D Day occurred on this day in history

[Value Buy]

The American invasion of Europe occurred today and the quest to defeat Germany and the Nazis started in earnest.
I just want to take a moment to thank all the veterans, deceased or still alive today on what they did and the sacrifices they made on the beaches, facing such odds of survival.

Tough job
Way too much humanity destroyed

But unfortunately very necessary.
God bless them all.

[ken a.k.a OMK]

 We owe our freedom to them.

[Value Buy]

Strange, but true, on sides both of my parent's, we did not lose a single relative to the war. I guess it was because there were few male siblings, or uncles, and the grandfathers were probably too old at the time.
They did have cousins that joined and fought, but I guess never fought the big battles.

Either that, or  they never talked about it.
My brother in law's father did serve in the Marines and fault in the Pacific islands but really did not talk about it. Probably not a good sign..........
 

[Tennesseer]

Jun 6, 2016 14:35:29 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Strange, but true, on sides both of my parent's, we did not lose a single relative to the war. I guess it was because there were few male siblings, or uncles, and the grandfathers were probably too old at the time.
They did have cousins that joined and fought, but I guess never fought the big battles.

Either that, or  they never talked about it.
My brother in law's father did serve in the Marines and fault in the Pacific islands but really did not talk about it. Probably not a good sign..........
 

If it wasn't for the battle of Okinawa, I wouldn't be here. (My parents met there at the end of WWII).

[mroped]

I was just asking my wife what date is today and mentioned D Day!
People seem to care very litle since I don't see any flashing adds or nothing.
Will be soon forgotten! Sad, sad, sad!

In school, in the history books, they called it "The Debarcation in Normandy" due to the fact that "invasion" gives the connotation of aggression with intent to occupy and pillage the territories. I was honestly taken a bit aback when I first got here and heard "invasion of Normandy". Just didn't make sense!

[Tennesseer]

Jun 6, 2016 14:35:29 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Strange, but true, on sides both of my parent's, we did not lose a single relative to the war. I guess it was because there were few male siblings, or uncles, and the grandfathers were probably too old at the time.
They did have cousins that joined and fought, but I guess never fought the big battles.

Either that, or  they never talked about it.
My brother in law's father did serve in the Marines and fault in the Pacific islands but really did not talk about it. Probably not a good sign..........
 

I have read a number of articles where people asked why did those who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam not have symptoms of PTSD. We know many of the troops who served in Vietnam did and still do suffer from PTSD. Those who served in war zones during WWII, Korea, the American Civil War and many other past wars also suffered from PTSD but back then it was called combat fatigue.

Back then, many/most men thought it was a sign of weakness to discuss with others what was going on in their heads. So they suffered in silence..

[spartan7886]

Jun 7, 2016 9:08:02 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I have read a number of articles where people asked why did those who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam not have symptoms of PTSD. We know many of the troops who served in Vietnam did and still do suffer from PTSD. Those who served in war zones during WWII, Korea, the American Civil War and many other past wars also suffered from PTSD but back then it was called combat fatigue.

Back then, many/most men thought it was a sign of weakness to discuss with others what was going on in their heads. So they suffered in silence..

I used to work with a guy who had been a tunnel rat in 'Nam. I was warned when I first came on that I might occasionally find him not working, just staring into the distance, stuck back in those tunnels.

[kittensaver]

Jun 7, 2016 9:08:02 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Jun 6, 2016 14:35:29 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Strange, but true, on sides both of my parent's, we did not lose a single relative to the war. I guess it was because there were few male siblings, or uncles, and the grandfathers were probably too old at the time.
They did have cousins that joined and fought, but I guess never fought the big battles.

Either that, or  they never talked about it.
My brother in law's father did serve in the Marines and fault in the Pacific islands but really did not talk about it. Probably not a good sign..........
 

I have read a number of articles where people asked why did those who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam not have symptoms of PTSD. We know many of the troops who served in Vietnam did and still do suffer from PTSD. Those who served in war zones during WWII, Korea, the American Civil War and many other past wars also suffered from PTSD but back then it was called combat fatigue.

Back then, many/most men thought it was a sign of weakness to discuss with others what was going on in their heads. So they suffered in silence..

THIS.

My father (a first generation American) was a member of the 10th Mountain Division - the boys and men who climbed the sheer cliffs of the Apeninnes and pushed Hitler's forces back across the Poe Valley and out of Italy. The horrors of war that he saw are far too long to detail here, but he experienced enough to personally traumatize him for the rest of his life.

