D-Day June 6, 2007

Sixty-three years ago today Operation Overlord, the largest invasion in history commenced against Hitler's "Fortress Europe". I am currently reading the book, "D-Day" by Stephen Ambrose, which is a stirring and often sobering account from interviews with many of the actual participants and from military records.

Had the Allied forces been repelled, how would Europe (or the rest of the world) look today? How would that have impacted the Eastern Front? We probably don't often think about these pivot moments of history.

That longest day in 1944 was a pivotal point in history, faced by men and women who grasped a higher cause above their own well-being at significant, and many times ultimate, cost.

For further information:

• National World War II Memorial
• Encyclopaedia Britannica's Guide to Normandy 1944 (contains maps, veteran's accounts, photos, etc)
• PBS' "American Experience: D-day"
• A friend of mine also recommends the book, "The Victors" by Stephen Ambrose