It was a huge, huge thing back there in 1944. The whole country, indeed the whole world, had been waiting anxiously for many weeks to hear that the invasion of Europe had begun. Nobody knew when or where it would be, but everyone knew casualties would be high; and every family had somebody in the service. You can listen to the very first reports from CBS News here, beginning before dawn that day; it's a radio broadcast, natch. The first confirmation of the invasion comes at the :49 minute mark.
My dad was in the Army Air Corps, stationed in England. He didn't go over on D-Day, it was a few weeks afterward when they were ready to start setting up regular air bases. But even so, they still got bombed and attacked, and had to shoot back. Like most guys from that war, he rarely ever spoke about what he'd seen and done. He was one of the lucky ones who came back alive and in one piece, ready to take up his GI benefits and go to college. A lot of men weren't so lucky. Yet their victory remains a glorious one. Peace to their ashes, from a grateful world.
(Milt Priggee via The Daily Slab)
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