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| And when they get to Heaven, To St. Peter they will Tell: "One more soldier reporting sir, I've spent my time in hell." |
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| Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to Embark on the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in the free world. But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good Luck! And let us beseech the blessing of al-mighty god upon this great and noble undertaking. -Signed, Dwight D. Eisenhower, General of the Army (5 stars), June of 1944 |
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| (MR) These are the words General Eisenhower wrote in a speech marking the commencement of one of the most daring, heroic, and crucial military invasions in the history of our world. On June 6th of 1944, soldiers from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and several other nations took part in the most incredible and dangerous mission any military force has ever faced. Also deemed one of the largest invasions in history, capacity- wise, and noted by most historians as the single most influencial combative maneuver of all time, the soldiers who landed in Normandy at the beaches of Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah, and Omaha would one day soon rid the world of the most tyrannical force that has ever threatened freedom, democracy, and hope. They would spearhead the liberation of a great many european nations, release |
| from captivity tens of thousands of persecuted individuals who made no crime more than loving their god, their arts, their beliefs. These epic combatants faught gallantly in the face of a great many dangers and thanks to their cunning and valiance we today are free to speak, free to think, free to trust and believe. We can argue with our authorative powers, we can question that which is not understood... we can feel what we want to feel and live fearless of a dark cloud of hatred and totalitarianism that would have most assuredly conquered the whole of the world had it not been for these fine soldiers and their struggle for freedom on that day of days, the longest day... D- Day. Today, on the 60th anniversary of this epic crusade of men in arms, MRO takes a laconic look into the history surrounding a day that changed the outcome of a war and the rights of the human race. The Nazi Germans had lay siege on the whole of Europe, and had been actively attempting to weaken the United Kingdome by way of aerial assaults in the hopes of invading their as well. They'd moved as far southward as Africa and the Middle East with help from their Italian axis-mates, and as far westward as Stalingrad and Kursk in the Soviet Union where they'd battled with Soviet military forces for lengthy extents of time. The military powers-that-be who made up the executive branches of the Allied WWII forces knew that an invasion was going to need to take place soon if the Nazi war machine were to ever be defeated. In late |
| 1943, the plans for an invasion of Europe by Allied forces was already deep into it's design. Soldiers were being trained for the ground assault. Countless hours had been spent researching the enemies defenses and plotting a method of attack. And what has been coined as the largest deceptive act in the history of politics and/ or warfare was heavily underway to trick the German's so as not to unveil the plans of this secret invasion. In early 1944, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was given command of the invasion, he assumed that there were two wars that needed to be fought in order for the Nazi army to fall. One of these wars was, obviously, a physical one. The other, however, was one of deception. Eisenhower used General George S. Patton, notoriously feared by both his enemies and his own men, as a diversionary tactic unlike any before it. General Patton was crude and outspoken and demanded the highest level of attention from those who served below him. Although those |
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| under his command often times disliked their valiant leader and despised his apparent lack of care for his men, everyone knew that Patton was quite possibly the most brilliant field General of World War II, of any nation... and Eisenhower knew that the German military forces felt the same way, and thus would fear Patton more than any other leader. At the time, Patton was serving a suspension for striking a soldier who refused to |
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