It's D-Day. Did you remember?

[Patriot]

Thanks to all who serve or have served in harms way over the years!  And a special salute to the more than 9,000 Allied troops who gave their lives on June 6, 1944 at Normandy, France to start the drive that ended the tyranny that was Hitler's National Socialist German Workers' Party (NAZI).

In other, more disgusting news today......


Obama Not Scheduled to Commemorate D-Day
by Keith Koffler on June 6, 2012, 10:10 am

It's D-Day and President Obama is hitting the beaches – of sunny California!

Instead of scheduling a brief event to mark the 68th anniversary of America's brutal landing on the shores of Normandy, Obama is already on his way to San Francisco, where he will hold two fundraisers before moving on to Beverly Hills to stage two more.

Obama failed to mark D-Day with either a speech or a written proclamation both last year or the year before. He did give a speech in 2009, the 65th anniversary of the event.

First Lady Michelle Obama, who has made much of her "Joining Forces" campaign to support military families, also has nothing planned for D-Day. She'll be in New York City for a fundraiser and then in Philadelphia to meet with campaign volunteers....


Full story:  http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/06/06/obama-scheduled-commemorate-dday/

[Warph]

June 6th, the 68th anniversary of the successful 1944 Allied invasion of France. Several operations were combined to carry out the largest amphibious invasion in history - over 160,000 troops landed on June 6th, assisted by over 5,000 ships, aerial bombardment, gliders and paratroopers. Thousands of soldiers lost their lives on those beaches on that day - many thousands more would follow as the invasion succeeded and troops began to push German forces eastward, eventually leading to the Allied victory in 1945. Collected here are some photographs of the preparation, execution and immediate aftermath of the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy, and a few images from 2010.

FDR Speech

The Beach! Allied soldiers, vehicles and equipment swarm onto the French shore during the
Normandy landings, June 1944.


U.S. troops disembark from a landing vehicle on Utah Beach on the coast of
Normandy, France in June of 1944. Carcasses of destroyed vehicles litter the beach.


U.S. Soldiers march through a southern English coastal town, en route to board
landing ships for the invasion of France, circa late May or early June 1944.


General view of a port in England; in foreground, jeeps are being loaded onto l
anding craft - in background, larger trucks and ducks are being loaded, June 1944.


The sight of a low-flying Allied plane sends Nazi soldiers rushing for cover on a beach
in France, before D-Day June 1944. The aircraft was taking reconnaissance photos
of German coastal barriers in preparation for the June 6th invasion.


Coast Guard Flotilla 10 tied up along with British landing craft, preparing to sail the
English Channel and invade Nazi-occupied France. These landing craft landed
U.S. troops on Omaha Beach.


German soldiers observe the coast during the occupation of Normandy by
German forces in 1944.


A-20 bombers make a return visit to the Pointe Du Hoc coastal battery on 22 May 1944.


Allied troop carriers near Omaha beach, one covered with a thick white smoke, June 1944.


U.S. soldiers approach Omaha Beach, their weapons wrapped in plastic to keep them dry,
June 1944.


U.S. reinforcements wade through the surf as they land at Normandy in the days following
the Allies' June 1944, D-Day invasion of France.


An A-20 from the 416th Bomb Group making a bomb run on D-Day, 6 June 1944.


Aerial view of part of the Allied force off the coast of France, on D-Day, 1944.


American soldiers wade from Coast Guard landing barge toward the beach at Normandy
on D-Day, June 6, 1944.


An 88mm shell explodes on Utah Beach. In the foreground, American soldiers protect
themselves from enemy fire.


Heavy smoke spreads from the dunes littered with barbed wire, after an explosion near
Cherbourg, France. Two soldiers huddle behind a wall. Photo taken Summer, 1944.


U.S. soldiers rescue shipwreck survivors on Utah Beach, June 1944.


Aerial view of the Normandy Invasion, on June 6th, 1944. (U.S. Air Force)


Thirteen liberty ships, deliberately scuttled to form a breakwater for invasion vessels landing
on the Normandy beachhead lie in line off the beach, shielding the ships in shore. The artificial
harbor engineering installation which was prefabricated and towed across the Channel. 1944 photo.


U.S. soldiers land on Utah Beach, June 1944.


Above Omaha Beach, a German-placed bomb hangs on the side of a cliff, as a defensive
measure. June 1944.


Photo taken on D+2, after relief forces reached the Rangers at Point du Hoc. The American flag
had been spread out to stop fire of friendly tanks coming from inland. Some German prisoners are
being moved in after capture by the relieving forces. 8 June 1944.


Two U.S. soldiers escort a group of ten German prisoners on Omaha Beach, June 1944.


American soldiers on Omaha Beach recover the dead after the D-Day invasion, June 1944.


Gliders towed by C-47 aircraft fly over Utah Beach bringing reinforcements on June 7th, 1944.


Three U.S. soldiers take a rest at the foot of a bunker which the Germans have painted and
camouflaged to look like a house.


The corpse of a German soldier, in front of a bunker overlooking the coast, June 1944.


A U.S. soldier scans a French beach with his binoculars, June 1944.


Allied tanks on the move near Barenton, France.


In a farm courtyard, U.S. soldiers discuss an attack plan, June 1944.


U.S. soldiers move inland from the beaches of France, June 1944.


American soldiers crawl toward shelter on a street Saint-Lo, France.


View of the station and destroyed town of Saint-Lo, 1944.


Wreckage Of A Republic P-47, Which Crashed During The D-Day Invasion, Lies On
The Battle-Scarred Beach Of Normandy, France. 22 June 1944.


The liberation of Saint-Lo, Summer 1944, allied jeeps and soldiers among the ruins.


Bodies of U.S. soldiers are attended to in the French countryside, Summer 1944.


French townspeople lay flowers on the body of an American soldier.


On June 5, 2010, parachutists land near Sainte-Mere-Eglise, during the D-Day
celebrations to mark the 66th anniversary of the June 6, 1944


John Kessler (right) of the 29th Infantry 116th Infantry Division, salutes the
colors during the National D-Day Memorial's memorial ceremony on the 66th
Anniversary of D-Day in Bedford, Virginia on June 6, 2010.


Peter Smoothy, 86, who was a leading writer in the Royal Navy on D-Day
visits the grave of a fallen comrade on June 6, 2010 in Bayeux, France.
Across Normandy several hundred of the surviving veterans of the
Normandy campaign are commemorating the 66th anniversary of the
D-Day landings which eventually led to the Allied liberation of France in 1944.

[Janet Harrington]

Excellent pictures. Thanks for putting them on the forum.

Now, can someone tell me the purpose of the blimps that were in the air? There are several photos with those blimps floating in the sky.

[W. Gray]

Janet,

They are now using those blimps in Afghanistan for aerial reconnaissance. They are not bullet proof but constructed in such a way that it would take a lot of rounds to bring one down.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/09/helium-spy-blimp-surge/

This is a 2011 article but I recently read in the Denver Post that the blimps have become a common site to some of the Afghan residents.

[Diane Amberg]

Those aren't barrage balloons with the wires hanging down to keep planes away?