Commentary: Remembering D-Day

D day

This Sunday marks the 77th anniversary of the greatest gamble in World War II.

On June 6, 1941, more than 156,0000 allied forces launched from the sea onto the beaches of Normandy.  Nearly 7,000 allied ships commanded the French coastline, and more than 3,200 aircraft dominated the skies.  A few miles inland, 23,000 paratroopers landed to block German reinforcements from the shore.

After years of preparation, practice, and training, the Allies had come to break German power in Europe.

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Live from Normandy, Mark Green Joins the Tennessee Star Report in Remembrance of D-Day

  During a specific interview discussion Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy spoke to Congressman Mark Green live from Normandy to discuss the tone in France and how it was important to remember what price is paid for our freedom in America. Gill: One of our good friends Congressman Mark Green is in Normandy. Actually commanded troupes at Sainte Mere Eglise where the 82nd Airborne parachuted in to start fighting the Germans. And he’s at Normandy right now giving us an on the spot report right now. Mark good to have you with us. Green: Thanks Steve how are you? Thanks for having me on the show. Gill: As we’re watching some of these images this morning on Fox the potency of this day comes through the TV screen. It must be even more intense to be there. Green: Yeah I really hope that the case for the folks back home because I couldn’t help cry a little bit. You know when you think of the incredible bravery and the sacrifice and…

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Mark Green of Tennessee Visits Normandy for D-Day, Remembers the Cost of Freedom

  U.S. Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee’s Seventh Congressional District was in Normandy this week to observe the 75th anniversary of D-Day. While there, Green also mingled with some of the surviving men who participated in that historic event. He also took time to reflect upon why we must never forget that day. Green shared some of his observations by phone from France on Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report. Green told radio hosts Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy that the D-Day soldiers he’s met this week “are harder than Superman’s kneecap.” “They are just tough guys. I got to talk with a bunch of them this morning. I went in and heard their stories. Fascinating. Chills up and down my spine since early this morning,” Green said. “The guys who came home with a flag over their coffin, they are the heroes, and they are the ones that we must never every forget.” Another takeaway from Green’s trip — the cost of freedom. “I think the thing most important is to remember the price that freedom cost us and to always remember we have to be ever vigilant to any encroachments in freedom,” Green said on Thursday’s program.…

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Seventy-Four Years Later: D-Day Remembered by Those Who Were There

D day

  Seventy-four years ago today, the United States joined with Great Britain, the free French forces, and Canada to mount a bold invasion of the beachhead in Normandy, France as a last-ditch effort to gain a foothold in Europe against the conquering forces of Hitler’s Germany. The 160,000-soldier seaborne operation would mark a massive pivot in the Allies’ defense against the Nazis and the bloodthirsty Axis. A moving collection of photos, reports, and personal accounts by the men who were there – found at The National World War II Museum – share the harrowing history of D-Day: For over two and a half years the Allies planned and gathered their military strength to hurl into the decisive amphibious invasion of northern France and strike a mortal blow against the empire of Nazi Germany. In anticipation, Adolf Hitler stockpiled reserves across French coastlines into the Atlantic Wall defenses, determined to drive the Allied forces back into the sea. There will be no second chance for the Allies: the fate of their cause hangs upon this decisive day. After bad weather forces a delay, an expected break in the weather for Tuesday, June 6, is reported to General Dwight D. Eisenhower at rain-lashed Southwick…

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