The Longest Day

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

(06-11-2020, 08:35 PM)Beaker Wrote: I have always been fascinated with WWII. Got to Normandy in 2015. Went to Utah and Omaha Beaches, Point du Hoc, St Mere Eglise and the Airborne Museum, and the American and German cemeteries. Knowing as much as I did about those places and their stories made it very powerful to me.

One of the most powerful and emotional things for me was going to Omaha beach. I went at low tide (which was when the invasion took place so the landing craft could avoid the German obstacles. I went all the way down to the water and stood with my feet in the water looking back to the beach, imagining having to cover that ground while being shot at. Most movies you see portray it as about 50-100 yds to cover. Its more like 300-500 yds. The soldiers were totally exposed with only obstacles and craters for cover. I imagined trying to run for my life, with an 80 pound pack....soaking wet. Incredible that ANYONE survived. And the reason we were able to take the beach was that we simply overwhelmed the Germans with numbers. Even with machine guns there were simply too many to mow down.

If I ever get to make the trip that you did, I don't think I could do it without breaking down in public and bawling like a baby. Up until 2013 when radio overtook my life and all of my free time, I was a WWII freak that was always finding new, fascinating stories and missions to read, watch and learn about. Band Of Brothers was as close to "history porn" that I've ever seen. I'm kind of being a poser about reading the book because it's my "bathroom book" at my office because that's the only free time I have to sit and read anymore. But still, what am I reading? A freakin' WWII book. Kind of sad reading it as it is reminding me how much I had forgotten in the last 7 years. The awe of this whole event still keeps my interest and I find history and non-fiction far more interesting than fiction.