JUNE 6TH , 1944. LET US NOT FORGET !

[Bogey]

To all GTA menbers.   Let us not forget that this is the day that U.S.  basically turned back the tide of  the Tyrants.

Take time to remember your Fathers, Grandfathers , your Mothers and Grandmothers that helped in many ways to defeat the Tyrants and Despots  that had overrun the world.

Where would the   countries be that despise us now  if we had not come to their aid in material and lives?

My Father was a 18 year old Combat Medic during WW11.  He served in North Africa and was at Omaha Beach.  ALso he refused to leave the wounded (when he was told to ) during the Battle of the Bulge.  He was wounded many times and was always sent back to the Front.  He saw many men blown to bits, many were his friends, during the War.

I do not think he ever recovered from the horrors he saw.

Sorry if this sounds like my soap box forum.

Never Forget.

[Big_Bill]

I am happy to see another VERY PROUD AMERICAN post this Mike,

Like you, my father was also on the D-Day Landings, he was with the Army Amphibious Engineers that cleared out the obstacles that blocked the way of our landing craft, and so much more.

Like your father, a part of him remained in Europe, the men that died andthose that werewounded, the HORROR OF WAR !

None of US escape war untouched in some way !

GOD BLESS OWR VETERANS, ONE AND ALL !!!!!! I SALUTE YOU ALL!!!!!

Thanks,

Bill

[Remo]

Where would we be if not for them?


Their sacrifices will never forgotten.  Rest in peace, honored heroes.

[OHPLNKR]

Thank you, We don't have enough "soap box forums" on this important  and rapidly being forgotten subject.

[RedFeather]

Boy, I almost forgot what day this is!  My Uncle Harry was also part of the actual invasion force.  He never talked about it, but my mother said he mentioned being extremely sea sick during the channel crossing.  Here is what his unit encountered (from the official record):  "Losses in equipment ran high during the first landings, affecting all types of materiel. Engineer supplies, necessary for clearing the beaches, were seriously reduced. The 397th AAA AW Battalion lost 28 of its 36 machine guns disembarking, and infantry units experienced great difficulty in getting their heavy weapons ashore."  He was in the 397th.  My father in law arrived about a week or two later and was wounded outside of Sarbrucken, just missing the Battle of the Bulge.  He never talked about it to his family, either.  Only to me.  Lots of grit in those WWII vets!

[VINNY]

Honor and Respect to them all.

[daveshoot]

Dad was in anti-aircraft, 1st Army, and went over on D+3. In fact, he said the worst thing was waiting on the quay in England for most of the three days, watching the boats come back literally covered with the wounded and dead, waiting for your turn to go over. They had a 90mm and a quad .50 rig in each unit, and the .50s were more valuable against ground targets after the landing.

He went on through the war via France, Belgium, and the outskirts of the Bulge to end up in Eschwegge, Germany. The story I remember best was about hitching a ride in the back of a truck one night during the Bulge, absolutely freezing, only to find the truck was full of frozen bodies from the new front. He jumped right back out and never quite got over that shock.

I wonder if we still have that kind of effort and conviction in us. Much later I too served in Germany, glaring menacingly at our former allies the Russkis while trying to drink everything in their path. Peacetime armies have different priorities. My service was a party compared to what our fathers and grandfathers went through. My poor dad has moved on as have so many others, but we need to remind every generation of what they went through.

Dad is on far left.

[TexasShooter72]

My Grandfather was 101st Airborne.  I will NOT forget.

[EdNunya]

Here's to them all!

Wether they landed on the Beach, arrived through the Air, or served on the Sea.. We owe them all a debt that can never be repaid...

Semper Fi


Ed

[RedFeather]

Speaking of Russkies, my dad had a friend who lied about his age to enlist in WWII - I think he was barely 16.  Nickname "PeeWee" because he stood a little over five foot tall and weighed about a hundred pounds, soaking wet.  He made it all the way to I guess the Elbe river where the US troops met up with the Russians.  PeeWee said he was assigned to stand guard outside of the room where the two sides were negotiating.  The Russians also supplied a guard, an exceptionally large fellow who looked him over and sneered "We Russians, we big, strong.  You Americans, you puny!"  PeeWee said he just smiled and gently tapped his holster, replying "Colt .45......Seven shots."  The Russian never spoke to him the rest of the watch.