On June 5, 1944,General Dwight Eisenhower paid a visit to the 101st Airborne Division at Greenham Commons's in England. In a few hours they were to parachute into occupied France to spearhead the D-Day attack across the English Channel of nearly 175,000 American, Canadian and British troops on Hitler's fortress Europe. After 63 years it is easy to forget that there was no certainty that the attack would succeed. Eisenhower had even drafted a statement in case the invasion failed and he was forced to withdraw the troops from the beaches of Normandy. After months of detailed planning on the verge of the attack Eisenhower visited his troops he was sending into battle. As he was leaving one of the paratroopers called out, "now quit worrying, General, we'll take care of this thing for you." In 24 hours many of these men would be dead or wounded.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
63 years ago today!
On June 5, 1944,General Dwight Eisenhower paid a visit to the 101st Airborne Division at Greenham Commons's in England. In a few hours they were to parachute into occupied France to spearhead the D-Day attack across the English Channel of nearly 175,000 American, Canadian and British troops on Hitler's fortress Europe. After 63 years it is easy to forget that there was no certainty that the attack would succeed. Eisenhower had even drafted a statement in case the invasion failed and he was forced to withdraw the troops from the beaches of Normandy. After months of detailed planning on the verge of the attack Eisenhower visited his troops he was sending into battle. As he was leaving one of the paratroopers called out, "now quit worrying, General, we'll take care of this thing for you." In 24 hours many of these men would be dead or wounded.
