Today is the 78th anniversary of D-Day. Actually, it’s the anniversary of a D-Day, although it’s probably the most well known.
Today is the anniversary of the Allied invasion of Germany occupied France. Rather than being the name of the operation, “D-Day” is a general term used to denote the beginning date of a military operation. The “D” stands for “day” when the actual date is unknown or classified.
D-Day was originally scheduled for June 5, 1944. But poor weather predictions made General Dwight D. Eisenhower decide to to delay the invasion. Eisenhower’s chief meteorologist, British Capt. James Stagg differed from the other experts and predicted impending rough seas and high winds for the English Channel. The weather conditions, while not ideal, improved on June 6. The improved weather is often cited in the overall success of the invasion.
The code name for D-Day was Operation Overload. It included more than the initial landings and included plans to liberate north-western Europe from Nazi control. In order to pull off the operation, unprecedented international cooperation was needed. By the time the invasion started, over two million troops from 12 countries were involved. It was the largest naval, air and land military operation in history.
Thousand of Americans died during the invasion on D-Day and the following operations. On D+2 (June 8) the U.S. Army created the American St. Laurent Cemetery adjacent to Omaha Beach to begin the burials of those who had died in the past 36 hours. After the war, the cemetery was moved closer to the beach and rededicated as the Normandy American Cemetery. The next of kin of all the deceased were given the option to repatriate their loved ones to the United States or have them be buried at an American cemetery overseas.
Today is an important anniversary in our history — think about those 9,387 Americans buried at Normandy and what they died for — then read today’s news….
Maybe Stephen Ambrose said it best, “At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn’t want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So they fought, and won, and we, all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful.”
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