Thank-you. That is a very touching remembrance BB. My father fought in WWII, North Africa, France, and Germany. Saw his best friend killed and received a near fatal machine gun wound in the back.
Some companies at Omaha Beach had 90% casualties. These were 20yo men who had spent the previous two years living and training together. I cannot imagine living through that kind of horror.
Originally Posted by chuckles
Yes, the 1ID and 29ID were on the line at Omaha Beach and the 4ID was at Utah Beach that day, while the 101 and 82 ABN were behind the lines interdicting German resupply and reinforcements.
29ID was especially hard hit as they were MD/VA National Guard units that were composed of folks from the same small towns across both states. There are stories of 5-10 boys killed in one day from many small towns during D-Day.
Not to forget the challenges faced by the USMC in the Pacific where my uncle was killed in March 1945 at Iwo Jima.
Some of the highest casualty rates were with the 8th and 15th US Air Forces who were bombing Germany from both England and Africa during 1943-1945. Crews had to fly 25 combat missions and then were released to return home to states. Not all that many would make it as some days 20-25% of the bombers would be shot down over Germany or on the way to/from the targets.
The US population is simply not ready to deal with casualties like those numbers again. We have grown too soft and will likely pay a high price one day battling ISIS/ISIL or similar groups who do not value life, but instead want to inflict their way of life upon us. I do not doubt that US will respond, but it will be a delayed and measured response, not the total aniliation that is needed to eliminate this evil scourge of the earth.
Those who fail to learn history's lessons are doomed to repeat those mistakes.