D-Day: 75 Years Later
Quick answer: Why is D-Day important?
D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the opening of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy and the largest amphibious assault in history, with about 5,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft, and more than 150,000 troops. It established a foothold in France that led to the liberation of Western Europe. The Allies suffered about 10,000 casualties that day, more than 4,000 of them killed.
Seventy-five years ago today, the largest air, land, and sea invasion in history began on the shores of Normandy. It involved about 5,000 ships, 11,000 aircraft, and more than 150,000 soldiers, sailors, Coast Guardsmen, and airmen. Many of the soldiers were not yet 20. "You get your ass on the beach," Colonel Paul Goode told the men of the 175th Infantry, 29th Infantry Division. "I'll be there waiting for you and I'll tell you what to do." Before the 506th Parachute Infantry took off, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Wolverton asked his men to pray with him: "We do not join battle afraid. We do not ask favors or indulgence but ask that, if You will, use us as Your instrument for the right and an aid in returning peace to the world." Then he gave the order to move out. The men in the landing craft carried more than 80 pounds of gear and were sick from rough seas. Some sank under their loads or were cut down in the surf. "The ramp went down, and we were in water over our heads," said Sergeant Ray Lambert, a 1st Infantry Division medic in the first wave. "Some of the men drowned. Some got hit by the bullets." On Omaha Beach, men of the 1st and 29th Divisions faced about 200 yards of open sand under crossfire. Photographer Robert Capa, landing with the early waves, told himself, "This is a very serious business." Leaders had to get men moving. "They're murdering us here!" Colonel Charles Canham of the 116th Infantry shouted. "Let's move inland and get murdered!" Colonel George Taylor of the 16th Infantry told his men, "Two kinds of people are staying on this beach, the dead and those who are going to die." At Utah Beach, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the only general to land with the first wave, walked the beach with his cane. Sergeant Robert Niland of the 82nd Airborne was killed that day, and his brother Preston, with the 4th Infantry Division, was killed the next. By the end of June 6, the Allies had suffered about 10,000 casualties, more than 4,000 of them killed. This anniversary is the time to learn about D-Day and remember the men and women who helped liberate a continent.
Why it matters for leaders: On Omaha Beach, the difference between being pinned down and moving forward came down to individual leaders willing to stand up first.
Q: How many Allied troops landed on D-Day?
A: More than 150,000, supported by about 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft.
Q: Who said "Two kinds of people are staying on this beach"?
A: Col. George A. Taylor, commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, on Omaha Beach.
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By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation