On June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which "we will accept nothing less than full victory." More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day's end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high -more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded -- but more than 100,000 Soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.
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John Perozzi, a D-Day veteran who served with the 82nd Airborne Division, returned to Normandy, France, this year for the 68th anniversary commemorations and to visit his fallen buddies at the Normandy American Cemetery, overlooking Omaha beach. -Army.mil image
Eugene Cook, 87, was among the handful of World War II veterans who attended the 68th anniversary of the D-Day landings this week in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France. U.S. service members from all the military branches took part in honoring them, something Cook said he was glad to see.
"We have to commemorate the lives of the guys we left here," Cook said. "They gave their lives for us and we should show them thanks."
Known as Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944, combined U.S. and Allied air drops with beach landings along Normandy's coast. U.S. paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Infantry Division dropped onto the Cotenin peninsula to secure bridges, roads and towns vital to allowing the troops landing at nearby Utah Beach to move inland.
"That day, 68 years ago, as American blood mixed with French soil, it cemented even further the strong bonds between our two nations," said U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh.
For returning veterans, there was a mix of feelings -- glad to be alive and sharing good times and sorrowful memories of those who died. FMI: Army.mil, from an article by Staff Sgt. Rick Scavetta, U.S. European Command
John Perozzi, a D-Day veteran who served with the 82nd Airborne Division, returned to Normandy, France, this year for the 68th anniversary commemorations and to visit his fallen buddies at the Normandy American Cemetery, overlooking Omaha beach. -Army.mil image
Eugene Cook, 87, was among the handful of World War II veterans who attended the 68th anniversary of the D-Day landings this week in Sainte-Mere-Eglise, France. U.S. service members from all the military branches took part in honoring them, something Cook said he was glad to see.
"We have to commemorate the lives of the guys we left here," Cook said. "They gave their lives for us and we should show them thanks."
Known as Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944, combined U.S. and Allied air drops with beach landings along Normandy's coast. U.S. paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Infantry Division dropped onto the Cotenin peninsula to secure bridges, roads and towns vital to allowing the troops landing at nearby Utah Beach to move inland.
"That day, 68 years ago, as American blood mixed with French soil, it cemented even further the strong bonds between our two nations," said U.S. Army Secretary John McHugh.
For returning veterans, there was a mix of feelings -- glad to be alive and sharing good times and sorrowful memories of those who died. FMI: Army.mil, from an article by Staff Sgt. Rick Scavetta, U.S. European Command