The Longest Day

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

I'm not religious in any way, but my thoughts today are with those who took part in the D-Day landings 65 years ago.
I visited the invasion beaches a couple of years ago and was overawed by what was achieved.

To those who never came back, we owe you as much as we owe the troops currently out on deployment.

Lest we forget

[Bishops Finger]

So very true..let us not forget as well the civilians who died as well as the troops from the opposing forces...

[crazymac]

This is why, for me, all the discussion about politicians with their noses in the trough, elections, cabinet members that are not voted in MP's etc are so important. These guys fought for freedom within society and speech, but what we have now I think would have them turning in their graves.

[V8MoneyPit]

I doubt any of us here can imagine what it was like. Hell on earth is a phrase that is as close as we can get, I'd guess.

Hearing some of the veterans talking about it is inspiring. Their modesty should be a lesson to us all.

[wheels244]

I'm not religious in any way, but my thoughts today are with those who took part in the D-Day landings 65 years ago.
I visited the invasion beaches a couple of years ago and was overawed by what was achieved.

To those who never came back, we owe you as much as we owe the troops currently out on deployment.

Lest we forget

Wise Words

[beast5680]

did anyone see the story of the bagpipe player who marched up and down the beaches playing while under fire "to raise the lads morale"  :shock:

[gtomo2]

did anyone see the story of the bagpipe player who marched up and down the beaches playing while under fire "to raise the lads morale"  :shock:

Yea read that one and they have given him his bag pipes back. They were keep in a museum after the war.
Alot of boys came off them landing crafts but men got off the beach. We owe them a lot.
And that french prat not inviting the royal family what i insult the queen is the last remaining royal to have served in  ww11.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TndC-kKnuY4

[littlepow]

It should be also remebered that HRH is the only survivng monarch that not only lived through the war, but also served as an ambulance driver during the blitz!

After chatting to a Vet from the Omaha beach landing - he said that the intro to Saving Private Ryan was the most realistic anyone has come to getting near to the actual landing itself. (be it slightlty edited for Hollywood history and film perposes!)

[robert francis]

this reminded me of when i was with an ex visiting her great grandad, so said bewarned the war stories will get you, i laughed, but they were quite interesting, nuff respect for all these people,
but 1 story that stuck, was he fought 1st and 2nd world wars on the front line, and on xmas day they would stop fighting, and they played football against each other,

that must be nuts, 1 minute your shooting each other then you stop to play footie,
i'd think to myself could you trust them ???

[tonycougar]

that must be nuts, 1 minute your shooting each other then you stop to play footie,
i'd think to myself could you trust them ???

They would have continued playing footie and stopped shooting each other too, but the commanders didn't want them to stop fighting so they shelled them.

[crazymac]

After chatting to a Vet from the Omaha beach landing - he said that the intro to Saving Private Ryan was the most realistic anyone has come to getting near to the actual landing itself. (be it slightlty edited for Hollywood history and film perposes!)

Strangely enough, I had recorded Saving Private Ryan during the week having never seen it before nor knew what it was about. I sat down to watch it saturday afternoon, and was surprised to find the opening scenes were of that day 65 years previously!! It was a moving film for me as a result, albeit a Hollywood version, and I was humbled by the opening scenes.

The film finished at 5pm and I turned it off then went straight into the memorial service coverage on BBC1. A moving day all in.

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

If you have never been to the Beaches or any of the battlefields in Europe, I would strongly recommend it. I've been to the Somme, Ypres and Normandy.
I went with this chap; http://www.memorial-tours.org.uk/
If you have relatives who served in the campaigns, he can find out all the history you would need to know.
He was able to work out to within a 1/4 mile where my grandfather was injured on the Ypres Salient in 1918. It left me a bit choked up.
I was amazed when watching the Commemorations at Arromanche on the box at the weekend, and seeing all the Vets still showing the mettle they had all those years ago, especially when Gordon Brown stood up and they boo'ed him! :D
Top Blokes, every single one!

[littlepow]

I spent a week with some of the Vets from Stalag Luft 3 (Great Escape), there attitude to going off to fly bombers and fighters over enemy territory was very interesting. But the games they played with the German guards (when concentration camp / firing squad was the punishment) was very eye opening.

It is amazing what these guys went through, what they did to survive and how they dealt with the loss of freinds and there crews.
They could walk around thhe ruins of the camp, tell you what building was what, where they lived and where the tunnels they dug were (even the ones that were never found or used!).

Would highly recommend talking to the vets from the wars - it will make history much more interesting and real. Rather than the classroom taught way. That and most still like a tipple or too!