75 years ago tomorrow: June 6, 1944 - D-Day

[Baz]

Please join me in honoring the brave souls who undertook this operation....


Suddenly it's D-Day again; aging veterans recall invasion

ABOARD THE BOUDICCA IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL – The veterans hobble along on canes and lean on walking frames now, slower and weaker than they were on D-Day, when they stormed the Normandy beaches with the fate of the free world resting on their shoulders. It's hard to imagine them as soldiers carrying rifles across their chests and 60-pound packs on their backs — until they start talking.

Then the scales of age fall way. They are all young men heading to France — a place most had never been.

"The noise was deafening," said former Royal Marine Les Budding, now 93. "The black smoke and the acrid smell of cordite, which was coming from the battleships firing the big shells. They are the outstanding things in my memory coming from that day."

Suddenly it's D-Day again. The soft-spoken Budding is once again an 18-year-old gunner — a baby-faced, pink-cheeked cherub who smiles from a war-time photograph in a dress uniform that looks like he borrowed it from his father. Budding said he just did what Marines are supposed to do. In his case that meant offering cover to other Marines storming beaches and moving forward. Keep going. Stay alive.

Click on linked story for more.


Former Royal Marine Les Budding, right, stands with Philip Collins, 62, who is the son of the late F.E. Collins of 45 Commando, who fought alongside Budding on D-Day, as they pose for a photo aboard the MV Boudicca ship as veterans return to the scene of the D-Day landings 75-years after the Allied invasion of northern France, Tuesday June 4, 2019. Many veterans are returning to the scene where as young men they stormed the beaches of Normandy in northern France during World War II, with the fate of the free world resting on their shoulders. Budding was a gunner on a “flak 34,'' a specially armed boat that defended F.E. Collins' landing craft as it hit the beach on D-Day. (AP Photo/Ben Jary)

[KFC911]

Thank you Baz....and

Thank You to the heroes...I watched an old vet last night...I can't imagine.

The greatest indeed...

[javadog]

The anniversary is actually tomorrow, not today...

[recycled sixtie]

Thanks Baz for that. Many sacrificed their lives for our freedom and many survived. Brave men....

[GH85Carrera]

So many boys 18 and 19 years old, became men in an instant. One of my friends was in the Navy and was there that day, He was on a battleship and was "safe" out in the water as they blasted the defenses on the beach, and were strafed by aircraft. Like so many of those men, he did not talk much about that horrible day. He had a few pages of notes he wrote down shortly after the fact, and put them away and built a life and raised a family. His grandkids found the notes and were stunned to learn "granddaddy" had fought in the war. The kids made sure people knew his story.

I knew him from a computer club. The early days of DOS 2.0 and into the beginning of Windows. He loved computers, and was a great math tutor for lots of students.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by javadog

The anniversary is actually tomorrow, not today...

Celebrate 'em any day ya want too JR ....I'm good for 6-7 each week...easy.

I didn't "think" the title was correct earlier...but I wasn't there....and might not be here. They had IT....yes they did.

[abisel]

I had the honor to visit the American cemetery in Normandy back in July of '07.

A very humbling experience.

If anybody gets the chance to go to France, it is a must to visit Normandy.

[s_morrison57]

My great uncle was the ADC to Gen Crerar, (pronounced as Sear) he was in charge of the Canadian forces in the European theatre and he sent my uncle to help with the planning of D Day. We had pic's of uncle Finlay with Churchill, Mountbatten, Eisenhower, we had a newspaper clipping of uncle Finn in the back of a jeep, driven by Gen. Crerar and Gen. Eisenhower was in the passenger seat, another clipping of the King of England giving my uncle his MBE for his part in the D Day invasion, Elizabeth was in the pic too, in a few years she would be the Queen. It was D Day + 3 before uncle Finlay went to France, they were worried about capture - he knew the whole plan. Uncle Finlay saved things like "orders to report", invitations to different functions etc.. a paper trail of his time overseas, he also had a camera and had pic's of every soldier under his command, he was a Lieutenant and served with the South Saskatchewan Regiment. When U Finn moved into the old folks home we found all his WW2 stuff and he said to donate it to the regiment. Cousin Mac said the historian for the regiment wept when he was looking through the things Finlay had saved, it was the pic's that had the most impact, he could put a face and a bit of info from the back of the pic's for every soldier that served in the regiment during that time period , many of whom didn't return.
Uncle Finlay survived the war, got a Phd. and taught chemistry at the University of British Columbia, retiring after 35 years as Dean of Pharmaceutical Science. He passed away at 100 years old late in 2017.
D Day never passes as just another day in my family, its the day we honor and remember not only my uncle but all the men and women that took part in the Normandy invasion.
Thanks for letting me share that bit of family history.
Finlay "Finn" Morrison

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by javadog

The anniversary is actually tomorrow, not today...

Actually, some parachuted in the night of June 5. It's my honor to have hung out in a pool hall with Sgt. Don Malarkey of Easy Co. fame.

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Great story Finn - Thanks for sharing

[imaircooled]

Met this guy at a small Memorial Day Parade. We happened to set up our chairs next to his house. I saw him come out with his uniform on and had to talk to him. Great guy. He liked that I wore my Kitty Hawk hat. Didn't get to talk to him very long because of the line of people that wanted to meet him. I bet he has some stories.

I salute them all!

[afterburn 549]

Those were men amongst men.
If they had not sacrificed for us where would we be?
What would today look like?
Yet, some people will say they HATE America.

[GH85Carrera]

I just think back to the days when I was 18 or 19, and my normal American teenage years. And then think to how would I have handled going to war, and the landing, and thousands of other battles across the globe. It just boggles my mind so many young men died keeping us free and safe.

[Seahawk]

Les Budding looks like he could do it all again.

And he would.

[herr_oberst]

Thanks for a great reminder Baz, and thanks to all the vets who served.

I absolutely cannot even imagine being on one of those Higgins boats as a twenty year old farm kid.

[Baz]

The story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/us/jake-mcniece-a-leader-of-wwiis-filthy-13-dies-at-93.html

[wdfifteen]

Hard to imagine being on the invasion. I guess you just resign yourself to dying that day and go forward. It took courage and a devotion to the task.

"Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant" ("Hail, Emperor, those who are about to die salute you")

[petrolhead611]

My dad went ashore on 6 th June as a tank commander. He said it was the worst day of his life( even worse than when he nearly died of his wounds in the Bocage)

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by javadog

The anniversary is actually tomorrow, not today...

Teacher appreciation day was turned into a weeklong event at my sons school. I propose we dedicate the entire month in memory of these men.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[javadog]

I hope they do a better job today of teaching American history than they did when I was a kid. I had the subject three separate years and not once did we get far enough through the textbook to even get to World War II. I took a world history class as well and I don’t recall that one faring any better.

I’ve been watching the coverage of the D day anniversary the last couple days and the humility that the veterans express for their actions and deeds is something that today’s kids need to be exposed to. These folks truly were a different breed.