Monkeys Fist 38682 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Just a reminder amidst all the Jubilee crap that 68 years ago today the Normandy Landings took place , where a huge number of people gave more for their country than Lizzy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddockLad 14574 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 <applause> I think most of those involved probably had some sense of "King AND country" though....different times I suppose. Their sacrifice was and remains to this day incalcuable. If it had all gone tits up we would be living in a very different world now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howmanheyman 26731 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Just over half of those involved in the D Day landings were not in fact American, and whilst the soldiers of the USA should be remembered and have their memories listened to, perhaps more of the British and Canadian soldiers should be heard as well, (especially in US films and documentaries). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wykikitoon 16562 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Watched a very good documentry about it on the History Channel (or something like that) over the weekend. Never Forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JawD 31 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Aye, there was a lot of forces from the North East involved. I think it was the 50th that included Durham Light Infantry who landed at Gold Beach. The Canadian 3rd (iirc) went first and the DLI followed up and pushed on inland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Carr's Gloves 3187 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 One of my favourite films of all time is the Longest Day mainly because Richard Todd played Major John Howard at pegasus Bridge which is where Richard Todd was and with during the actual D-Day landings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonraider 0 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 And whilst we are remembering, give a thought to those who lost their lives in 'Exercise Tiger' here in Devon at Slapton Sands. A rehearsal operation for D Day. Lives were lost through friendly fire and on the following day when there was an attack by nine German E boats. Much of the real facts of this disaster were lost due to the incidents having to be hushed up being so close to the real invasion. Survivors where sworn to secrecy. We occasionally walk along Slapton Sands, a Sherman Tank stands at Torcross at the Southern end of the sands to commemorate the event. ( that and the memorial plaque are only there, because of the efforts in the 70's and 80's by a Devon resident) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalarnyStone 0 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Just a reminder amidst all the Jubilee crap that 68 years ago today the Normandy Landings took place , where a huge number of people gave more for their country than Lizzy. Even though the wink is there, this was still in pretty poor taste. Not only did she serve in the ATS, she's one of the very few people in the country who have had serving members in every recent generation of her family. If you really want to know what Normandy veterans think of the Queen, you only need to listen to them - such as the one bloke who stood on the freezing deck of HMS Belfast during the thames pageant, just to give her a salute (and not the sort of salute Lucky Luke probably gives). Anyone who tries to play off the military against the monarchy, even in jest, really knows nothing about either subject - the military more than anyone has been at the heart of the jubilee celebrations, and not just as part of the large scale events; the Windsor muster & yesterday's salute are both very personal tributes from the military to their commander in chief. Mark the anniversary by all means, but don't use it to take the piss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toonotl 2406 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Lest we forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14030 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 That's efficient troll-baiting there Fisty, 13 words for a 125% return on investment. I remember reading a lot of the articles and reminiscences when the 60th anniversary happened, and being surprised at how little I really knew about the events that that took place on and around that day, both at an operational level and in terms of the personal stories of sacrifice and achievement. I suppose it's such an inconceivable event for us nowadays, in terms of both scale and nature, plus no family members or acquaintances served in or near the event - and I haven't been exposed to any dramatic interpretations of it (Hollywood or otherwise) so I don't really have any technicolor moving images to match the words. Which might not be such a bad thing. "Never forget", they rightly say, but even with the sense of distance and anonymity that time brings, we never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wykikitoon 16562 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Even though the wink is there, this was still in pretty poor taste. Not only did she serve in the ATS, she's one of the very few people in the country who have had serving members in every recent generation of her family. If you really want to know what Normandy veterans think of the Queen, you only need to listen to them - such as the one bloke who stood on the freezing deck of HMS Belfast during the thames pageant, just to give her a salute (and not the sort of salute Lucky Luke probably gives). Anyone who tries to play off the military against the monarchy, even in jest, really knows nothing about either subject - the military more than anyone has been at the heart of the jubilee celebrations, and not just as part of the large scale events; the Windsor muster & yesterday's salute are both very personal tributes from the military to their commander in chief. Mark the anniversary by all means, but don't use it to take the piss. If you really knew MF you would know he has a keen interest in military history BS lad. So pull your neck in and stop it with all the bollocks posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalarnyStone 0 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 If you really knew MF you would know he has a keen interest in military history BS lad. So pull your neck in and stop it with all the bollocks posts. I only know of MF by what he posts on here..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14030 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I only know of MF by what he posts on here..... ...ah, but since when? