June 6, 1944!
Yesterday, June 6, 2025 should have been a day of remembrance and observation by our people for those that had gone before them and help keep this country safe, but it was not, being just an ordinary day for most. Actually, this current generation, and sadly the generation before them, have very little knowledge of "D-Day" nor of most other wars and war events of the past. Sure, most know there was a World War II, but have limited knowledge otherwise. I will not dwell in our education system, just hope that it improves.
On June 6th 1944 General Dwight Eisenhower was in charge of an operation, called "Operation Overlord" that was set in motion for an invasion of Normandy, France. The war was winding down, yet Hitler's forces had a concrete hold on most of the coast of France. Germany invaded and occupied Northwestern France in 1940. Hitler had commanded General Rommel to fortify some 2,400 miles of coastline. Hitler and Rommel knew an invasion was imminent, but did not know where. General Eisenhower and his planners selected five beaches to land the Allied Forces and that included an invasion by sea and by air. The battle began with some 156,000 Allied forces made up mostly soldiers from America, Canada, and Great Britain. The landing area that included the five beaches was some fifty miles wide. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Some three months later, France was liberated and by Spring of 1945, the Allies had defeated the Germans.
"D-Day" is not a national holiday and there is not much celebration happening. Actually, in a lot of cases, it is not even mentioned by our news media. A lot of the calendars have the event noted, but in most cases it is not even in any color other than black.
Probably the biggest question concerning D-Day is; What does the "D" stand for? It just stands for "Day", the day the event started. The terms D-Day and H-Hour are used for the day and hour on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. They designate the day and hour of the operation when the day and hour have not yet been determined, or where secrecy is essential. For a given operation, the same D-Day and H-Hour apply for all units participating in it. When an operation started or is supposed to start, the time was D-Day. Five days after the operation starts, it is D+5 and likewise, three days before the operation is supposed to start it is D-3.
June 6th is also a special day for me. I entered the Air Force on Feb 11th, 1958 and was scheduled to be discharged four years later. The Cuban Missile Crisis happened in that time frame. I was in a critical career field and was involuntary extended for a year. Things calmed in a few months and I was offered and accepted my honorable discharge on D-Day, 1962.
Thank you for looking and reading this material.
I have been fortunate enough to add another soldier to the "Solder" web page. Sadly, the new addition is after the demise of the solder and he was never able to view his page. In this case, the soldier, is Jackie E. Ford and he was a sailor instead of soldier. Regardless, he served his country and had vowed and trained to help protect us from our enemies, foreign and domestic. A belated thanks to Jackie E. Ford. Click the link below to view his page.
Wish you well for this Summer Season and by now, let us hope you are Cicada free and have not be driven bananas by their loud noise making. Be mindful of the ticks, and the spiders as they can be very dangerous. The mosquitoes and the chiggers can be a nuisance, and they can cause a lot of problems. Be safe........
Wishing you the best for the year, 2025..
see you.....
jerry
