Overlord

I hope this post goes off correctly with the scheduling function, because this is another important one. In case you’re a young one, or otherwise busy and preoccupied like most of us get, take a minute to recall today’s date: June 6th.

The significance of today is the anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944. Part of Operation Overlord, Neptune was the amphibious portion of what historians still argue about in terms of size – it probably remains the largest operation of its kind in history.

Approximately 160,000 Allied troops, of which 73,000 were Americans, participated in this operation which was the initial blow against German forces occupying France. The weather nearly cancelled the entire invasion, and had history been slightly different, the invasion would have gone forward on June 5th. The odds were not good, and General Eisenhower went so far as to pen a message taking personal responsibility for the Allies’ failure to successfully establish a beachhead.

I’ve have actually met a veteran of Normandy. He was a high-school friend of my father, and both men remained close into later life, and while Dad wound up in the Army Air Corps in India, this gentleman defied the odds and survived the experience at Normandy to become a Judge and father himself. I had the honor of meeting him, shaking his hand, and thanking him for making my own service even possible.

There aren’t many World War II veterans left. If you know one or still have one in the family, give them a call and tell them, “Thank you,” today.