65th D-Day Celebration preparations in Normandy

June 6th, 1944 marks the day the Allied Forces stormed the beach of Normandy to mark the start of the liberation of France during World War 2 (WWII). Although it is already the 6th of June today, now in South East Asia, currently it's still the 5th in France, thus making it just mere hours before they start celebrating the 65th anniversary of this event that changed the face of history. To sum it all up, each year, Normandy celebrates the heroic and bloody invasion of June 6, 1944, and citizens from all over the world travel to France to participate in local parades and celebrations.
During the early days of June 1944, the greatest armada in the world’s history of military warfare was assembled by the Western Allies in the English Channel ports, awaiting orders to launch an all-out offensive against Adolph Hitler’s “Festung Europa,” the “Fortress of Europe.” Powerful combat units, landing crafts, and the air support of British and United States Air Forces stood ready and waiting for the command to move. The English weather, however, refused to cooperate. The waters of the English Channel turned dangerously rough and stormy. Heavy rain and dense fog, which spread from the coast of England to the beaches of France, made the crossing appear almost impossible.
I've always thought that the whole D-Day landing were best described by the films "The Longest Day" which starred among others, John Wayne and of course "Saving Private Ryan" which starred among others, Tom Hanks and Matt Damon. From the Airborne's point of view, the greatest on-screen adaptation would most definitely be the "Band of Brothers" miniseries.
Well, in short D-Day in my own personal perspective; in the early morning of 6 June 1944 mixed units of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and U.S. 101st Airborne Divisions occupied the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. The Germans took St Mere Eglise on June 18th 1940. Sainte-Mere-Eglise was one of the first towns liberated in the invasion. The primary D-Day objectives were for the 50th Infantry Division to establish a beachhead between Arromanches and Ver-sur-Mer; therefore the Airborne boys' main objectives were to provide cover for the infantry to mobilize and achieve their primary objectives. For further info regarding D-Day, I recommend this piece of journal entry that briefly explains in detail what the whole event was all about.
Below are pictures of people who came to the town of Sainte-Mere Eglise and the Normandy beaches in the past several days to prepare for the celebrations. I'll get pictures of the actual celebrations the soonest they get posted on the internet. Surely to be a sight to behold!











Comments

LEon said…
I saw a documentary on that and when I saw the actual after the attack in colors, it was so sad.
The Rebel said…
Yeah Leon, it was a very sad affair...the beach was practically 'red' after that. Pity that human lives had to be put on the line just to please the ideals of several individual leaders.