80 Years Ago This Morning

80 years ago, this morning, my father was on the ground in Normandy, France. He was 19 years old. He and his mates of the 82nd Airborne Division, "The All Americans'" had jumped out of a Douglas C-47 into the dark over enemy territory. When he landed, his rifle butt hit him in the face, breaking his jaw. He spent over a week in the field, unable to eat, before getting to an aid station. Skinny lads to begin with, he lost so much weight he earned the nickname "Slim." A moniker my mom and his friends called him until his death in 1980.
When referring to Hollywood types and athletes we throw the word "hero" around a lot. These boys and all WWll vets were true heroes. They were badass. We owe them so much.

 

Nicely put - couldn't agree more.

RESPECT to you and your father!

 

We owe them so much for their service.

 

Lest we forget.

 

My father was a "tough guy." Think Bogart, John Wayne or Burt Lancaster. If you crossed him, when you woke up, you regretted it. The one time when I was about ten and my younger brother, who was eight, had the temerity to ask him about his wartime experiences, my mother's eyes widened, she shushed us and shook her head. We never asked again. The only thing he ever said was the year I graduated from high school, and I mentioned that my buddy Tim and another friend were taking the summer off to backpack across Europe, starting in France. "France, huh?" he said. "I was there in '44. I didn't like it."

 

Same response - nicely put and all due respect to him.

We MUST not forget their service, their sacrifice - remembrance and the memories are the very least part of the enormous debt we all owe to them.

 

From Havit's post: "He woke up in a ditch completely naked from the blast . He lost half his stomach from shapnal. After recovering in hospital, he rejoined his corps in Holland and made his way.to Germany."

He rejoined his corps. He went back!

Nowadays if someone gets a paper cut on the job, they apply for full disability benefits. My own sister, God love her, lost hearing in one ear due to a medical issue. She applied for, and got, full Social Security disability benefits.

Kudos to your granddad, Havit.

 

Sadly, my view is that people of my generation (67 next week) may be the last to truly remember. The next generation such as my sons are a bit too far removed from it I feel. Our own prime minister diminished their memory this week, so what price everyone else? Things like not knowing the date war broke out, D Day, etc, are standard with the next generation. I feel we're witnessing WWII becoming history, not living history.

 

And you know call any of them heroes and they say I was not a hero the heroes never come home. But to me they are all heroes past and present. Joe

 

My father went over on D Day +6. He was a dispatch rider. He only rode the BSA M20 in the UK, due to the volume of dispatches he drove a Bedford 15cwt or a Jeep in France, accompanied by his armed guard.

 

The day before l and my 29 year old son visited the International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln and were massively impressed by both it and the staff/volunteers. An amazing, informative and emotional experience that I strongly suggest everyone should visit at least once.

To be able to learn more of Bomber Commands (mostly ignored and shunned by governments since the end of WWIl) dedication and sacrifice in defeating Nazi Germany was humbling. But also to uncover more for operation Manna and personal stories of individuals from the war being relayed today.

The knowledge and passion of those at the centre was second to none.

 

We went from there to RAF Coningsby (the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight exhibition is closed following the recent loss of a spitfire and pilot Squadron Leader Mark Long) to just have a look through the fence and caught a bunch of Typhoons heading out




And then stopped to pay respects at the 617 Squadron Memorial in the village

 

On the 6th for the 80th Anniversary of D Day we went to the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre for a VIP Experience Day including our taxy ride in their Lancaster NX611, “Just Jane”.

Everything about the day was fantastic including the weather. We arrived at 9 am and were greeted by the very knowledgable and enthusiastic Safety Officer Liz Dodds (who we had met the previous day at the International Bomber Command Centre where she also works). There was a presentation by Louise explaining the history of the centre and family connection to Christopher Panton who made the ultimate sacrifice piloting a Halifax on a Nuremberg raid in March '44.

Followed by briefings of what to expect by our pilot for the day and safety by Liz.

We were on the morning taxy run myself stood behind the flight engineer in the cockpit with my son stood in the mid turret position.

Awesome isn't enough to describe the experience. The sound, vibration and even smell all added to the event I would recommend to anyone for their bucket list.

The afternoon provided opportunity to view all the other exhibits on the grounds, including seeing their B25 and Mosquito. And to view the second groups taxy run from the field.

On top of the day befores visit to the IBCC this gave further reinforcement to the dedication and sacrifice (which have been ignored by governments and the establishment since WWIl) of Bomber Command. This is a must see/do venue for all.

 

This was my Grandad. I believe he was something to do with the RAF but not sure as he would never talk about it and just said don't ask questions. Mum said if your Grandad doesn't want to talk of it just leave it. Correct me if someone knows better about his uniform. I know Grandad came home. But look they were just Boys.

 

The Typhoons from Coningsby fly the Mach Loop in Wales before continuing on to the Lake District.

We will be visiting the Mach Loop in August during our annual sojourn to Wales and hope to see some impressive flying.

 

I’d be interested to see that @Baza - do you have more details of dates/times and viewing places?

 

You may find the following useful. And this. And this MoD flying timetable but I understand it’s not entirely reliable.

We will be staying in Llanfyllin from the 15th to 20th of August. We found a great hotel that has a huge lockup garage that will take a dozen bikes. This will be our 3rd year.

 

Much appreciated @Baza