Message from SHAEF

[REDinFL]

From Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force

Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is will-trained, well-equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
6 June 1944

[Straight Shooter]

So very glad for those men. Ill go to my grave wondering if I myself would ever have such utter courage & tenacity as they did.
And Im so sorry that the country they died for is gone. I weep.

[Buckaroo]

Amen Straight Shooter!

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

[gaijin]

So very glad for those men. Ill go to my grave wondering if I myself would ever have such utter courage & tenacity as they did.
And Im so sorry that the country they died for is gone. I weep.

This, in Spades.

Grateful my pop, Uncle and grandpa were not here to witness the lingering death of our Country.

RIP old warriors.

[Diamondback]

Amen. We as a nation owe those men not just gratitude, but an apology for squandering that which they gave their lives to preserve for us.

May God bless them, and may He forgive us.

[odugrad]

"There was a time the world asked ordinary men to do extraordinary things."

May God bless all of those extraordinary men who have sacrificed for this country.

[CRAMBONE]

Hard times create strong men.
Strong men create good times.
Good times create weak men.
Weak men create hard times.
And the cycle continues.

[SteyrAUG]

So very glad for those men. Ill go to my grave wondering if I myself would ever have such utter courage & tenacity as they did.
And Im so sorry that the country they died for is gone. I weep.

In some ways things are better, in other ways things are worse.

If you were a black soldier during WWII, it's probably damn gratifying to eventually see black men integrated into all aspects of the armed forces.

Reagan brought an end to the Cold War for the most part and we aren't living under the reality of nuclear annihilation at any moment.

Generally more people are living at a higher standard than their grandparents who had to often do more, with less.

This country, even from it's founding, has never been perfect. We solve problems both giant and small and we then see or create new problems both giant and small. It's like a never ending game of whackamole.

The country right now is better off than it might have been and even under Obama the country was better off than it might have been. There are no perfect Presidents, there are no perfect governments and the citizenry will never be perfect. Some zip codes are more problematic than other zip codes.

But no matter how bad some things are there will always be people who try and make things better even if it does feel like a fools errand at times. So I try not to grieve "what might have been" but try and appreciate "what might not have been."

Generations before us and those who live right now fight and sacrifice for what we have and it seems ungrateful to not appreciate what we still have and that includes the opportunity to continue to try and make things better.

[Business_Casual]

No one would want to get out of a landing craft under MG-42 fire.

Thank you to the greatest generation.

We beat the Nazis once, God willing we’ll beat them again.

[flenna]

No one would want to get out of a landing craft under MG-42 fire.

Thank you to the greatest generation.

We beat the Nazis once, God willing we’ll beat them again.

I read a lot of history books and what strikes me most is the courage of the men in a contested amphibious landing. Standing in those boats listening to the incoming rounds hammer the ramp knowing that it is going to drop any second and then running out when it does takes some big cojones.