D DAY.
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FROM NEWT TANNER PRESIDENT OF THE FDNY CYCLE CLUB....Three quarters of a century ago, components of the largest sea-borne invasion in history--the Allied Expeditionary Force--made their way to the beaches of Normandy. Hundreds of thousands of military personnel from multiple countries, the largest number being from the Armed Forces of the United States, moved across the English Channel, in a variety of vessels, to confront what had heretofore been an almost-unstoppable aggressor that had taken over much of Europe. Before the June 6th sun set on those beaches, thousands of them would lie dead, dying or wounded; not ever having gotten their chance to participate in planned maneuvers against the enemy. Those who made it across the beaches and scaled the cliffs still faced grueling battles to get a foothold from which to continue the campaign.
Visiting Normandy just a couple of days after the 70th anniversary of the invasion--mainly to avoid crowds, which many times prevent one from fully appreciating a significant place and the events that occurred there--was an experience that invariably brings a well of emotion.
Around the area are numerous monuments and museums dedicated to the effort, which deserve to be seen. Facts surrounding the invasion and those who participated serve to enhance the appreciation of what it took to put the plan together. One example, not very well known, was that the Navy towed massive floating concrete caissons across the Channel that would be sunk off the beaches to provide roadways for tanks and heavy equipment to roll right off the ships that transported them. As someone who studies and appreciates the value of innovative logistics, this was quite impressive, given the unwieldy nature of floating anything concrete anywhere, let alone across the waves and through the currents of a massive body of water.
The most significant appreciation for the events of D-Day, however, might not be realized while studying the terrain or even walking through the pillbox-emplacements from where the deadly "88s" rained down their massive fire, but will be when you see the American Cemetery, so immaculately and respectfully maintained. Your throat will close, and even if briefly, a tear will glaze your eye. If it hasn't up to that point, it will when you learn that all the graves and their markers face west--to home--to America, a place to which those there interred would never return.
I truly believe that every American, regardless of their political stripe, should visit Normandy at least once in their lifetime. It might even serve to dull the divisive extremes that prevail with increasing frequency in our country; particularly when confronted with the reality that our cohesive resolve as a Nation brought us there to defeat a powerful evil.
The most effective tacticians examine ideas from multiple quarters in order to formulate strategies that result in progress.
If you customarily display our National Flag on significant occasions, fly it proudly every June 6th, in honor of those who embarked on that hazardous journey all those years ago: those who returned to tell their stories and those who did not.
Newt Tanner, U.S. Navy Veteran, President, NYFCC
Visiting Normandy just a couple of days after the 70th anniversary of the invasion--mainly to avoid crowds, which many times prevent one from fully appreciating a significant place and the events that occurred there--was an experience that invariably brings a well of emotion.
Around the area are numerous monuments and museums dedicated to the effort, which deserve to be seen. Facts surrounding the invasion and those who participated serve to enhance the appreciation of what it took to put the plan together. One example, not very well known, was that the Navy towed massive floating concrete caissons across the Channel that would be sunk off the beaches to provide roadways for tanks and heavy equipment to roll right off the ships that transported them. As someone who studies and appreciates the value of innovative logistics, this was quite impressive, given the unwieldy nature of floating anything concrete anywhere, let alone across the waves and through the currents of a massive body of water.
The most significant appreciation for the events of D-Day, however, might not be realized while studying the terrain or even walking through the pillbox-emplacements from where the deadly "88s" rained down their massive fire, but will be when you see the American Cemetery, so immaculately and respectfully maintained. Your throat will close, and even if briefly, a tear will glaze your eye. If it hasn't up to that point, it will when you learn that all the graves and their markers face west--to home--to America, a place to which those there interred would never return.
I truly believe that every American, regardless of their political stripe, should visit Normandy at least once in their lifetime. It might even serve to dull the divisive extremes that prevail with increasing frequency in our country; particularly when confronted with the reality that our cohesive resolve as a Nation brought us there to defeat a powerful evil.
The most effective tacticians examine ideas from multiple quarters in order to formulate strategies that result in progress.
If you customarily display our National Flag on significant occasions, fly it proudly every June 6th, in honor of those who embarked on that hazardous journey all those years ago: those who returned to tell their stories and those who did not.
Newt Tanner, U.S. Navy Veteran, President, NYFCC
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RESPECT DUE TO OUR PREVIOUS VETERANS... https://www.google.com/search?q=nor...wKHYc3BWMQ_B0wNnoECAgQAw#imgrc=4j1MA7LRoFu9tM:
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Thanks to fivestar.... RESPECT DUE ! ....
www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-rice-d-day-anniversary-97-year-old-paratrooper-jump-2019-06-05/
www.stripes.com/news/us/97-year-old-wwii-veteran-parachutes-over-normandy-1.584604
www.cbsnews.com/news/tom-rice-d-day-anniversary-97-year-old-paratrooper-jump-2019-06-05/
www.stripes.com/news/us/97-year-old-wwii-veteran-parachutes-over-normandy-1.584604
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DDay minus 1:
DDay color pics:
www.buzzfeednews.com
DDay color pics:
22 Remarkable Color Pictures From The Battlefields Of D-Day
On this day 75 years ago, Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy to liberate Europe from the grips of Nazi tyranny. These pictures show the faces of D-Day in remarkable color.
www.buzzfeednews.com
D-Day landings in colour
Marina Amaral a digital colourist transforms black and white pictures of D-Day into colour.
www.bbc.com
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