A Momentous Day
Posted: Friday, June 06, 2008 by Travis Cody in
Today is the 64th commemoration of the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, otherwise known as D-Day. Over 6900 warships and transport vessels carried more than 850,000 men across the English Channel. Between 130,000 and 156,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy on 6 June, with more than 10,260 killed or wounded in action, captured, or missing on that first day.
I honor all of these men today, and thank them for the freedoms and the life I enjoy.
I cannot listen to the theme music from Band of Brothers without being profoundly moved...every time.
The men of E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne participated in many of the major engagements of World War II in the European theater from June 1944 through May 1945. This is some of their history.
Formed 1 July 1942, Camp Toccoa GA, 132 enlisted, 8 officers
Jump training Dec 1942, Fort Benning GA
Landed in England 15 Sept 1943
Easy Company jumped into France on 6 June 1944 as part of the D-Day invasion. Very few men actually landed at the proper drop zones. Even scattered as they were, members of Easy took out a battery of 105mm Howitzers that were targeting Utah beach. At D-Day plus 34, Easy Company and the rest of the 506 had taken the strategic town of Carentan and were on their way back to England for rest and re-fit.
On 17 Sept 1944, Easy jumped into Holland as part of Operation Market Garden to seize bridges and try to open a way into the German Rhineland. Ultimately the operation was unsuccessful, but the 101 achieved the majority of its objectives.
The 506 moved into the northeast quandrant of the ring around Bastogne, and Easy was assigned defensive positions east of the Bastogne-Foy Road. After enduring the frigid temperatures, almost constant shelling, and scattered probing attacks from the final major German offensive of the war, Easy went on the offensive, regaining ground lost during the Battle of the Bulge and pushing into Hagenau.
Easy Company was given the honor of capturing Hitler's Eagles Nest outside of Berchtesgarden in April 1945.
6 June 1944 was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. But there were still 336 days until the Germans finally surrendered on 8 May 1945. And there were still so many D Days left in the Pacific before the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese surrendered on 15 August 1945, and formally signed the surrender documents on 2 September 1945.
The 6th of June has dual significance...
Forty years ago, on 6 June 1968, Robert Kennedy was assassinated in the kitchen of the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles.
Would he have become President in November 1968? We don't know. He won the California primary by about 5%. Prior to that he had lost the Oregon primary and would likely have dropped out of the race if he had lost in California.
It is clear that the Democratic Party lost momentum after the assassination. The country was in turmoil. Political radicalism was rampant. Protests against the war in Vietnam were becoming increasingly more virulent and violent.
We can't know if Robert Kennedy would have won the general election. We can't know what kind of President he would have been had he survived and won.
We can surmise that this country might be much different today than it is.
The world changed on 6 June 1944. It changed again on 6 June 1968.
Of lesser import to the world, but of note to sports fans, there is a symmetry between the spring of 1968 and the spring of 2008.
Forty years ago, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals. It was Boston's 10th title in 12 years. The Celtics have won 16 NBA championships, with the last one in 1986.
The Lakers have won 14 titles, the last coming on the end of three in a row in 2002.
This is the 12th time the franchises have met in the NBA Finals. Boston won the first 8 and the Lakers have won the last 3 leading into this year's best of 7. But there's no history between these two teams. The media can make whatever they want of it, but these are not the Boston and LA teams from the 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's. They haven't competed against each other for anything significant until last night.
So I'll pass on the hype and just enjoy this series. Of course I'm rooting for my Lakers, but I can't summon the passionate dislike I used to have for the Celtics.
Of course, that could change at any time.
Last night, Boston won game 1. The Celtics are a damn good defensive team, and now the Lakers need to adjust. This is the first time LA has trailed in the playoffs, so now we'll see if they can bounce back and tie the series on Sunday.
I struggled with my internet connection last night. Blogs crashed several times. Hopefully things will settle down this weekend, and I can enjoy the Peace posts from Wednesday and catch up on my favorites too.
Great history here. I need to learn more about this time period.