JUNE 6TH, 1944

It was called D-Day and it was a day late, due to inclement weather. D referred to the starting date and H referred to the starting hour, which varied by 1 and ½ hours along the five beaches on the Normandy coast of France. An invading army had not crossed the unpredictable, dangerous English Channel since 1688 -- and once the invasion force set out, there was no turning back. The 5000-vessel armada stretched as far as the eye could see. The first 20 days or D +20 of the invasion required 5,000 tons of gasoline to sustain the armored and utilitarian vehicles in landing.

That 5,000 are the number of vessels that transported 30,000 vehicles and 150,000 men across the English Channel! More than 800 planes transported material and 6 regiments (13,000 men) of paratroopers across the Channel. More than 300 planes dropped 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy immediately in advance of the invasion. Two giant floating piers or docks called Mulberries were floated across the channel to aid in the storage of supplies and equipment.

The operation was so vast, so intense and so intricate that it was coded as Operation Overlord. In this operation were more than 7,500 separate missions that needed to be completed in the overall scheme! Apparently General Eisenhower felt that cleanliness was next to godliness, so 3,489 tons of soap was dropped by the air forces.

The defensive forces in the German Army were not all German: many were conscripts from other countries conquered by the Germans, such as the Netherlands, Poles and Belgians.

Most German mines failed to destroy Allied ships because they had timers set to explode after the spring, so as to not destroy German ships. The German military figured an invasion would only take place after the spring.

Did you ever wonder who the first American serviceman was who landed in enemy territory? The first American to make it to Normandy was Captain Frank Lillyman who parachuted in before the first light of dawn with the 101^st and 82^nd Airborne division paratroopers. He was wounded later in the day, but won the Medal of Valor. He served continuously in the military until 1968, when he retired a Lt. Colonel, dying three years later

President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt’s son, General Theodore Roosevelt Junior, led the landings at Utah Beach, winning the Medal of Honor. A week after D-Day, he suffered a heart attack during a battle and died. He is buried in Normandy.

And you complain when you get unexpected company!