Hello all, here is today's article posted on TheArmoryLife.com. It is titled “D-Day — Defeating the Nazi Atlantic Wall” and can be found at https://www.thearmorylife.com/d-day-defeating-nazi-atlantic-wall/.
I saw that today, that really is a sad thing, God rest his soul...He now is with his Band of Brothers102-year-old WWII Navy vet dies en route to D-Day commemorations
Robert Persichitti enlisted in the Navy in 1942 and later sailed on the USS Eldorado to the Pacific, taking part in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.www.militarytimes.com
Not only were Teddy's forces landed at the wrong place, but unlike Omaha, Dual-Drive Shermans arrived mostly on time and ready for action. This aided knocking out bunkers and dug in positions so the infantry could advance.Part of the success of D-Day was Teddy Jr.'s famous command. "We'll start the war right here" when his troops missed their landing zone and accidently outflanked the Germans. Similarly, our paratroopers missed their landing zones badly and tore into the enemy rather than getting discombobulated by their troubles. There is an apocryphal story that a German general stated words to the effect that Americans are good at war because war is a state of chaos and confusion and that is the normal condition of the American army. Utah beach was as an example of this.
More importantly, the American soldiers at both Utah and Omaha beach fought bravely and with determination to open a door into Fortress Europa. We owe them a great debt.
I watched an interview with Frank DeVita who was also a gunners mate on landing craft on June 6, 1944. His story is at once shocking and eye opening. Teenage kids having to lower those ramps knowing that bullets were going to shred the kids in front waiting to get off. Wow...My uncle Lou Watson, who played basketball for Indiana university and went on to be their head coach, was a gunners mate on one of them landing Boats at Normandy. He was a good man..
Wow, what an interview, and a man. Thank God for these men and women.. If you didn't shed a tear, after watching this interview your a cold person...Good thing they didn't have Bone Spurs, back then!I watched an interview with Frank DeVita who was also a gunners mate on landing craft on June 6, 1944. His story is at once shocking and eye opening. Teenage kids having to lower those ramps knowing that bullets were going to shred the kids in front waiting to get off. Wow...