Please take a minute and think of those that gave their lives..
D-Day
- Thread starter Fish
- Start date
grumpyjock
Tour Rookie
Only day in the war where I knew where my Father was. Told me in the caverns of Dover castle in case the Germans counterattacked from Calais. God bless them all.
Astraeus
Head Pro
I was on Sword Beach this time last year as part of a week-long tour of the Landing Beaches and Normandy. Such a moving experience.
I had the incredible good fortune to meet, speak with and be lectured to by a number of veterans of the day.
I had the incredible good fortune to meet, speak with and be lectured to by a number of veterans of the day.
PhilTheFragger
Provider of Entertainment for the Golfing Gods 🙄
I know many on this forum, including myself, are in or were in the Armed Services, some seeing active duty, It is fair to say that we have no idea what these brave brave people had to go through, on D Day and the days afterwards.
The opening 10 minutes of Saving Private Ryan are the closest that we have and I remember discussing this with a D day veteran, who was a customer and sadly no longer with us. He agreed it was a good representation ,apart from one thing they cant replicate on screen....The Smell of the cordite, the sea, and the gore. He said that since the war ended, he had never been to any beach as he went to Brighton in the 1950's, saw the beach and it brought everything back and he couldnt do it.
The opening 10 minutes of Saving Private Ryan are the closest that we have and I remember discussing this with a D day veteran, who was a customer and sadly no longer with us. He agreed it was a good representation ,apart from one thing they cant replicate on screen....The Smell of the cordite, the sea, and the gore. He said that since the war ended, he had never been to any beach as he went to Brighton in the 1950's, saw the beach and it brought everything back and he couldnt do it.
Astraeus
Head Pro
I don't want to deviate from the subject matter of the thread but I wasn't aware of a military or ex-military contingent on here. Any reservists? I have been accepted into the RNR and would love to hear from more people who've achieved the balance in serving as a reservist.
PhilTheFragger
Provider of Entertainment for the Golfing Gods 🙄
There are plenty, best to start a new thread in OOB,
Liverbirdie
Ryder Cup Winner
Going to northern France this summer, the D-day beaches, cemetaries will be a must see. I certainly thank them for all that they've done for us.
The Agincourt anniversary is also being commemorated while we're there.
The Agincourt anniversary is also being commemorated while we're there.
Astraeus
Head Pro
I can readily recommend Overlord D-Day Tours. We did a two-day Neptune tour with them which took in Longue-sur-Mer, Point-du-Hoc, the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, the British cemetery at Ranville and an enlightening tour of each of the beaches. I had already read extensively into the day, and the campaign more generally, but found it fantastically insightful. It was undoubtedly aided by the presence of thousands of reenactors, serving personnel and pieces of materiel.
Khamelion
Tour Winner
Did Normandy as a kid with the obligatory school trip to France, it was the tanks, the mulberry harbours, the size of the beaches, the open space that had to be crossed, it all was all a fantasy for a 13yr old, but then we went to the cemetery and saw the graves stones, all perfectly white, all in a line no matter what direction you looked, saw the names, saw the ages, that made it real, that made even the most boisterous shut up and until we left, as a class not a word was said, just a respectful silence.
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
I know I was in a rush to get to the club first thing but I had the BBC news on for an hour around 6.00am and barely a mention. It's a massive day in British military history. I loved the artwork commissioned by Prince Charles of six veterans as they are now painted with their medals.
