Obama: D-Day veterans changed course of century

"There'a a personal side for Obama. His grandfather, Stanley Dunham, came ashore at Omaha Beach six weeks after D-Day"

I guess I have a personal side too. My father came ashore there in the first week of D-Day.

He also mentioned in his speech that his grand uncle participated in the invasion and was in the audience today.

"215,000 Killed or wounded"..1 killed 214,999 wounded? or 214,999 killed and 1 wounded or take a wild guess somewhere in between depending on your mood..or doesn't the distinction matter..bone idle journalism.

Well at least Barrack Obama didn't apologize to the Nazis in his speech.

he had no reason to apologise to the nazis

VOR: wow. that's incredible! He should apologize for idiots with stupid remarks...

"Some 215,000 Allied soldiers, and roughly as many Germans, were killed or wounded during D-Day" After reading this and trying to find out some figures i think JT may want to edit this copy as it is factually inaccurate. On D-Day ,that is 6th June 1944, allied fatalities were at the most3,000-5,000 and wounded maybe 10,000 tops..high figures and more accurate but maybe less "impact" than the 215,000 killed or wounded figure JT decided to use..i think, JT, you may have got the figure confused with the total casualty figures for the "battle of normandy" june 6th - sept 1st 1944.. You would do better to retrain your moderators as proof readers.

Well at least Barrack Obama didn't apologize to the Nazis in his speech.

Har!

It would appear that some people have two different historical events mixed up. D-Day was not the allied invasion of Europe, that was Operation Overlord of which D-Day was the opening phase. Operation Overlord started with D-Day (the assaults on 5 beaches - Omaha, Utah, Gold, Sword and Juno), and airborne assaults by 3 allied parachute divisions (the US 101st and 82nd), and the British 6th. Operation Overlord actually ran to 30th of August 1944, and its end was basically marked by the Germans giving up the fight and taking up positions behind the Seine River.

With regard to casualties on D-Day (the 6th of June), the total for both sides was probably about 20,000 (a high estimate), this included both wounded and KIA. Casualties for Operation Overlord (through to August 30) were probably around 500,000 in total (on both sides). This figure again included WIA/Missing and KIA.

In terms of D-Day itself, the stiffest opposition (highest casulties) were encountered on Omaha Beach (assaulted by the US), Gold and Juno. Sword and Utah by comparison were lightly defended. The US rangers who took the headlands at Pointe du Hoc also faced stiff opposition. Meanwhile in the area behind Normandy, allied paratroopers faced difficulties both with the enemy and the environment. Some of them jumped out of their plans straight into flooded areas and were never seen again (I remember the story of the Brits digging out one of their dead in the late 1980s with all his equipment still attached).

Anyway, I hope that sets the record straight.

I sure don't need Obama's scriptwriter to tell me that we won the war and gave freedom and prosperity to the East and West. God bless those US servicemen.

D-day was extremely brutal for the unfortunate souls in the first landing waves. Every high School History class should be forced to watch opening scene of "Saving private Ryan" to get some inkling of understanding of the horrific price that was paid "to change the course of a century"

flammenwerfer: "D-day was extremely brutal for the unfortunate souls in the first landing waves."

Agreed, but it wasn't limited to the unfortunate souls you mentioned. It was an awful day for anyone involved... and on both sides.

"Every high School History class should be forced to watch opening scene of "Saving private Ryan" to get some inkling of understanding of the horrific price that was paid "to change the course of a century"

I used to think this way, I don't know. The simple fact of it is that there are PLENTY of people, even kids, who don't need to be exposed to the extremely explicit violence of the movie to know war is wrong and a terrible thing. I don't see how traumatizing THOSE kids would be helpful. I think it should, however, be shown to people before they sign up to fight in war, and to those who think war is 'cool'... along side photos of American body bags and coffins of the places they'll be sent to.

That should read, "I used to think this way, I don't NOW".

I think it should, however, be shown to people before they sign up to fight in war, and to those who think war is 'cool'... along side photos of American body bags and coffins of the places they'll be sent to.

Typical. D Day was a multinational effort on the Allied side, but for smithinjapan even this, the most momentous battle of WW2, is reduced to fodder for his obsession with America.

Canada punched well above its weight in WW2; one would think Canadians would take a little pride in helping the US and its allies save Europe from itself.

I have seen both Private Ryan (a real hoot) and played war for real. Trust me, Hollywood's reconstruction of Normandy circa 1944 is rather lame compared to the modern battlefield. Having kids watch it and believing that it would act as a deterrent to enlistment is a pretty simple interpretation of a rather complex issue.

Showing kids photos of body bags and coffins would not do much either, namely because military organizations, whether it is the USMC, the US Army, the British Army, etc., breakdown individuals (their identity) before moulding them into soldiers. As such, young soldiers show no fear, whether it is a marine in modern day Iraq or a squaddie back in 1980s Northern Ireland. The idea of actually being killed or wounded doesn't enter your head. Take me for example, I am not an overly violent person, however, the training I received when I was young made me believe I was superman. It also desenitized me to some rather shocking experiences.

teleprompter: "Typical. D Day was a multinational effort on the Allied side, but for smithinjapan even this, the most momentous battle of WW2, is reduced to fodder for his obsession with America."

What's typical is that you've chosen to misinterpret a person's comment for your own political agenda. I said this should be shown to ANYONE who wants to join in war, and while I agree with Timorborder that it wouldn't have much affect, it still directly addresses the comment I was addressing. The only reason I later shifted to 'American body bags, etc.' in the comment was in light of the fact that I was addressing the comment of someone who was addressing an 'American audience' when he said the 'souls in the first waves' and people who should watch the movie.

Keep misinterpreting, though; we'll always be here to watch you avoid the issue, and we'll be here for your apologies. The latter will take time from you, we know, but it's still there and will come, alongside your apologies to Obama.

Anyway, once again, good on Obama for his observations and speeches, and being bang on.

Absolutely brilliant analysis from our dear leader. Now if we can only get the moron to say the same thing about Sept 11, 2001.

If Operation Overlord happened today it would be remembered as the offensive in which Allied troops slaughtered a lot of innocent French people.