The Longest Day

[*bfine32*]

Began 76 years ago today. We lost over 2800 young American men in 24 hours.

[sandwedge]

Normandy is on my bucket list. I've been close but never made it there.

[*bengalfan74*]

(06-06-2020, 06:14 PM)sandwedge Wrote: Normandy is on my bucket list. I've been close but never made it there.

Mine to, hallowed ground.

[jfkbengals]

(06-06-2020, 06:14 PM)sandwedge Wrote: Normandy is on my bucket list. I've been close but never made it there.

(06-06-2020, 08:51 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Mine to, hallowed ground.

I recently learned there was an inland encampment known as Maisy Battery that played an integral part in the invasion, and it has only recently begun excavation.  If you go to the beaches, you should probably check out the other at the same time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maisy_battery

I haven't been to Europe at all, but seeing that it is a bucket list item for you both I wanted to make sure you were aware of it's existence...

[seahawkscheat]

When I lost my innocence

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

A few days late here but I was at an AmVets club for most of Saturday. I always tell friends and co-workers that June 6, 1944 is probably the most important day of the 20th Century. I'm currently about 100 pages into Night Drop by S.L.A. Marshall.


Pretty much defines the chaos of being off target(some were completely off of their maps), trying to perform missions with men you've never met before, little to no communications with superiors and only enough food, ammo and medical supplies/first aid kits to last a couple of days. Must have been terrifying.

[*michaelsean*]

I always wonder if i would have had the courage. I'm leaning toward not.

[Beaker]

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.

[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.

[*bfine32*]

(06-11-2020, 12:09 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I always wonder if i would have had the courage.  I'm leaning toward not.

We've been in Afghanistan 19 years and have lost fewer American lives than we did in the first 24 hours of this invasion. 

[HarleyDog]

(06-11-2020, 12:09 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I always wonder if i would have had the courage.  I'm leaning toward not.

You would be surprised. 

[Beaker]

(06-11-2020, 12:09 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I always wonder if i would have had the courage.  I'm leaning toward not.

Every single WWII vet I've ever heard interviewed about how they could do that said it wasn't about courage. They said they we scared to death....but more scared of not doing their job and letting down their brothers. That is true sacrifice.

[HarleyDog]

(06-16-2020, 04:20 PM)Beaker Wrote: Every single WWII vet I've ever heard interviewed about how they could do that said it wasn't about courage. They said they we scared to death....but more scared of not doing their job and letting down their brothers. That is true sacrifice.

Great post. Kinda reminds me of that scene in Saving Private Ryan when they came upon those bunkers and instead of attacking them wanted to go around but knew they couldn't because the next group of soldiers who came upon it would be slaughtered. They had a bad feeling about it, but did it anyway because that's their job.

[*bfine32*]

(06-16-2020, 04:20 PM)Beaker Wrote: Every single WWII vet I've ever heard interviewed about how they could do that said it wasn't about courage. They said they we scared to death....but more scared of not doing their job and letting down their brothers. That is true sacrifice.

..and true courage

[Truck_1_0_1_]

Sorry to bring this thread back, but I was finally able to watch SPR for the first time, this weekend.

The *ONLY* attachment my ancestry has to any war, is that my grandfather was an ambulance driver for the Italian Army, during WWII, in Russia (and the only story that he left {not sure if it's true or not}, was that he went off camp to refuel the ambulance once night, came back about an hour later and his entire unit was dead and all equipment either taken or smashed. So he spent the rest of his days before heading back to Italy, being tended to by Russians and he fell in love with Communism... but my grandfather was apparently not the brightest bulb of the lot {he passed before I was born, so I have 0 first-hand knowledge of him as a person} and his, "love of Communism," was completely misplaced and he didn't realize or acknowledge the failings in that system, like all socio-economic systems have), so I have little to no direct feelings or background/history of roots in WWII.

I have seen snippets of the opening scene (rather, the second scene), numerous times over the past few years (on top 10 lists and music videos, etc.), but actually sitting through the entire 25 minutes and seeing what I saw... the typewriter scene had me pause about halfway through it, as it fully sunk-in just the massive amount of loss of life on that day and how much of it was just unnecessary... I teared up quite a bit before continuing.

I was also shattered at the end of the film (the final scene, back at Normandy) and throughout the credits, merely because I appreciate so, so much, that I never have to go through a day of what all those young men did, some 77 years ago... I am forever grateful to those that go off to war and serve their country, even if it is just murder, death and killing in the end; if it will put a stop to atrocities and tyrants, then they are all winners in my book.

Easily one of the 5 best films I have ever seen, just a wonderfully-crafted piece of cinema; if you want an enjoyable, but still relatively-serious depiction of WWII, watch the Dirty Dozen. But if you want gritty, truthful and the starkness of WWII, you will watch SPR. Absolutely criminal that it didn't win Best Picture. Criminal.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(03-29-2021, 05:31 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Sorry to bring this thread back, but I was finally able to watch SPR for the first time, this weekend.

