“You are about to embark upon the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you … I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.” – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
By Darrel Radford
Historically Speaking
Sixty-nine years ago this week, allied troops stormed the beaches at Normandy in what has been described as one of the greatest military invasions in American history.
Gigantic newspaper headlines screamed the news. “Invasion is under way. Allied troops land in France.”
If Dec. 7, 1941, is, indeed, a day that lives in infamy, then June 6, 1944, is one that provides constant echoes of heroism. A day so many died in order that others might live in freedom. A day that changed history.
This columnist’s dad was there.
Jim Radford, a Mooreland resident, town marshal and reserve deputy for the Henry County Sheriff’s Department, was among those who stormed Utah Beach.
He didn’t talk a lot about those harrowing minutes from hitting the water to finding cover from enemy fire. I remember him telling us about removing pieces of equipment to stay afloat until he reached shore. Some of his fellow soldiers unfortunately drowned before they ever got to the beach due to the weight of their gear.
I also remember him talking about the bodies of fallen soldiers he had to navigate through and about the brave paratroopers coming down from the sky, offering just the slightest diversion that may have saved his life.
A newspaper from Henry County Historical Society files emphasized the impact of those paratroopers.
“Berlin said that masses of Allied parachute troops bailed out over Normandy, trying to seize airfields. Just before taking off in the darkness, the paratroops were wished Godspeed by the lanky Kansas supreme commander, Gen. Eisenhower. He was accompanied by several other of his commanders and his face was tense but confident as he strode down the long lines of fighting men.”
On June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”
More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy. The D-Day cost was high – more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded – but more than 100,000 soldiers began the march across Europe to defeat Hitler.
Historians say before the D-Day operation, Allied attacks against Germany and Italy had been in the south of Europe, far away from Hitler’s homeland. D-Day represented the first real threat to Germany’s control of Western Europe. It opened up a second major front against Germany and convinced Russia to remain in the war.
Prior to D-Day the Russians felt that they were the ones doing all the fighting against Germany in Eastern Europe.
The invasion of Normandy was also a means of countering Russia’s growing Communist influence in Europe. It was clear that Germany was going to be defeated at some future point. America and Britain were very concerned about what the Russians would do. The Russians might make a separate peace with Germany. This would leave Britain and America to fight on alone. Or Russia might successfully conquer Germany and control most of Europe.
D-Day stopped this from happening. The D-Day invasion – part of what was known as “Operation Overlord” – put Russia’s fears to rest by opening a second front and eventually aided the Allies in stopping the spreading communist threat in Europe.
If you haven’t seen the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” it provides a horrifying glimpse into what the soldiers on Omaha and Utah beaches faced that day – and what they did.
A June 6, 1994, article in The Courier-Times on the 50th anniversary of the historic event also featured some other soldiers with local roots who were involved in D-Day.
In addition to Radford, Sulphur Springs resident Francis Hale was among those who survived the invasion and lived to tell about the soliders’ push into Germany.
Sadly, Kennard native Richard Pitts Jr. apparently died during the invasion. His body was never found. In memory of Pitts sacrifice, a marker was placed at McCray Cemetery in Wilkinson. The marker simply states Pitts was reported missing in action on June 6, 1944.
Pitts was among 105 local people who were killed during World War II. In all, more than 4,000 from Henry County served during that war.
If you have local stories to share about D-Day, the Henry County Historical Society would love to hear them. Go to the society’s website at www.henryhs.org or send an email at henry [email protected].
The Henry County Historical Society has an impressive military display with items ranging from a canteen used during the Revolutionary War to items from the Civil and Spanish-American war to photos of local heroes who served in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan. The museum is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 1 to 4:30 p.m. each day and will feature a Maxwell Automobile, refreshments and entertainment next Saturday, June 15, in conjunction with the HOPE Initiative Garden Tour.