D-Day, is the day (June 6, 1944) on which Allied forces invaded northern France by means of beach landings in Normandy in World War II. We have gathered some quotes followed by an infographic to remember the day and the heroic acts of our soldiers in ‘celebration’ of the 70th anniversary of D-day. Some of the reasons for the successful landing include: 1. Excellent planning and execution by Dwight D. Eisenhower 2. The Germans were not sure if the Allies would land in Normandy or Pas De Calais, in part due to 3. Brave men who met almost certain death when things did not go as planned, General Cota on Omaha Beach – is an excellent example of a true hero of D-Day 4. Naval support and mine-sweeping provided by the British Royal Navy 5. The micro-managing of military affairs by Adolf Hitler 6. The Soviet pressure on the Eastern front (Operation Bagration was launched on June 22nd, 1944).
D-Day Quotes
“Lieutenant Welsh remembered walking around among the sleeping men, and thinking to himself that ‘they had looked at and smelled death all around them all day but never even dreamed of applying the term to themselves. They hadn’t come here to fear. They hadn’t come to die. They had come to win.”
– Stephen E. Ambrose, Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest
“No thoughts had I of anything,
Or at least that’s what I thought;
I even thought I couldn’t think,
But now I think I never thought.”
– Christopher Miller, At This Point in Time
“We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit.”
– General George S Patton, Jr
“After enduring all the ordeals and training in England, we felt like we were completely ready for anything, and we were very ready to fight the Germans, and we looked forward to the day that we could actually get into the real fight.”
– Sgt Bob Slaughter, 116th Infantry Regiment, US 29th Division
“God almighty, in a few short hours we will be in battle with the enemy. We do not join battle afraid. We do not ask favors or indulgence but ask that, if You will, use us as Your instrument for the right and an aid in returning peace to the world.”
– Lt Col Robert L Wolverton, commanding officer of 3rd battalion, 506th PIR.
“There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON’T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana. No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!”
– General George S. Patton, Jr (This speech was delivered to Patton’s troops on June 5, 1944)
“Rangers, Lead The Way!”
– Colonel Francis W. Dawson on the occasion of the Normandy Invasion, 1944
“And what a plan! This vast operation is undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever occurred.”
– Winston Churchill to the House of Commons, June 6, 1944
“We know that progress is not inevitable. But neither was victory upon these beaches. Now, as then, the inner voice tells us to stand up and move forward. Now, as then, free people must choose.”
– President Clinton in Normandy to mark the50th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1994
“That road to V-E Day was hard and long, and traveled by weary and valiant men. And history will always record where that road began. It began here, with the first footprints on the beaches of Normandy.”
– President George W. Bush in Normandy to mark the 60th anniversary, June 6, 2004
D-day Infographic
Infographic via Brittany Ferries
