D-Day anniversary

Kristen I am reluctant to chip in because I'm not sure I have all the detail you need, but I'll try... I'm in the Midlands so probably would not have heard of most activities on the Kent or Sussex coast. The BBC and other TV channels will have several shows about D-Day in the run-up, and some of the rapidly declining ranks of veterans will go to France for the ceremony. That will be covered on the news. I can't say what will be happening in the Sussex or Kent areas but in my part of the world it is unlikely there will be much local activity. I assume you mean 6th June 2012? If it were 2014, the hubbub would likely be much greater - the 70th anniversary. Of course the number of D-Day veterans will have diminished yet further. Of all of my relatives who fought in the war only one is left, and he wasn't at D-Day.

Nigel, Thank you for responding! I do mean 2012. We are looking forward to our time in England. We've had the good fortune to visit Normandy and now I would love to see the British coastline as well. And many thanks to your relative for his/her service. That truly was the greatest generation. Kristen

Betsey is right on. Didn't mean to wind you up Nigel. What I meant was that the contribution of the British, Canadian and Australian forces in D-Day is rarely mentioned by the media (including TV, movies, etc..) or taught here. No disrespect intended.

"Of all of my relatives who fought in the war only one is left, and he wasn't at D-Day." Everyone knows that it was just the Americans fighting on D-Day. At least that's how I learned it. Yes, I am kidding, sort of.

Right Then Michael 1: Here's the roll: Dad - Sapper Commando with No. 2 Commando, trained Achnacarry, invaded Sicily, fought in Greece, former Yugoslavia, invaded and fought behind lines many times, all sorts of places in Italy, finished the war in Camacchio near Ravenna. Uncle - Tank Commander, North Africa Campaign, all along North Africa against Rommel's gang, invaded France at D-Day +1. Uncle - somewhat younger - the only one still alive - Signals Corps - with the forces marching through Belgium and Germany. Finished the war northeast of Frankfurt am Main. They all were bombed out of their house - twice. Mother - fibbed about her age - although British Army became attached to Eisenhower's HQ in Paris as a French/English translator directly working for a US Full Bird Colonel. Fluent in German and Russian as well as French. Grandfather - Pilot in WWI, pilot trainer in WWII, secret work in Cheltenham that we never had details of - as far as I know it would have stayed secret 50 or 60 years. Other Grandfather - secret work near Cheltenham (when my Father, his brothers, and my grandmother were in the garden shelter when the first house was bombed he was at work on the overnight shift) Father-in-Law of my brother - USAF 8th Air Force Flying Fortress Pilot who (I believe - haven't checked with my brother recently) bombed Germany for 3 tours. Never shot down. Close enough?

My wife does not believe that Michael 1 is speaking tongue-in-cheek and wants me to ask if he has never heard of Gold, Sword, or Juno Beaches, never seen the Commonwealth cemeteries all along the coast, never heard of Pegasus Bridge, never seen the proportional casualty figures? The US did not suffer the most, or only. Wife's message delivered.

Nigel, I think I understand Michael 1's post .. unfortunately, even though I had US History two years in a row (unusual, but I switched schools and the curricula were reversed), I also do not remember much about D-Day mentioned except about the US involvement. It's taken the years since school and enjoyment of History Channel and PBS shows to gain a fuller appreciation. As an aside, my dad told stories of seeing prisoners of war picking apples in our hometown, but I also had an other-side-the-family relative (my age range) who didn't believe the US had any POW camps .. because it wasn't in his history class. Continue to learn as one lives .. I don't think that ever should go out of style.

Thanks Michael 1 and Betsy In Bletchley Park just south of the centre of England is the decoding interpreting campus where the coded messages of the Nazis were broken due in part to the retrieval from a U-Boat by the British of an Enigma machine. My wife reminds me of the American movie claiming it was Americans who did that. If people are not told differently they won't know differently. I guess that's the advantage of travel.

The military cemeteries tell the tale. We were in Normandy on holiday in 1994 on the 50th anniversary of D Day, and every town all over Normandy, small or large, had enormous banners reading (in English) "Welcome to our Liberators". British, Canadian, Polish and US Flags were flying from every high point. It was very moving. One night in a restaurant in St. Malo, we met a young British couple, who looked a bit on the rough side but weren't, and they were travelling to the south of France by motorcycle, but had stopped off in Normandy to "pay our respects to our lads".

When in London, be sure to see the American Chapel in the back of St. Paul's the British people dedicated to all US servicemen who were stationed in their country and were KIA in WWII.