79 years ago

[Jeepnik]

My father was on a transport waiting to go ashore at a practically unheard of beach in France. An odyssey that would take him through France, Belgium and ultimately Germany.

Along the way he changed from a kid selling Good Humor ice cream on a beach to a man capable of unspeakable things.

While I’m sure someone has calculated the monetary cost of his journey only those who traveled his path understand the true human cost.

It wasn’t until I traveled my own path into a type of darkness only those who have been there can understand that I understood his.

So for all those who stepped ashore that day, every day before and every day since I say thank you and pray that you have and will find the light again.

My father passed in 1988 he still had some of his demons. I’m older now than he was when he passed and sometimes, like tonight, they slip slyly in and bring their little bit of hell with them.

 

[Enigma]

May your father rest in peace. May your demons rest, and give you peace. If you are considering harming yourself, please talk to someone! If nothing else, you can talk to me. Send me a PM for contact info.

Service members, veterans and those concerned about their mental health can call the Veterans Crisis Line to speak to trained professionals. To talk to someone, call 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, send a text message to 838255 or chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat. If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, there is help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, text a crisis counselor at 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

 

[RC44Mag]

Wife, myself and some friends and family are making the pilgrimage there next year for the 80th. Chateau is booked already and I can’t wait to walk the hallowed ground where so many great Americans tread during those fateful times. God Bless them all.

 

[kentucky yeti]

My dad was in the second wave to hit the beach. He passed in 2003. The last few weeks of his life was the first real stories I heard about his time overseas. He had kept it inside him all those years.

 

[contender]

In my family,, most of us have served, or married to a serviceman.

My Dad, as well as 3 of he brothers all served in WWII.

Our only family casualty was my Uncle Fred (Freddie) Phillips, who died at Normandy.

 

[Wyandot Jim]

"Delta Air Lines flew more than 40 World War II veterans on a charter flight from Atlanta to Normandy, France, for the 79th annual commemoration of the 1944 D-Day invasion."

https://flipboard.com/video/euronews/5af2af1ea3?fbclid=IwAR0XfZUfXbi7tt3J6JGAOElTlVM3pcR6O-cBIoAbtoyiBoucn6r8ZL6kb6g

Don't forget about the decisive battle of the Pacific, Midway June, 4, 1942. It only took us 6 months to devastate the Jap Carrier Fleet.

The Battle of Midway begins with a predawn torpedo strike by U. S. Navy PBY Catalinas against Japanese ships, which damages an oiler. After sunrise, 108 aircraft from all four Japanese aircraft carriers – Akagi, Kaga, Hiryū, and Sōryū – carry out a strike on Midway Atoll, shooting down 17 and severely damaging seven of the atoll's 26 fighters. A series of Midway-based strikes by various types of aircraft against the Japanese carriers sees the combat debut of the Grumman TBF Avenger, but achieve no hits and suffer heavy losses.

One of the TBFs was damaged so badly and still able to fly it was sent back to the US for evaluation. Just getting it back to Midway is a great story.

The Forgotten Story of Midway's Marine Defenders

Outnumbered and outgunned, the Marine pilots of VMF-221 paid a heavy price for their heroic efforts to stem the Japanese onslaught on Midway Atoll.

www.historynet.com

 

[dannyd]

Best ship I ever was on; we named our helicopter's Omaha and Utah.

 

[hpman66]

Our Day at the Beach

 

[hpman66]

 

[Watertender]

People should take a good look at the veterans memorials in their area. The freedom we cherish was earned by their supreme sacrifice. 79 years is beyond most people's memory so for the majority today D Day is something that they have seen in a movie or read about.

The dead of war are resting while the ones that survived are living it for the rest of their lives. Those of you who had fathers or other relatives at the D Day landings have witnessed the terrible toll it took on them. I can remember the haunted look of a veteran who went ashore on D Day as he was asked about it.

The price that some pay is enormous and they carry the burden for the rest of their lives

 

[Johnny-Baseball]

Wyandot Jim wrote, "Don't forget about the decisive battle of the Pacific, Midway June, 4, 1942. It only took us 6 months to devastate the Jap Carrier Fleet."

I agree. Our Navy's success in the battle of the Coral Sea demonstrated our carrier-based aircraft could both take the Japs' punch and give one back to them. At Midway, our Navy took out all of the Japanese carriers involved in that engagement. And our naval victory in the Philippines Sea (Marianas Islands) basically eliminated any remaining Japanese naval threat.

My father was a fire controlman aboard the USS Ellet (DD 398), during the battle of Midway. Dad boarded Ellet immediately after it returned from escorting the Hornet and Enterprise on the Doolittle raid of Tokyo. With dad was aboard, Ellet saw combat action in 12 WW II naval battles including (chronologically) Midway, Tulagi, Savo Island, Guadalcanal, Kwalajein, Eniwetak, Palau, Saipan, Bonins Islands, Philippines Sea (aka Marianas Islands), Guam and Iwo Jima. En route to Okinawa, Ellet suffered damage during a typhoon (enduring a 78 degree roll), and limped back to Pearl, then San Francisco. And then the war was over.

Dad's brother-in-law was USN in the Pacific, and one of dad's cousin was a torpedoman aboard a destroyer in the Atlantic. Dad's other cousin was an Army aircrew member whose aircraft was lost at sea in the Caribbean. My father-in-law was an engineering battalion NCO and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. And my wife's uncle was a B-17 waist gunner whose aircraft was shot down in Germany in 1944. He was a POW through war's end.

No draft dodgers in my family.

 

[powder smoke]

My dad was a WWII vet He did his duty on a Battle Ship in the Pacific can not
Recall the name of the ship. He is not with us anymore we planted him at the age
of 81 in the veterans cemetery near Concord Nh.. God Bless him!

 

[dweis]

Your dad was truly part of the Greatest Generation. He and his fellow warriors changed the course of the world by ending the reign of tyrannical nations and their leaders. He earned a place in Heaven.