D-Day: The Last Heroes

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Blue2112

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Just watching the second part of the Normandy beach landings now on BBC1 in what has been an excellent series of programmes. I really don't know how I'd have coped doing what these brave men did. It's very humbling hearing their stories. To all the men and women on both sides who played their part you will never be forgotten.
 
my great grandad got the MM in the 1st world war, his son my grandad got the MM in the second world war in france

extremely proud! have both medals and photos. my great grandad had the last gun carriage funeral through eccles and is buried in peel green cemetary
 
salfordpaul said:
my great grandad got the MM in the 1st world war, his son my grandad got the MM in the second world war in france

extremely proud! have both medals and photos. my great grandad had the last gun carriage funeral through eccles and is buried in peel green cemetary
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that is something to be proud of.
 
My father saw some horrendous action during the war, Monte Casino being one of them, and although he never willingly talked about it, he would answer if I had any questions.

He said you just got on with it, and if you got hit, you got hit.

I asked him once if he would like to go to a reunion with his old comrades. He looked out of the window for a few seconds and said 'No. The units I served in, you didn't make friends. There was no point. You got on with them, you had to to survive, but you didn't have friends'.

Millions of troops like my father just got on with it, and when you think about what they were fighting against, they had to. There wasn't much choice.
 
mcmanus said:
The start of Saving Private Ryan is apparently the best depiction of the landings.
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Only at Omaha. The landings were far smoother at other beaches. It came unstuck at Omaha, in no small part, due to American refusal to use Hobart's funnies, and launching DD tanks too far out. Sadly, many Americans needlessly died due to American arrogance in disobeying British advice (some of which we'd gotten from our own tragedies earlier in the war). American stubbornness led to them learning lessons we ought to have learnt for them.
 
Ohama was by far the most difficult beach to have been an attacker on in fairness, but the lack of DD's was a major factor. There would have been a difficulty perhaps if every tank had gotten ashore though due to the high defensive position the germans would have had and the tanks being easy targets.

It may be unknow to some but the commander of that beach invasion actually radioed for permission to abandon the attack which was lost in the traffic. So although the Commanders can perhaps be criticised for the decision with the tanks the men on the beaches should be praised as it was their guts and determination that eventually secured the beach.
 
Blue2112 said:
Just watching the second part of the Normandy beach landings now on BBC1 in what has been an excellent series of programmes. I really don't know how I'd have coped doing what these brave men did. It's very humbling hearing their stories. To all the men and women on both sides who played their part you will never be forgotten.
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will watch it on I player mate. good thread though and well said.
 
It was the hardest beach, which makes the decision to refuse Hobart's funnies even more worthy of damnation. The men landing on Omaha needed the support more than anyone else and got the least.
 
My Dad served in the Royal Navy right through WW2 and seen action all over the world, he was at Narvik on HMS Warspite when the RN steamed down the fijords and sunk every Kraut ship in sight, he was at the shameful evacuation of Crete again on Warspite and was wounded when a Stuka dropped a bomb straight onto his gun turret.
He was in loads of other scraps but the D-Day landings were imprinted on his mind the most, he was a gunner in A turret on HMS Belfast that day and always claimed that the Belfast and his turret fired the opening shots of the bombardment of the D-Day beaches'
Of course the Yanks claimed that it was one of theirs that fired the first shot but i have checked it out through Google and RN records and its true.
He said for bravery you have to give it to the men who went ashore, the Germans had them zeroed in with everything they had and it was carnage especially on the Yank beaches, Belfast stayed bombarding the beaches and targets inland for a couple of days then returned to port loaded with wounded, he said it was horrific a sight he will never forget.
I have 2 photos of Belfast, one with my Dad and two shipmates stood in front of A turret a couple of days before they sailed for Normandy, and one of me stood in exactly the same spot taken a few years ago on Belfast now moored up in London.
If i knew how to post them on here i would, RIP DAD.
 
My dad served in India and Burma during WW2 and he never talked about it until one evening I asked him if he ever regretted having a tattoo on his arm. He said yes, but it was something you were encouraged to do when you were conscripted, just in case you got your head blown off and your dog tags went missing. He then said that he and two mates had the same tatoo (a bluebird) done on the same evening when they had a bit of R and R
A few days later when back serving my dad was part of a search party sent to look for some missing blokes. My dad's group found them all dead, killed by the Japanese and my dad's two friends were amongst them

I remember him crying his eyes out on VJ day as there was little pomp and ceremony unlike VE day
He said through his tears we were the forgotten army then and still are now

On a lighter note, my dad was always one for plain British food, meat and two veg. I asked him once if he ever fancied a curry
He replied, curry! I ate bloody curry every bloody day for four bloody years.
 
The Pink Panther said:
My dad served in India and Burma during WW2 and he never talked about it until one evening I asked him if he ever regretted having a tattoo on his arm. He said yes, but it was something you were encouraged to do when you were conscripted, just in case you got your head blown off and your dog tags went missing. He then said that he and two mates had the same tatoo (a bluebird) done on the same evening when they had a bit of R and R
A few days later when back serving my dad was part of a search party sent to look for some missing blokes. My dad's group found them all dead, killed by the Japanese and my dad's two friends were amongst them

I remember him crying his eyes out on VJ day as there was little pomp and ceremony unlike VE day
He said through his tears we were the forgotten army then and still are now

On a lighter note, my dad was always one for plain British food, meat and two veg. I asked him once if he ever fancied a curry
He replied, curry! I ate bloody curry every bloody day for four bloody years.
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My Dad had that bluebird tattoo as well!!
Wonder if that was standard then, i remember he had a small anchor above it as well.
The SS had their blood group tattooed in their armpit
 
My grandad served in Africa with the 8th and then Italy with the 1st. My dad served on HMS Ceylon a battle cruiser.The pair of them never talked about it to me. The only time I heard them discuss the war was in the pub one christmas and the pair of them were acting like schoolboys talking about Alexandria ( apparently there was a sodding large whore house there, moral I think its called) On the way home a 16yr old big gaz was told in no uncertain terms what would happen if my gran or mum found out. :-)
 
big gaz said:
My grandad served in Africa with the 8th and then Italy with the 1st. My dad served on HMS Ceylon a battle cruiser.The pair of them never talked about it to me. The only time I heard them discuss the war was in the pub one christmas and the pair of them were acting like schoolboys talking about Alexandria ( apparently there was a sodding large whore house there, moral I think its called) On the way home a 16yr old big gaz was told in no uncertain terms what would happen if my gran or mum found out. :-)
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Alexandria was where my dad was hospitalised after being wounded off Crete, he never mentioned anything about a huge whore house though, mind my Mam was a dragon so he wouldnt lol
 
some 20-odd years ago I did some work in NYC and advised a couple of guys who were involved at the landings.

after things were sorted - and I basically advised them to do another deal, we hung out a little.

having seen Saving Private Ryan I was a little cautious about bringing the subject up to them although I was in admiration of what they must have gone through & the sacrifices many made in those operations.

they were free in describing a little of what they experienced seeing friends & colleagues getting blow to bits all around them, and over a bite to eat that they treated me to..

(and when I find the opportunity I'll set aside time to watch Band of Brothers)
 
My uncle was on the beaches on D day,and drove a burning Bren gun carrier off the road that was blocking the way, got a medal for that ,we buried him last month he was 90.Had another uncle who was in Burma on patrol,lagging behind his mates ,when a jap jumped out of a tree and attacked him, he said he had to fight for his life and finished up strangling the life out of him.
 
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