyone how they saw loads of action and stuff, I know that's a generalisation but it's what I've experienced anyway

@KG100

Thanks for sharing 🙂

Grinchy

what a milestone, a great day in history, lest we forget, thanks to those who served, and those who didn't come home,

vikingqueen

@66Mustang

my father never told me much, I think it brought back too many horrors. He use to say the ones that didn't come home were the lucky ones as they were free from the nightmares. Very sad thing to say but I understood what he meant.

AndyGT

Am sitting here watching the DDay commemorations. Things like this always bring tears to my eyes and puts a lump in my throat. It is so moving.

One thing I would like to say though is,... The Amanda used may have been bigger than in the invasion of Italy (Where my Dad Fought) but they faced defences like The Hitler Line, The Gustav Line and The Gothic Line and terrible battles like that at Monte Cassino and Anzio. They faced a mountain range running the complete length of the country. So, Jim_Scope to say that the North African and Italian campaigns did not have to contend with anything as well defended as the Atlantic Wall is rather over simplifying it...

MW123

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/872898#Comment_872898

I understand your frustration. It's worth noting that different topics resonate with people in different ways. Immediate, tangible issues like the DWP often elicit strong reactions because they directly affect daily life.

However, remembrance and honouring those who sacrificed for our freedoms can be deeply personal, leading some to reflect quietly rather than comment publicly. Let's value both forms of engagement and remember the importance of the freedoms we have to express our thoughts and concerns.

Albus_Scope

I'd say just because someone isn't commenting, it doesn't mean they don't have strong feelings toward a discussion. 😊

Personally, I loved seeing many old planes flying over my garden, on their way to my old hometown. It was quite humbling.

michael57

more often than not silence has more meaning does not mean the respect is gone or lacking

WhatThe

woodbine, I was surprised that the only member on this forum to create a post about D-Day was a young person

vikingqueen

I found it lovely that a 'young person' created this post, it shows that the memories will live on. My grandson is fascinated with both world wars, it's just a shame he never got to meet my father. I gave him my grandfather's WW1 and my father's WW2 medals in a frame and told him he was now ' the keeper of the medals', he treasures them.

Thanks to older people passing on what they know to younger people I would like to think that in the years to come they also know the sacrifices that those men and women gave.

WhatThe

Far worse is a Prime Minister too busy to stay with the elderly veterans who attended the British commemoration in Normandy, leaving his wife to sit with an ex-PM.

If those are "British values" then shame on us all.

vikingqueen

Sunak's behaviour was disgusting. If you can't give the veterans a day of your life for the years they fought for us then your not worth anything. It saddened me but also made me angry that he couldn't respect the few that are left. A couple of years if not less and all those who fought for us will be gone. Shame on him.

WhatThe

Robert Persichitti, a 102-year-old World War II US Navy veteran, died last week while on his way to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day

WhatThe

What tempted him away we may never know. There is no acceptable excuse and calling it "a mistake" just isn't good enough. He's all over the weekend newspapers instead of this event marking 80 years since the D-Day landings - the beginning of war not a single day of war.. And we don't have peace in Europe. His fleeting interest is a national disgrace and if he understood that, he'd stop electioneering and go now.

Men were shot for desertion during WW1. This overgrown schoolboy is not fit for office.

Jimm_Scope

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/872698#Comment_872698

I meant only the very initial landings. The Italian campaign was brutal in many ways. I never intended to suggest the Italian campaign was any less difficult than any other. Just the very initial landings in Sicily were on a smaller scale. I'm sorry if my comment suggested otherwise.