The National D-Day Memorial

[ElevenBravo]

A slideshow of pictures I took...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4As9nPEPcs

Im retired from the 1/116 29th ID BTW... I love visiting this place, about an hours ride from me.

EB

[ElevenBravo]

Thank you BackPacker for your likes, I find your feedback rewarding.

EB

[bacpacker]

Your welcome.

I've never been to DC for any of the memorials. That is one I would love to see, along with the Wall.

[Katrina]

Thank you. My FIL and his brother served during WWII. FIL in the Pacific, uncle was tail gunner in Europe theatre. My uncle took the Honor flight in November. Still chokes up when he talks about it.
Thank you to all the men and women who keep and have kept us safe.

[MegaCPC]

Your welcome.

I've never been to DC for any of the memorials. That is one I would love to see, along with the Wall.

All the memorials are a sight to see and every American should see them in their lifetime.

The wall had the most impact on me by far.

EB, thanks for the slideshow.

[ElevenBravo]

No problem Mega et all.

EB

[greg48]

i've an uncle that served in the european theatre during WWII, hit the beaches, went up thru france to berlin, his war stories are alot better than mine[ or worse ]. the WWII generation will never be duplicated, they are what legends are made of. 11B!

[ElevenBravo]

You are absolutely correct, the fabric of men during that era is much different than today's. There are still some good men today but I think as a whole, most are too wimpy compared to that time frame. Again and again, we see spineless males afraid to allow testosterone into there system and have courage, honor and integrity.

EB

[RedJohn]

I was born in Normandy, 15 years after the events, 10 miles south of the beaches, 15 from Omaha. I stood once, at low tide, where these men stood when they exited the landing crafts, and even though the bunkers were all broken and no machine guns where shooting at me, you have the sense of the challenge that they were facing.

These were brave men.

[4suchatimeasthis]

^^^ Just the thought of being able to do that, and standing in the surf...literally gave me chills. What a humbling and breathtaking experience that must have been!

When I was in high school I worked at a small family restaurant, waitress, busing, prep work, whatever. Anyway, we had an older gentleman come in every single day, for his cup of coffee. He walked there from his home nearby, it was his daily exercise. He was a veteran, and had been a part of the D-Day invasion. I can still hear his deep voice in my head. He was an old charmer too, and would speak a tiny bit of French, talk about the towns, pretty women he met, beautiful buildings he saw, places he went, foods he ate, tell stories. He had been all over Europe. He never shared about specific gore, I'm sure there was plenty. But he was a gentleman and he probably didn't think it was fit for a young girl to hear. He had a gift for storytelling, and made it all real for me. It wasn't just some dry empty words on the page of some history book, no, when he talked about it, you could hear it, smell it, and damn near see it.

He died while I was away in college. I would give just about anything to tease him again, pour his coffee, and hear him reprimand me that we had the wrong "pie of the day".