D-Day 50th anniversary

Ploesti · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:26 am **Posts:** 152

Couldn't stop watching CSPAN. Anyone remember this video? Almost convincing if you didn't know better. Did any of you do anything special to remember the 50th? I was recovering from an earthquake out here in SoCal that shook the h*ll out of everything. Remember it like it was yesterday. CSPAN's D-Day 50th coverage was outstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtR0eVVy1_w

famvburg · **Joined:** Fri Oct 07, 2005 9:41 am **Posts:** 540

OMG! That's fascinating! If that Me 109 didn't have the shark snout, you'd never know it wasn't vintage footage. I do recall that in New Orleans for the 50th anny, there were two re-enactments scheduled on Lake Ponchartrain. The first was using WWII vintage vehicles & equipment, following that would be a modern day invasion, using modern vehicles & equipment. I wanted to go but didn't find out until that morning & I couldn't get off work.

Ploesti wrote:

Couldn't stop watching CSPAN. Anyone remember this video? Almost convincing if you didn't know better. Did any of you do anything special to remember the 50th? I was recovering from an earthquake out here in SoCal that shook the h*ll out of everything. Remember it like it was yesterday. CSPAN's D-Day 50th coverage was outstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtR0eVVy1_w

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:27 pm

Ploesti wrote:

Couldn't stop watching CSPAN. Anyone remember this video? Almost convincing if you didn't know better. Did any of you do anything special to remember the 50th? I was recovering from an earthquake out here in SoCal that shook the h*ll out of everything. Remember it like it was yesterday. CSPAN's D-Day 50th coverage was outstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtR0eVVy1_w

My wife & I went to Normandy in October of 1994 when the crowds were gone. A fascinating trip. Standing on the cliffs at Pont du Hoc looking down at the water, I starting thinking how did any of those Rangers ever make it up? An amzing feat. We owe so much to them and to all the soldiers who stormed the beaches that day. The thing that I was probably most impressed with was how British 6th Airborne executed the taking of what is now known as the Pegasus Bridge. Their gliders landed precisely on target just feet from the bridge. The original Pegasus Bridge was replaced by a more modern structure in the 90's. Fortunately someone with foresight thought to preserve the original bridge in a museum which looks very interesting. www.memorial-pegasus.org/mmp/musee_deba ... hp?lang=uk

Mudge · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:26 pm

Pat Carry wrote:

Ploesti wrote:

Couldn't stop watching CSPAN. Anyone remember this video? Almost convincing if you didn't know better. Did any of you do anything special to remember the 50th? I was recovering from an earthquake out here in SoCal that shook the h*ll out of everything. Remember it like it was yesterday. CSPAN's D-Day 50th coverage was outstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtR0eVVy1_w

My wife & I went to Normandy in October of 1994 when the crowds were gone. A fascinating trip. Standing on the cliffs at Pont du Hoc looking down at the water, I starting thinking how did any of those Rangers ever make it up? An amzing feat. We owe so much to them and to all the soldiers who stormed the beaches that day. The thing that I was probably most impressed with was how British 6th Airborne executed the taking of what is now known as the Pegasus Bridge. Their gliders landed precisely on target just feet from the bridge. The original Pegasus Bridge was replaced by a more modern structure in the 90's. Fortunately someone with foresight thought to preserve the original bridge in a museum which looks very interesting. http://www.memorial-pegasus.org/mmp/mus ... hp?lang=uk

Pat...you, and anyone else who's been to Omaha Beach, have to agree that, after seeing and standing at the German gun locations, it's nothing short of a miracle that more of the allied troops weren't killed.

Mudge the awestruck

ps. We'll be there in July...again. :drink3:

Ploesti · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:26 am **Posts:** 152

Here ya go for those who haven't seen the CSPAN coverage on the 50th anniversary of D-Day. two days worth and very well worth watching. Outstanding coverage.

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/56642-1

Iclo · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:11 pm

Visiting the old battle fields is always impressive.

When I visited Omaha beach, 10 years ago, the weather was very calm, no noise, few peoples. It was impossible to imagine what happened there.

Same feeling when I spent a day in Bastogne area in last December, no snow but very cold, and the same impression that it's impossible to imagine what happened in this calm forest.

Just a small suggestion for the people who will visit the Normandy : visit the small cemetery of La Cambe. It's a German Cemetery, relativelly small, and the contrast of the dark grey stone of the graves is impressive after visiting the "white graves" of the US cemetery in Colleville. For me, it was a "streng feeling" to visit these two places in the same day.

