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June 6 1944
Wife and I remembering those who saved us from evil.
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Slow at work. Been looking at colorized photos past hour.
Do every year. Still Amazing... |
Never forget.
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Quote:
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Just with my Dad (and Mother) tonight. He is 96 in a few weeks, Mum is 93.
Dad reminded us that D-Day, he took his first training flight as a pilot in a Lancaster Bomber. He was stationed where they were flying Wellington bombers used in Coastal Command but he was selected to be transferred to Lancasters. As it transpired, after D-Day, the war took a fairly dramatic turn, the Bombing raids over Germany began to suffer many fewer casualties and he never flew over Germany. He remained with Coastal Command for a while then as the war in Europe was "slowing down" as he puts it, he was sent back to Lancasters for more training as the next phase was to return Australian pilots and crew to step up the war against Japan. As it happened he remained in England till the Pacific war was over. Came home and just got on with life! Ian:ausflag::ausflag::ausflag: |
Ian,
Give him our THANKS for us! Charles |
In the early AM hours of the assault, Brigadier General Don Forrester Pratt was flown in by glider, the Waco designed CG-4A glider named "Fighting Falcon." Pratt was a United States Army officer, the assistant division commander (ADC) of the 101st Airborne Division, and was the highest-ranking Allied officer killed on D-Day.
Here is the rest of the story. A rebuilt/restored glider is on display as the focal point of the museum. Great little museum and my friend Bill Delp was put in charge of the glider assembly at Gibson Refrigerator where the Fighting Falcon was manufactured and dedicated. http://www.thefightingfalcon.com/history.php |
My wife, daughter and myself walked the Normandy beaches late May of last year. Spent 5 days there. Very somber to say the least. Some of the Mulberries are still out there with some you can walk to at low tide.
The US cemetery there is a must visit, very quiet. Approximately 10,000 laid to rest. I never realized those there where from June 6th until the end of the war. Some men were sent home for burial, I suppose it was up to the family? One other fact was the site was first a German cemetery with those soldiers moved to the present site. We did visit the German Cemetery as well with approximately 30,000 there. Many 3 to a plot and many unknowns. The English and Canadian site were on our list but time ran out. |
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RIP my Uncle Freddy, 1922-2018
101st Airborne trooper who jumped on D-Day and fought the war in Europe to a close. Lived to 95 and was very close-mouthed about his experiences.
Said he never jumped from an airplane but was pushed quite a few times. :p We shall not soon see their like again. |
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