The *ONLY* attachment my ancestry has to any war, is that my grandfather was an ambulance driver for the Italian Army, during WWII, in Russia (and the only story that he left {not sure if it's true or not}, was that he went off camp to refuel the ambulance once night, came back about an hour later and his entire unit was dead and all equipment either taken or smashed. So he spent the rest of his days before heading back to Italy, being tended to by Russians and he fell in love with Communism... but my grandfather was apparently not the brightest bulb of the lot {he passed before I was born, so I have 0 first-hand knowledge of him as a person} and his, "love of Communism," was completely misplaced and he didn't realize or acknowledge the failings in that system, like all socio-economic systems have), so I have little to no direct feelings or background/history of roots in WWII.

I have seen snippets of the opening scene (rather, the second scene), numerous times over the past few years (on top 10 lists and music videos, etc.), but actually sitting through the entire 25 minutes and seeing what I saw... the typewriter scene had me pause about halfway through it, as it fully sunk-in just the massive amount of loss of life on that day and how much of it was just unnecessary... I teared up quite a bit before continuing.

I was also shattered at the end of the film (the final scene, back at Normandy) and throughout the credits, merely because I appreciate so, so much, that I never have to go through a day of what all those young men did, some 77 years ago... I am forever grateful to those that go off to war and serve their country, even if it is just murder, death and killing in the end; if it will put a stop to atrocities and tyrants, then they are all winners in my book.

Easily one of the 5 best films I have ever seen, just a wonderfully-crafted piece of cinema; if you want an enjoyable, but still relatively-serious depiction of WWII, watch the Dirty Dozen. But if you want gritty, truthful and the starkness of WWII, you will watch SPR. Absolutely criminal that it didn't win Best Picture. Criminal.

Don't be sorry for bringing this thread back Truck, never saw it before. Great men need to be remembered and yeah, SPR is 
also a great movie that blew my mind the first time I saw it and the Normandy scene is especially mind blowing how those 
brave men ran onto that beach. Insane. God bless their souls.

[Sled21]

(03-29-2021, 09:29 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Don't be sorry for bringing this thread back Truck, never saw it before. Great men need to be remembered and yeah, SPR is 
also a great movie that blew my mind the first time I saw it and the Normandy scene is especially mind blowing how those 
brave men ran onto that beach. Insane. God bless their souls.

Great movies with great scenes. Another great scene is in "A Bridge to Far" about Operation Market Garden, when Major Julian Cook leads a daylight assault across the River Waal and Cook (Robert Redford) is rowing his butt off all the while saying Hail Mary's..... fantastic movie with Redford, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Ryan O'Neil, Anthony Hopkins, James Caan and others.





Another great WWII movie, though fiction, is "Fury"....





The German MG-42 was a feared weapon, nicknamed Hitler's Buzzsaw. Chambered in 7.92x57, it fired an astounding 1200 rounds per minute. I had a friend who died a few years ago, who had one. He told me I could shoot it anytime I wanted, I just had to pay to feed it. Never took him up on that one, as if I'm going to spend 1200 dollars in a minute, it's going to be doing something else.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(06-11-2020, 12:09 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I always wonder if i would have had the courage. I'm leaning toward not.

“The difference between being a coward and a hero is not whether you’re scared, it’s what you do while you’re scared.”

-Jeff Struecker

Courage isn’t the absence of fear.

[*bfine32*]

(03-30-2021, 09:52 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Great movies with great scenes. Another great scene is in "A Bridge to Far" about Operation Market Garden, when Major Julian Cook leads a daylight assault across the River Waal and Cook (Robert Redford) is rowing his butt off all the while saying Hail Mary's..... fantastic movie with Redford, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Ryan O'Neil, Anthony Hopkins, James Caan and others.





Another great WWII movie, though fiction, is "Fury"....





The German MG-42 was a feared weapon, nicknamed Hitler's Buzzsaw. Chambered in 7.92x57, it fired an astounding 1200 rounds per minute. I had a friend who died a few years ago, who had one. He told me I could shoot it anytime I wanted, I just had to pay to feed it. Never took him up on that one, as if I'm going to spend 1200 dollars in a minute, it's going to be doing something else.

Although a great movie; A Bridge too far is often used to illustrate leadership failure and the danger of group think. 

As to WWII movies Das Boot is hard to beat

[BFritz21]

(06-07-2020, 09:55 AM)jfkbengals Wrote: I recently learned there was an inland encampment known as Maisy Battery that played an integral part in the invasion, and it has only recently begun excavation.  If you go to the beaches, you should probably check out the other at the same time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maisy_battery

I haven't been to Europe at all, but seeing that it is a bucket list item for you both I wanted to make sure you were aware of it's existence...

I never knew that, even though I'm a WW2 nerd, but that's just another way the Germans were so perfect about everything and were the perfect machine.

The only thing that kept Germany from ruling Europe and God knows where else was Hitler breaking his treaty with Russia by invading and then refusing to pull out during winter. 

(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.

Normandy is such a HUGE bucket list item for me.  I don't know how well I'd do on the beaches or in Europe in general, but seeing a place where the world changed forever would just be mind-blowing.