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 38682 Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 And whilst we are remembering, give a thought to those who lost their lives in 'Exercise Tiger' here in Devon at Slapton Sands. A rehearsal operation for D Day. Lives were lost through friendly fire and on the following day when there was an attack by nine German E boats. Much of the real facts of this disaster were lost due to the incidents having to be hushed up being so close to the real invasion. Survivors where sworn to secrecy. We occasionally walk along Slapton Sands, a Sherman Tank stands at Torcross at the Southern end of the sands to commemorate the event. ( that and the memorial plaque are only there, because of the efforts in the 70's and 80's by a Devon resident) Good shout TR. Although most of the remembrance , understandably, is for those who died ( in Normandy and on Slapton sands) , I personally doff my cap to every single one of the men and women who took part. What amazes me is that they went through something as horrific and brutal as this , and when the war was over , most just went back home and carried on with their lives. That's not to say that many weren't mentally scarred by it, but the general impression is that they dusted themselves down and went back to being butchers, bakers, shipbuilders etc. Having said that,I watched an incredibly moving documentary the other day about a German machine gunner, it was calculated that he'd killed over 800 (i think)men on the day of the landings, something which haunted him. He managed to track down one the US servicemen who'd landed on his patch of beach and survived. The US guy had become a military chaplain and then a civvy vicar. The programme makers , clearly wanting the money shot, reunited them , in their eighties, back on the beach. Not unexpectedly the German broke down in the arms of his former target. Still very moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wykikitoon 16562 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Good shout TR. Although most of the remembrance , understandably, is for those who died ( in Normandy and on Slapton sands) , I personally doff my cap to every single one of the men and women who took part. What amazes me is that they went through something as horrific and brutal as this , and when the war was over , most just went back home and carried on with their lives. That's not to say that many weren't mentally scarred by it, but the general impression is that they dusted themselves down and went back to being butchers, bakers, shipbuilders etc. Having said that,I watched an incredibly moving documentary the other day about a German machine gunner, it was calculated that he'd killed over 800 (i think)men on the day of the landings, something which haunted him. He managed to track down one the US servicemen who'd landed on his patch of beach and survived. The US guy had become a military chaplain and then a civvy vicar. The programme makers , clearly wanting the money shot, reunited them , in their eighties, back on the beach. Not unexpectedly the German broke down in the arms of his former target. Still very moving. Watched something similar before, this sort of stuff has me in tears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonraider 0 Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 Good shout TR. Although most of the remembrance , understandably, is for those who died ( in Normandy and on Slapton sands) , I personally doff my cap to every single one of the men and women who took part. What amazes me is that they went through something as horrific and brutal as this , and when the war was over , most just went back home and carried on with their lives. That's not to say that many weren't mentally scarred by it, but the general impression is that they dusted themselves down and went back to being butchers, bakers, shipbuilders etc. Having said that,I watched an incredibly moving documentary the other day about a German machine gunner, it was calculated that he'd killed over 800 (i think)men on the day of the landings, something which haunted him. He managed to track down one the US servicemen who'd landed on his patch of beach and survived. The US guy had become a military chaplain and then a civvy vicar. The programme makers , clearly wanting the money shot, reunited them , in their eighties, back on the beach. Not unexpectedly the German broke down in the arms of his former target. Still very moving. Heartbreaking. I think I have seen that or something very similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEADMAN 0 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 yep d-day wow all those soldiers who suffered and fought for us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JawD 31 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 When you think about today, soldier lives are sadly wasted is places like the middle east. We hear about 2 dead today, 1 the next etc. I dont want to belittle the loss of those but just to put a sense of scale to what D-Day was. For one, its was THe assault. It was taking and securing the beaches and then pushing inland. Recent calculations have the allied death figure at around 4500. This statement gives you an idea of the whole operation : Over 425,000 Allied and German troops were killed, wounded or went missing during the Battle of Normandy. This figure includes over 209,000 Allied casualties, with nearly 37,000 dead amongst the ground forces and a further 16,714 deaths amongst the Allied air forces. Of the Allied casualties, 83,045 were from 21st Army Group (British, Canadian and Polish ground forces), 125,847 from the US ground forces. The losses of the German forces during the Battle of Normandy can only be estimated. Roughly 200,000 German troops were killed or wounded. The Allies also captured 200,000 prisoners of war (not included in the 425,000 total, above). During the fighting around the Falaise Pocket (August 1944) alone, the Germans suffered losses of around 90,000, including prisoners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEADMAN 0 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 wars are so cruel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 34338 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 When you think about today, soldier lives are sadly wasted is places like the middle east. We hear about 2 dead today, 1 the next etc. I dont want to belittle the loss of those but just to put a sense of scale to what D-Day was. For one, its was THe assault. It was taking and securing the beaches and then pushing inland. Recent calculations have the allied death figure at around 4500. This statement gives you an idea of the whole operation : Aye it's impossible to wrap your head around loss of life on that scale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meenzer 14030 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Aye it's impossible to wrap your head around loss of life on that scale. On the plus side, if things were still like they were in the olden days, we'd have to cope with a god-awful Military Wives charity single every week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wykikitoon 16562 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Has anyone read "The Last Fighting Tommy" great read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkeys Fist 38682 Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-27735086 In summary, an 89yr old Normandy veteran, told by his care home he couldn't go to the memorial events, thought "Aye, righto pet" And went anyway. Top marks old chap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catmag 336 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 I love that story. Also the story of Jock Hutton (89) who once again parachuted into Normandy yesterday. Have filled up more than once today watching the commemorations from Arromanches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 34338 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Different species these blokes like. Unbelievable stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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