Categories
D-Day
Non-Beer Discussion by FARGINGBASTIGE6
Today marks the 68th Anniversary of the D-Day landing at Normandy. I propose a toast to the Soldiers, Marines, Sailors & Airmen who made the landing... and to those who didn't make it back.
12 years ago
FARGINGBASTIGE6
27279
Yeah, it was the US Army Air Corps then. Just trying to give credit before an airman chimes in for not being recognized. I had an uncle there... army infantry - and he lived to tell the tale (although he rarely told the tale... you know what I mean.
quote: Originally posted by FoamDome
Hear, hear! Hooah! Special shout out to the Rangers on Pont du Hoc. Amazing valor. ARMY STRONG! Possibly not a lot of airmen on the beach, because the Air Force was created after WWII and because, well, it was a beach.
FARGINGBASTIGE6
27279
•Air-support operations - often overlooked in the success of D-Day - sustained significant losses: •Between the 1st of April and the 5th of June, 1944, the Allies flew 14,000 missions losing 12,000 airmen and 2,000 aircraft. •127 more planes were lost on D-Day. •By the end of the Normandy campaign, 28,000 airmen were dead. [url]http://www.awesomestories.com/history/normandy-invasion/stunning-d-day-facts[/url]
Some 13,000 paratroopers mostly from 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions (then under US VII Corps) boarded Allied and US Army Air Corps planes or gliders and embarked on a one-way trip. They parachuted in behind the German front lines--or at least, that was the plan. Planes were shot out of the sky, paratroopers were picked off while floating in the air, glider pilots became mis-oriented and crash-landed, jumpers got hung up in trees and buildings. Those paratroopers who landed had no vehicles except their leather personnel carriers, and not quite enough water to survive nor bullets to accomplish the mission. Just crazy enough to work!
BLUESANDBARBQ
74923
Monumental day in American and World history. Every year around Memorial Day/D-Day I break out my box set of Band of Brothers and watch. Maybe the best mini-series ever produced. History is not lost on me.
FARGINGBASTIGE6
27279
Yeah, Lou, "Band of Brothers" is excellent. May be the best...
quote: Originally posted by bluesandbarbq
Monumental day in American and World history. Every year around Memorial Day/D-Day I break out my box set of Band of Brothers and watch. Maybe the best mini-series ever produced. History is not lost on me.
FARGINGBASTIGE6
27279
Someone (can't recall who), far more profound than me once said, "If its crazy and ot works, then its not crazy".
quote: Originally posted by FoamDome
Some 13,000 paratroopers mostly from 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions (then under US VII Corps) boarded Allied and US Army Air Corps planes or gliders and embarked on a one-way trip. They parachuted in behind the German front lines--or at least, that was the plan. Planes were shot out of the sky, paratroopers were picked off while floating in the air, glider pilots became mis-oriented and crash-landed, jumpers got hung up in trees and buildings. Those paratroopers who landed had no vehicles except their leather personnel carriers, and not quite enough water to survive nor bullets to accomplish the mission. Just crazy enough to work!
FRETWALKER
4773
[quote]he rarely told the tale... you know what I mean.[quote]quote: Originally posted by FoamDome That guy in the bar, bragging about his war exploits, is making it up, trying to get laid... or at least a free beer. That quiet guy in the corner, shaking his head over a beer and a shot? He's got the stories, if you can pry them out of him! My dad liked to talk about the funny parts of the war, the Bill Mauldin moments. Ask him about the Purple Heart, though, and at best you'd get something about "stray shrapnel," mumble, mumble... and did I ever tell you about the time I was the mess sergeant for a week?
FARGINGBASTIGE6
27279
Exactly.
quote: Originally posted by fretwalker
[quote]he rarely told the tale... you know what I mean.[quote]quote: Originally posted by FoamDome That guy in the bar, bragging about his war exploits, is making it up, trying to get laid... or at least a free beer. That quiet guy in the corner, shaking his head over a beer and a shot? He's got the stories, if you can pry them out of him! My dad liked to talk about the funny parts of the war, the Bill Mauldin moments. Ask him about the Purple Heart, though, and at best you'd get something about "stray shrapnel," mumble, mumble... and did I ever tell you about the time I was the mess sergeant for a week?