“I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”
– Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, on the eve of the D-Day landings in Normandy

Eighty years ago, more than 132,000 Allied troops stormed the beaches at Normandy or parachuted in behind enemy lines to drive Germany out of France and the Continent. Less than a year later Nazi Germany and the “Thousand Year Reich” was decisively defeated.

The following will not break any new ground on the exploits of the “Greatest Generation” but serves to honor the legacy of those brave men and women who summoned the intestinal fortitude necessary to assault Fortress Europe.

The Normandy landings, codenamed “Operation Overlord” were the largest air, land and amphibious operations in the history of warfare.

D-Day by the numbers…

• 12 – number of Allied countries participating in the invasion
• 20 – Average age of soldiers storming the beaches on D-Day
• 4,414 – Allied troops killed on D-Day, June 6, 1944
• 7,000 – Allied naval vessels participating in the D-Day landings
• 14,000 – Total sorties flown by Allied air forces on D-Day
• 18,000 – Allied paratroopers were dropped to provide tactical support
• Millions – Number of bullets fired by both sides during the invasion

There are literally hundreds of videos I could choose to share which showcase the brave men who fought in the face of ferocious resistance. This is one I watched for the first time last year. It shows French stewards who maintain the graves and memorials of the Allied soldiers that fell during the Normandy Invasion. It is stark. It is powerful. It is moving.

POSTSCRIPT
Newsflash: Nazism then and now – is a morally bankrupt ideology fueled by unadulterated hatred, featuring crimes against humanity, unprovoked wars of aggression, and a suppression of dissent.