This week, the 75th Anniversary of the Normandy Invasion, the most complex event in human history.
Think about it, the United States, Britain and Canada exerted unprecedent herculean effort to move a couple of hundred thousand men seventy five miles in twelve hours.
It took the combined resources of two great empires to do it.
And they pulled it off, too.
Here's the best clip from The Longest Day, Rod Steiger captures the moment.
Seventy-five years ago this week came the Normandy invasion.
It's D-Day week all week here at William Stroock dot blogspot dot com.
Where to begin?
The invasions seventy-fifth anniversary means it's been thirty-five years since President Reagan's Boys of Pointe du Hoc speech. The speech marked the invasion's passage into legend, no?
Back then nobody talked about The Greatest Generation. Every old man in the country had served in some way. Our father's father was in a medical triage unit slated to go ashore with the first wave in Japan. Our mother's father was a radar operator in the 407th AAA Battalion in France. Our maternal grandmother's brother was in Merrill's Marauders. Our uncle Herman was a sergeant stationed in Florida.
Every weekend the war was commemorated through movies. We've all seen them a million times. The Longest Day was a marathon, a special occasion for which one had to plan. The film is four hours long, after all.
World War Two wasn't history yet. World War Two just was, part of the feel and flavor of everyday life.
We vaguely recall watching Reagan's speech, which means it was considered important enough for the three television networks to broadcast live.
Thirty-five years later, here are The Boys of Pointe du Hoc:
