6 JUNE 1944

“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. D.D.Eisenhower just before he gave the GO order to Allied Airborne Forces.

This isn’t going to be a long involved post in fact it will be short and sweet. I will not be talking about disposition of forces or strategy or tactics. No this is about humanity and sacrifice that humans are capable of. 6 June 1944 is a monumental day for the indomitable will of the human spirit and it should be noted. Most of the MEN that fought that day are gone now and what they accomplished that night and day stands as a testament to when we, as a world,  grew MEN and not what passes for such now a days.

Think about the courage the allied paratroopers and Glidermen showed that night. Imagine if you can jumping into the night, alone, hanging in your risers under a silk shroud with NAZI AAA going off all around you. Planes were blown out of the sky. Your friends turned into hamburger or their ‘chutes torn asunder as they plunge to their death on the ground below. Imagine if you can being a glider borne infantrymen in a plywood aircraft without an engine trying to survive the triple A hell only to crash into the ground on landing. Imagine if you can the balls it took for pilots to fly slow unarmored transport aircraft dropping paratroopers and gliders trying to survive the field of triple A that got more than its fair share of aircraft. Imagine if you can being a dog faced PFC(of any country) in a landing craft sick with fear puking your guts out knowing that maybe you will be the first wave to assault one of the beaches, that is, if  your landing craft isn’t sunk first. Imagine if you can the weight those WARRIORS carried knowing full well that most of the first, second and third waves will get wiped out, or even worse, not able to breach NAZI defenses and the operation would fail.

So I think its a fair to ask you all on this day to take a moment and remember what those fighting men accomplished this day. It doesn’t matter if you are American, Australian, Canadian or English those men carried the weight this day and did it admirably with great courage, skill and determination. Those warriors would not be stopped and they would not be thrown off the beach.

This part is personal it’s for my Grandfather who started that morning as a RANGER PFC 2nd Battalion 75th RANGER Regiment and who ended the assault and siege at Pointe Du Hoc as a SSGT. This is for my uncle a Sgt 75th RANGER Regiment KIA 1970 while engaged in classified operation in the SE Asia theater of operation(long range recon inside North Vietnam. He was  greased about 100 meters from dust off after a 2 day running fight with the NVA. My grandfather got this from a squad member and friend of my uncles who was there) This is for young Xiphos a scared and fucked up kid that somehow managed to unfuck himself long enough to earn a place in the WARRIOR line of 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment. Lastly this is for every triple volunteer out there. I give you my best parade ground salute, I understand the profound choice you have made, I’ve made it 3 times. Today it even includes the NAVYS triple volunteers.

For you Old Man. I know I let you down every day since you shipped over, I haven’t measured up or did what you planned for me, but I never quit*

*Barfy didn’t edit his its all stream of consciousness all errors are mine and mine alone.

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