D-Day - already forgotten.
Post by MountainMan » Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:24 pm
In memory of my father and all of those who went ashore with him on that fateful day. Image
MountainMan Wrote:D-Day - already forgotten.
Post by MountainMan » Wed Jun 06, 2012 3:24 pm
In memory of my father and all of those who went ashore with him on that fateful day. Image
From my facebook page last night:
"June 6th. A date forever known as D-day. On this date 68 years ago Operation Overlord (the allied landing in Normandy) started.
One of the many, many thousands of young men present that day was Sverre Aurstad, the late father of my friend Per Aurstad.
Sverre was an ammunition handler in turret 3 on the Norwegian destroyer KNM Stord, which on D-day was tasked with close in fire support off Sword Beach (one of the three British beaches).
Stords sister ship KNM Svenner was one of only two allied navy ships lost on D-day - the other was the US destroyer USS Corry. "The longest day" was not long for Svenner - at 5:30 am she was hit by torpedoes from German E-boats, the boiler blew up, she broke in two and sank, taking 33 men down with her.
Sverre (and KNM Stord) survived the war, and one year later - on June 7th 1945, both were present in Oslo harbor as king Haakon returned to his country, which again was free and independent.
Sverre is no longer among us - he passed away some years ago of old age - but here is to the memory of the many brave men and women from many nations who fought against Nazi tyranny.
http://home.online.no/~steinjr/aurstad/index.html"
There are plenty of people who remember. Even 68 years later. That's not "already forgotten".
Smile,
Stein
Yes, let's remember these dates & the men who sacrificed their lives for our freedom. My dad & uncle were a part of the southern invasion of Europe in July 1943, when the allies invaded Sicily and Italy.
My stepfather was one of the young 101st Airborne paratroopers that landed in France in the dark hours before the main invasion force arrived.
He never spoke of it. Couldn't watch a WWII movie about it without pointing out the faults. Never wanted me to go into the military. And unfortunately, I don't think he ever made his peace with his experiences before he died.
To all those vets of that day still with us, I urge you to tell your stories. Let the ghosts of the past clear out from your memories. You saw unspeakable horrors, countless acts of heroism, yet lived on. Share your memories with us that we may help you to unburden yourselves. We'll help carry the load and lift you up.
I remembered.
Curious facts; I did a wardrobe installation for a bloke and he was present on board a British warship off the beaches on D-Day.
I was present at the Normandy beaches for the 25th Anniversary as a four year old along with my two year old brother and my parents.
We also happened to be in Paris for the first Landing on the Moon.
I was always fascinated by the photos of the LST's beached during low tide in a large and heavy book about D-Day in the library at Senior School.
My Army Reserve Regimental Number ends in 6644 and I was allocated that number on the basis of where I stood in the line up.
I still find Amphibious trucks and vehicles and the whole Mulberry Harbour and PLUTO fascinating, the logistics still boggle the mind.
The fact that the US forces did not make more use of Hobart's Funnies to tackle the beach obstacles and bunkers still saddens and sickens me.
Bloody Omaha Beach would have been far less bloody if they had used machines and mechanical advantage, instead of using muscle and raw courage. It was in some ways a WW1 solution to a WW2 problem.
Apparently I still flinch when there are shots fired or explosions while watching Saving Private Ryan. The ex-wife thought it was funny.
A sincere and humble, Thank You to to those who served and suffered, fought and died or lived and cried, for fighting for Freedom from Nazi tyranny.
Lest we Forget.
Mark