The 65th anniversary of D-Day

When I was growing up, we'd come down for breakfast and my dad would ask: Do you know what today is?

That early in the morning, we'd think we were awake if we could get the day of the week right ... but over time, it became a sort of game to figure out what happened in history on the given day that would generate the question.

Today is the 65th Anniversary of D-Day - or "Operation Overlord," the codename for the invasion of Normandy. It actually started around midnight on June 5th with airborne divisions parachuting in behind enemy lines. In the early morning hours, bombardments began. Around daybreak, landings on the beaches started. By night, the Allies had secured their position on the beaches, but it was a precarious one and came at the cost of 9,500 casualties.

For days, the battle continued, with the eventual success of the U.S. and her allies.

The world is forever grateful to those who served and those whose graves mark the location of that valiant fight.



For more information about the battles of that day, I suggest "The Atlantic Wall" by Brian Williams and the Army's D-Day page.