D-Day was Largest Invasion ever Assembled, Landing 156,000 Allied troops by Sea and Air on 5 Beachheads in Normandy, France.

This Saturday, June 6th, will mark the 82nd anniversary of World War II’s D-Day invasion. Former Coachella Valley resident Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Allied Commander whose unified command planned and executed the massive invasion.

Eisenhower ordered the invasion be executed on June 6. The operation was successful from a military perspective.

However, the initial landings cost allied forces tremendous casualties. While Eisenhower, an Indian Wells resident, post presidency, was Supreme Allied Commander, his West Point classmate Omar Bradley was in command of the invasion forces of Operation Overlord. Omar Bradley resided in Rancho Mirage after his “retirement” from the Army and various other high-level positions in our government.

By the time the operation was at full strength, 2 million soldiers, airmen, and sailors defeated Hitler, freed Europe, and liberated the concentration camps that had murdered millions of innocent Jews. All together over 6 million Jews were slaughtered by Hitler and his Nazi killing machine.

Clearly, the D Day invasion stopped Hitler. It led to the end of World War II. However, those soldiers that fought the battles across Europe fill our veterans’ cemeteries across Europe and here at home. The cost was enormous in human lives.

Some 170,000 soldiers from the United States, Canada, and Great Britain hit the beaches of France. Some 23,000 of those soldiers were fellow paratroopers. They jumped behind enemy lines while the main body hit a 50-mile stretch of French beaches.

Some 50,000 German Nazi troops hit back with heavy artillery and machine gun fire. Many of the troops never made it ashore. They were cut down by enemy fire or drowned after landing craft were stuck by German artillery fire.

These men and women saved Europe. They gave their all. Many remain in those American cemeteries in France and Germany and never made it home. Those fortunate enough to make it home were dubbed “The Greatest Generation.”

As the sands have passed through the hourglass and most of those who landed on the beaches at Normandy have faded away, we can’t forget what they did. We can’t let their sacrifices or what they did for Europe, and the World fade away without a fitting tribute to the gallantry and conspicuous bravery of all whom liberated Europe.

Several excellent documentaries and docudramas will be streaming or available on cable television. Tune in and learn more about the liberation of Europe. Perhaps a few hundred thousand World War II veterans remain among us. If you are fortunate to know one or more of, thank them for their service and for saving our world.