When most people think of Normandy, they think about the invasion on 6 June, and leave it there. But the Battle of Normandy did not end until 29 August when the last German troops crossed the Seine river. The Allies had estimated the casualties on D-day could be as many as 40,000, but they were far fewer – around 10,000. Even on Omaha Beach, the Allies lost about 842 dead. But it could have been a lot worse. German casualty numbers on D-Day are not as precise, but estimates put them at a similar amount. By the end of the battle, the Allies would have over 2,850,000 soldiers on the ground in Europe.

Overlord was the code name for the invasion. The first six weeks had come to a stalemate, an operation on 18 July by the U.K. forces known as GOODWILL did advance them about 10 square miles, but it came at the cost of over 5500 Allies casualties, and about 400 tanks lost. The Germany losses were about 100 tanks and about 200 people captured. It is conceded by many the biggest tank battle fought by the U.K. 

General Bradley’s idea was named Operation Cobra, and it was put into motion on 10 July. It started with the carpet bombing of a 4-mile-long line in front of the Germans along the U.S. lines. As soon as the bombs were dropped, the U.S. 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions would punch a hole through the German defenders and finally break out of the peninsula.

 As the Allied forces advanced in all directions, the German divisions tried desperately to reorganize. Patton’s 3rd Army advanced towards the east of France during the weeks that follow, only being slowed down because they were outrunning their supply of fuel and ammo. Now the Allies could pursue the Germans into the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

This battle would set the tone for the rest of the war, Germany lost about one battalion worth of man a week to death and injury as they retreated about 50,000 German soldiers. They also had approximately 200,000 men captured. The Allies lost more than 36,000 soldiers, and the fighting had also affected civilians living in Normandy; about 20,000 people killed, and around 300,000 homes destroyed.

Overall, the Normandy campaign was one of the most brutal of the war. The combined average daily casualty rate on each of the 77 days of the battle was 6,675: higher than the Somme, Passchendaele, and Verdun in the First World War. The Battle of Normandy was a decisive first step in the liberation of Europe.

###I want to add a note about the number and dates I have used for this article. You can ready about this campaign, and you will get different numbers and dates, depending on who wrote it and when. To this day, the numbers are still changing.  

Shortly after the Civil War, Memorial Day began as Decoration Day. The reason for that is because it was a day on which Americans, North and South, would decorate the graves of soldiers who died in the Civil War.

Maj. Gen. John A. Logan, who lead a group for Northen Civil War veterans, declared in 1868 that Decoration Day would be observed on May 30. The date was chosen only for the reason that it didn’t coincide with any battles fought. It was a day for the North and South to honor their fallen and decorate their graves. After World War I the holiday was broadened to include service members who died in all of the country’s wars, not just the Civil War.

Multiple cities claim to be the birthplace of this holiday, but President Lyndon Johnson formally gave the honor to Waterloo, N.Y., in 1966. Up until 1971, Memorial Day was observed on May 30, the date Logan had selected for the first Decoration Day. In 1968 Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. The same law also declared Memorial Day as a federal holiday. It did not go into effect until 1971.

Most people look at the Memorial Day weekend as the unofficial start of summer, mattress, and furniture sales or a day for cooking out. I know most of the people that read SSD will understand what the real meaning is. This is a day to remember the fallen man and woman of the military that have gone before us. Like most holidays in the U.S., it has been turned into just a weekend for sales and people to try and make money. But please take the time to think about the fallen, and their families that have as President Lincoln said: “Laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.” We truly are lucky to live in the greatest country in the world, where “the pursuit of happiness” is a garneted right. You are never asked to do anything for it other than maybe do jury duty. But some people chose to serve for whatever reason and some die because they chose to server.

There are a couple small things you can do. One is if you fly an America flag lower it to half staff until noon. Then at noon raise it all the way up until sunset. Second, in the year 2000, the National Moment of Remembrance was passed in Congress this says at 3pm local time take a moment in your own way to remember the fallen.

Memorial Day is not Veterans Day. I have heard so many people say, “oh this weekend, we should really thank a veteran.” This isn’t for us; it is for the people that never came home and their families.

Lastly, I wanted to say something about what to say to someone else on Memorial Day as a greeting. Please do not say “Happy Memorial Day”. This is a little thing but it’s like saying happy funeral day. So, if you feel like “Happy Memorial Day” isn’t appropriate, try saying, “I hope you have a nice/good Memorial Day,”.

Long Live the Brotherhood