Jiggersfromsphilly · **Joined:** Fri Jun 17, 2005 3:15 pm **Posts:** 951

Mudge wrote:

Pat Carry wrote:

Ploesti wrote:

Couldn't stop watching CSPAN. Anyone remember this video? Almost convincing if you didn't know better. Did any of you do anything special to remember the 50th? I was recovering from an earthquake out here in SoCal that shook the h*ll out of everything. Remember it like it was yesterday. CSPAN's D-Day 50th coverage was outstanding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtR0eVVy1_w

My wife & I went to Normandy in October of 1994 when the crowds were gone. A fascinating trip. Standing on the cliffs at Pont du Hoc looking down at the water, I starting thinking how did any of those Rangers ever make it up? An amzing feat. We owe so much to them and to all the soldiers who stormed the beaches that day. The thing that I was probably most impressed with was how British 6th Airborne executed the taking of what is now known as the Pegasus Bridge. Their gliders landed precisely on target just feet from the bridge. The original Pegasus Bridge was replaced by a more modern structure in the 90's. Fortunately someone with foresight thought to preserve the original bridge in a museum which looks very interesting. http://www.memorial-pegasus.org/mmp/mus ... hp?lang=uk

Pat...you, and anyone else who's been to Omaha Beach, have to agree that, after seeing and standing at the German gun locations, it's nothing short of a miracle that more of the allied troops weren't killed.

Mudge the awestruck

ps. We'll be there in July...again. :drink3:

You nailed that on Mudge ! How long a relatively few very well placed defenders, held up the landing on Omaha Beach, is incredible !

Since I can't make the ceremonies on Utah for Major Winters, have some Calvados for me with Woody!!! Mudge!!!

Jiggers the envious!

Pogmusic · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2012 5:26 pm

Holy cow! I was there taking part in that. We manned a pseudo Flak 88 on the beach (Russian Desert Storm bring back). The 109 had lost its spinner prior to arriving; but, they flew it anyway. The first wave consisted of Virginia Army NG guys who had the instructions that the first half of the LCs would get off the boat and be "Mowed down" it was scary to see the LCs hit the beach and then see half of each LC fall flat "DEAD". Very moving day. As we marched off the beach, the WWII vets thanked us for remembering. I had just gotten out of the Army (12 years active) and was very moved by their honest emotions.

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Fri Feb 10, 2012 6:30 pm

Iclo wrote:

Visiting the old battle fields is always impressive.

When I visited Omaha beach, 10 years ago, the weather was very calm, no noise, few peoples. It was impossible to imagine what happened there.

Same feeling when I spent a day in Bastogne area in last December, no snow but very cold, and the same impression that it's impossible to imagine what happened in this calm forest.

Just a small suggestion for the people who will visit the Normandy : visit the small cemetery of La Cambe. It's a German Cemetery, relativelly small, and the contrast of the dark grey stone of the graves is impressive after visiting the "white graves" of the US cemetery in Colleville. For me, it was a "streng feeling" to visit these two places in the same day.

We visited the German cemetery you mentioned. A very moving place. In addition to the cemetery above Omaha Beach, we also went to the American cemetery located on the Brittany peninsula. Its amazing how well kept these cemetaries are. I'm quite certain you could not find one blade of grass that was any taller than any other blade of grass.

p51 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:09 am

Pogmusic wrote:

Holy cow! I was there taking part in that. We manned a pseudo Flak 88 on the beach (Russian Desert Storm bring back). The 109 had lost its spinner prior to arriving; but, they flew it anyway. The first wave consisted of Virginia Army NG guys who had the instructions that the first half of the LCs would get off the boat and be "Mowed down" it was scary to see the LCs hit the beach and then see half of each LC fall flat "DEAD". Very moving day. As we marched off the beach, the WWII vets thanked us for remembering. I had just gotten out of the Army (12 years active) and was very moved by their honest emotions.

Hey Lance! Lee Bishop here, I was with K Company in the LCI that had the M1917 .30 caliber water cooled MG team who dropped their gun into the ocean. That was an amazing few days, one I remember very well. How about everyone bar-hopping in WW2 vehicles along Atlantic drive in Virginia Beach during the evenings of the event?
Remember how exhausted and sunburned we all were afterward? I had to drive back to Florida alone after that, having had maybe 3-4 hours of sleep every night, constantly on the move. I was so dehydrated I drank three 2-liters of Mountain Dew (just to stay awake) along with bottled water and never had to have a rest stop the entire day on a drive that was almost 1000 miles. When I got home, I slept for almost 30 hours as I was just beat dead tired.
So totally worth it! :drink3:

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