One snippet of an example (and there are several others): he was in a fox hole group that got bombed. His hole mate died, and he ended up with a LOT of schrapnel in his arms, shoulder and back. He had to walk back three first aid stations to get to an Allied hospital, because the first two could not help him. The third MASH unit he ended up in got bombed too, and he was one of only a handful of people to survive.

When he came home with his two bronze stars and his purple heart, he threw up that same emotional Wall that so many men of his generation did - and got on with his life. Like the other men of his generation, they just desperately wanted to forget it all and desperately wanted to live normal lives. He went to school, became a PhD aerospace engineer with a good career, married, and had us. But the wall cracked some times. I can still remember as a child waking up in the middle of the night because he was having screaming nightmares.

He had his last nightmare on a late summer evening 10 days after his 52nd birthday. I was home for the last few days of summer before going back to college.

He died of a heart attack the next night. I was there for the whole thing.

Damn PTSD.  

ETA: some history for anybody who's interested:

www.amazon.com/Climb-Conquer-Untold-Mountain-Division/dp/145165510X

www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375759514/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/184-4069370-6504219?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=172J72HPAPSMWY0CH97J&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687662&pf_rd_i=145165510X

[Tennesseer]

Jun 7, 2016 15:28:44 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

Jun 7, 2016 9:08:02 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I have read a number of articles where people asked why did those who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam not have symptoms of PTSD. We know many of the troops who served in Vietnam did and still do suffer from PTSD. Those who served in war zones during WWII, Korea, the American Civil War and many other past wars also suffered from PTSD but back then it was called combat fatigue.

Back then, many/most men thought it was a sign of weakness to discuss with others what was going on in their heads. So they suffered in silence..

THIS.

My father (a first generation American) was a member of the 10th Mountain Division - the boys and men who climbed the sheer cliffs of the Apeninnes and pushed Hitler's forces back across the Poe Valley and out of Italy. The horrors of war that he saw are far too long to detail here, but he experienced enough to personally traumatize him for the rest of his life.

One snippet of an example (and there are several others): he was in a fox hole group that got bombed. His hole mate died, and he ended up with a LOT of schrapnel in his arms, shoulder and back. He had to walk back three first aid stations to get to an Allied hospital, because the first two could not help him. The third MASH unit he ended up in got bombed too, and he was one of only a handful of people to survive.

When he came home with his two bronze stars and his purple heart, he threw up that same emotional Wall that so many men of his generation did - and got on with his life. Like the other men of his generation, they just desperately wanted to forget it all and desperately wanted to live normal lives. He went to school, became a PhD aerospace engineer with a good career, married, and had us. But the wall cracked some times. I can still remember as a child waking up in the middle of the night because he was having screaming nightmares.

He had his last nightmare on a late summer evening 10 days after his 52nd birthday. I was home for the last few days of summer before going back to college.

He died of a heart attack the next night. I was there for the whole thing.

Damn PTSD.  

ETA: some history for anybody who's interested:

www.amazon.com/Climb-Conquer-Untold-Mountain-Division/dp/145165510X

www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375759514/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1/184-4069370-6504219?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=172J72HPAPSMWY0CH97J&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1944687662&pf_rd_i=145165510X

MY heartfelt condolences, kittensaver.

[mollyanna58]

My sister and I were discussing D Day yesterday, and my niece asked us what the "D" stood for. I realized I had no idea.

[Value Buy]

Jun 7, 2016 19:31:19 GMT -5 mollyanna58 said:

My sister and I were discussing D Day yesterday, and my niece asked us what the "D" stood for. I realized I had no idea.

D Day is a military term referring to the actual day of the invasion.

[mollyanna58]

Jun 7, 2016 20:13:13 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Jun 7, 2016 19:31:19 GMT -5 mollyanna58 said:

My sister and I were discussing D Day yesterday, and my niece asked us what the "D" stood for. I realized I had no idea.

D Day is a military term referring to the actual day of the invasion.

So it was a fluid date, waiting for the right conditions, is that correct? 

[Value Buy]

Jun 7, 2016 20:46:12 GMT -5 mollyanna58 said:

Jun 7, 2016 20:13:13 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

D Day is a military term referring to the actual day of the invasion.

So it was a fluid date, waiting for the right conditions, is that correct? 

Yes. Here is a good definition for it.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Day_(military_term)