DDay 76

DDay 76 by ric gustafson


On the eve of June 6 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower spent time with his troops. Instead of being jovial,  he was solemn. He stayed with his men until the last aircraft took off.
June 6 1944 was one of the most important battles in US history. Six divisions had to grab a toehold of defended French coastline.
The day started in confusion. Plans fell apart because of weather, enemy resistance and bad luck. By the day's end, nearly 156,000 men were on French soil. They had come in 6,900 ships and landing craft. Also in 11,500 planes. DDay,  known as Operation Overlord used a lot of deception in their planning. They staged fake aircraft and used phony radio traffic. Landing craft known as Higgins boats transported the troops to the beaches. These boats were named after Andrew Higgins from Nebraska. Early June 1944 was the worst English Channel weather in twenty years. But there was a break on June 6. Eisenhower gave the green light.
About 20,000 US and British airborne troops dropped behind enemy lines. Their mission was to block roads and clear paths to the beach. The Germans were convinced no invasion would happen that week.
On Utah beach, Brig General Theodore Roosevelt Jr led some of the troops. On Gold, Juno and Sword beaches, British, Canadian and French forces fought with honor.
The toughest beach on DDay was Omaha beach. They were shot at as the ramp doors came down. The water was neck deep or higher. Many soldiers drowned. At the seawall, ad hoc groups of men formed. By noon, about 600 soldiers made it to the tops of the bluffs. By the evening of DDay, a foothold was established on Omaha beach.
Men that day lived and died for our freedom.


research help: An Omaha World Herald article


Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric