D-Day was the name given to the June 6, 1944, invasion of the beaches at Normandy in northern France by troops from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries during War II.
France at that time was occupied by the armies of Nazi Germany, and the amphibious assault – codenamed Operation Overload – landed some 156,000 Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy by the end of the day.
Despite their success, some 4,000 Allied troops were killed by German soldiers defending the beaches.
At that time, the D-Day invasion was the largest naval, air and land operation in history, and within a few days about 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed. By August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and in the spring of 1945, the Allies had defeated the Germans. Historians often refer to D-Day as the beginning of the end of World War II.
America entered the war in December 1941. The following year, Allied plans for a cross-Channel invasion began to ramp up. In November 1943, Adolph Hitler, who was aware of the threat of an invasion along France’s northern coast, put Erwin Rommel in charge of spearheading defense operations in the region.
In January 1944 General Dwight Eisenhower was appointed commander of Operation Overload. Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion; however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours. On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overload. He told the troops; “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.” (history.com)
Fun facts for this notable day in history. The number 1 song in America was Paper Doll by the Mills Brothers. BBC was playing Berlin or Bust by Sam Brown and the Six Swingers. The best movie in America, The Longest Day, which takes in the entire invasion, all nationalities and battles. This is the definitive movie about D-Day. It is also the longest movie!
Today we honor all D-Day veterans, past and present, and today, we want to give special recognition to local D-Day veteran Jerry Humphries of Covington. Humphries entered the war in 1943 as a young man and was assigned to the Second Armored Division driving a tankard from France to Berlin.
Curtis A Smith VFW Post 1033 and his friends will celebrate his 99th birthday on June 8 at 3 p.m. at the post home on 710 Dolly Ann Drive.
Please come join us to wish this special veteran a happy 99th birthday and hear more of his story.