Friday, June 6, 2008

D-DAY June 6, 1944


Please pray for all those soldiers whose courage was beyond most of our comprehension.

And pray for their families who lost their loved one. They're remembering this day.

18 comments:

elmers brother said...

Here's a story of just one of those heroes:

JIMMIE W. MONTEITH, JR.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.
Place and date: Near Colleville-sur-Mer, France, 6 June 1944.
Entered service at: Richmond, Virginia.
Born: 1 July 1917, Low Moor, Virginia.
G.O. No.: 20, 29 March 1945.

1st Lt. Monteith landed with the initial assault waves on the coast of France under heavy enemy fire. Without regard to his own personal safety he continually moved up and down the beach reorganizing men for further assault.

He then led the assault over a narrow protective ledge and across the flat, exposed terrain to the comparative safety of a cliff. Retracing his steps across the field to the beach, he moved over to where two tanks were buttoned up and blind under violent enemy artillery and machinegun fire. Completely exposed to the intense fire, 1st Lt. Monteith led the tanks on foot through a minefield and into firing positions. Under his direction several enemy positions were destroyed.

He then rejoined his company and under his leadership his men captured an advantageous position on the hill. Supervising the defense of his newly won position against repeated vicious counterattacks, he continued to ignore his own personal safety, repeatedly crossing the 200 or 300 yards of open terrain under heavy fire to strengthen links in his defensive chain.

When the enemy succeeded in completely surrounding 1st Lt. Monteith and his unit and while leading the fight out of the situation, 1st Lt. Monteith was killed by enemy fire.

The courage, gallantry, and intrepid leadership displayed by 1st Lt. Monteith is worthy of emulation.

elmers brother said...

Wikipedia article

The Merry Widow said...

My Dad was socked in his base for these 2 days, he was supposed to fly fighter cover on the beaches. They just couldn't get off the ground.
Mom was supposed to go over 2 days later, but she got trench mouth...I guess they were supposed to go home.

tmw

Dr. John said...

Wow, I had almost forgot. And guess what, no showings of Saving Private Ryan on cable tonight. Same old reality TV crap. I'd rather see some real heroes, if you ask me...

MathewK said...

Without them, we wouldn't be having this conversation in English eh. May they rest in peace.

cube said...

Thank you for remembering these heroes.

Z said...

thanks for all your comments.
Elbro, terrific story, but heartbreaking.
I particularly picked this picture because that courage of leaving the big ships to come ashore being shot at as you dropped into the water is so astonishing to me...I often say they'd have had to pry my fingers off the side of the boat, one by one, before I left it and started swimming, rifle in hand.
Hi, Dr. John....you're right; they should have shown a great war film like that one. they don't care.
TMW....guys like your dad would have been sad to not get off the ground; they wouldn't have been like some, saying "Oh, good..we're safe!"
and cube...i'm glad you came by; they sure were heroes, weren't they.

God bless them all. I keep thinking about family members all over this country remembering this day or the terrible news a few days later that their loved one, indeed, had been part of this battle and lost their life , people still alive, still missing Uncle Tom or big brother Jimmy. God bless them, too.

The Merry Widow said...

Z-You're right, Dad always expressed his frustration at not being there until after they cleared the beaches.
Mom was a captain in the American Red Cross, her group was supposed to go in as support, but instead she got shipped home, with a smuggled cocker spaniel named, Huckle-de-buck, after my Dad's fighter! A present from my Dad to his wife(they got married over there), and since they did, they had to get remarried over here!
So they had 2 wedding anniversaries, about 3 yrs. apart. ;-}
Good morning, G*D bless and Maranatha!

tmw
And the greatness of these heros is, they came home and picked up their lives without a complaint or a lot of fanfare!
It showed the greatness of their spirits!

Anonymous said...

G-d bless them all! The heroism of charging into machine gun fire...It boggles the mind.

Morgan

Anonymous said...

My uncle Hank died in the Feb 19, 1945, assault on Iwo Jima.. so D-Day isn't a big holiday in our family. My dad (his younger brother) joined the USAF shortly after learning of his death.

Anonymous said...

My dad retired in 1970 w/25 years. He only had one rule for his boys... if you join, you have to go in as an officer. Two out of three did.

Steve Harkonnen said...

I once participated in a beach landing with the Marines...it was hectic but we never had anyone shooting at us from a cliff like these guys in Normandy did.

elmers brother said...

steve,

it's much more fun by helicopter.

Z said...

fj...younger brothers joining up after their brothers were killed. America's heroes. Your family sure did their bit, BIG time. Thanks for that, fj.


elbro! THIS, from an ol' NAVY MAN?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, dad went to Japan as part of occupation forces after the war. I don't think he put up with much nonsense from the locals.

Z said...

was Dad interested in the Classics, too, FJ?

Anonymous said...

He retired, then immediately earned an MFA from San Jose State University, and eventually opened an art gallery.

Like most small business, it failed.

But dad had fun while it lasted.

He loved the modern stuff. I hated it almost as much as he loved it. Junk coated in a thick layer of paint was my impression of his work.

Anonymous said...

All the sacrifices of American soldiers and their families are being rendered null and void by the unstoppable advance of Marxism and fake Negrophilia.