Today marks the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, one of the most historic battles of World War II.
On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops – about half of them Americans – landed on a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified coastline in Normandy, France as part of an assault on Nazi forces. At the time, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said the U.S. and its allies would “accept nothing less than full victory.”
The resources put towards the effort were massive. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, which successfully gave the Allies a foothold in Continental Europe as it continued the march against the forces of Adolph Hitler. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history.
The cost of victory was high, with more than 9,000 American, British and Canadian soldiers killed or wounded. Some 2,000 U.S. soldiers were killed at the battle of Omaha Beach alone.
“There are moments in a nation’s history when its future course is decided by a chosen few who walked bravely into the valley of the shadow of death,” Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti said during a wreath-laying ceremony yesterday. “In such moments, young men and women pledge their lives so that their nation can live.”
D-Day marked the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June to August 1944 and resulted in the liberation of Western Europe. Almost a year after the Battle – on May 8, 1945 – the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71bflWCtZFY
parts of this were from al.com