The invsion has started.
About 6 hours earlier when the first Pathfinders stepped out their troop carrier aircraft and into darkness, and the Ox & Bucks gliders landed to seize two bridges in the opening moves.
As always today, I never know what to say. I’ll leave at that.
I know what you mean keavdog. With so very few (if any) of those who took part left, how do you say thank you. But I suppose there is family and memories left behind. The sad thing is when you ask a child or even a lot of adults what happened this day they give you a blank stare.
Yes,and two years earlier on 6/6/42 the Battle of Midway was wrapping up also,some momentous times.
“History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Sad no one remembers. Ask most young people what the 4th of July is about and they’re clueless.
Browsing through the TV lineup, and I don’t see a single movie or show about D Day or WW2 on today. Quite sad.
I am dipping into my movie collection to fill the void.
I remember back in 2001 when the film Pearl Harbor came out. I was working with a on line forum on the subject and we were suddenly inundated with questions about the event and the movie. A lot of kids didn’t even know about Pearl Harbor; they were never taught much American history, and it came as a shock to them. All I could say was “Wow, just what are these kids being taught?”
where you taught about Pearl Harbor while you were in school?
I visited Omaha Beach on D-Day 1989. That beach head they had to climb was extremely high.
DDP59, Yes, I was! In fact, when I was in 7th or 8th grade, my history teacher was a former B-17 pilot. He made very sure we knew about WWII.
But then again, I had always had an interest in history, especially American history, though I’ll admit that I couldn’t give a damn about the 1920’s, Great Gatsby, flappers, and that stuff. The history thing is part of what got me into models, and vice-versa. And I always had a ‘thing’ for the USS ARIZONA; I shared a birthday with her (though forty-some years apart!). I grew up in Arizona, and moved there from Pennsylvania (ain’t that a twist!). I lived 5 miles from Valley Forge, 20 miles from Philadelphia, and 100 miles from Gettysburg. Yeah, I was into history.
My guess is that those of us who were children of the WW2 generation – or who were taught by them – learned about those events in some detail in public schools. But just judging by discussions with those of subsequent generations, it seems those events faded from curricula fairly rapidly thereafter.
I was a history major in college, so my view of primary and secondary teaching of history has always been somewhat jaundiced. No idea what history they’re teaching now…but it doesn’t generally seem to have penetrated very deeply into popular culture.
So it goes…
I was, Public School in Newark NJ, High School was a Public School in Bloomfield NJ
Seventh grade 1970-71
Senior year 1975-76
In fact as a Senior, we did both World Wars, in fact,I did a term paper on Operation Barbarossa.
Why do you ask?
Yes, granted I did not attend public school which plays a large factor. My friends who did go to public school did not have any knowledge of history in general apart from one who was interested in history.
I visited in 2018, and yes, it was - looking down from the heights, it was obvious how much it favoured the defence. I didn’t get to go to Utah beach, but none of the beaches were easy propositions. Sword, Juno, and Gold have wide, flat expanses of sand and, at the time, lots of pill-boxes with interlocking fields of fire and pre-registered mortars & artillery behind them.
The whole trip was very humbling, bringing home the courage, sacrifice, and achievement of ordinary men in citizen armies - we owe them everything.
Public schools, private schools, it should be mentioned however there is absolutely NOTHING preventing a student from listening to thier grand parents or even thier parents and searching the internet for information…except that most grandparents of that time are gone and parents of today are…ok enough of me. THANK YOU brave young men who died and fought for freedom.
I truly can’t fathom stepping out of one of those aircraft or landing craft knowing what awaited you on the other side. How do you repay someone for your freedom? You really can’t. All you can do is say thank you from the bottom of your heart to those who serve and protect those freedoms and make sure your children and the people you may have influence with know the truth about the tremendous cost of those freedoms. Then live life as a citizen that appreciates and tries to preserve those freedoms every day and at every voting opportunity.
Several months ago I had the opportunity to pick up this piece of artwork for the hobby room. The small piece of skin is supposedly from one of the original panels that was removed during the restoration process. I enjoy the art and the little piece of history but I also use it as a reminder to never take things for granted.
I was taught, graduated in '71. One assignment for an English class was to write a short story. This was about '69/70. I did a kind of “Final Countdown”, where Enterprise, CVN-65, went back to attend the surrender in place of Enterprise CV-6, which was under repair from her kamikaze hit. Teacher wondered, and asked how I had accurately placed and named people and ships. Told her that the history class had given me the bug to read about the PTO.
Learn about it in school?
Oh, yes! But I started kindergarden two years after it happened. I remember being in the living room- we had company over, and the big console radio playing. I didn’t understand a lot about the announcement- I had no idea where in the world Pearl Harbor was. But it was clear by the alarm in peoples faces that something world shaking had happened. I knew what war meant, and that word was used a lot that day.