Lest We Forget, 70 years later

I'd like to thank "The Greatest Generation" for their courage, especially to Granddad James (my Mom's Dad). My Grandfather-in-law (my Sweetheart's Grandad) gave his live after D-day on or around July 4th,1944. The events surrounding his death are still cloudy and inconsistent.

The following was taken from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. I have personally been there and highly, very highly recommend it as a New Orleans must-see.

The D-Day Invasion at Normandy – June 6, 1944

Invasion Date	June 6, 1944 – The D in D-Day stands for “day” since the final invasion date was unknown and weather dependent
Allied Forces	156,000 Allied troops  from The United States, The United Kingdom, Canada,Free France and Norway
Areas of Invasion	The Allied code names for the beaches along the 50-mile stretch of Normandy coast targeted for landing were Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. Omaha was the costliest beach in terms of Allied casualties.
The Armada	5,000 ships and landing craft 50,000 vehicles 11,000 planes
Commanders	United States – Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley The United Kingdom – Bernard Law Montgomery, Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Arthur Tedder, Miles Dempsey, Bertram Ramsay Germany – Erwin Rommel, Gerd von Rundstedt, Friedrich Dollmann
Casualties	Numbers represent total killed, wounded, missing or captured United States – 6,603 (1,465 killed) United Kingdom – 2,700 Canada – 1,074 (359 fatal)Germany – Estimated between 4,000 – 9,000
The Outcome	By June 11, with the beachheads firmly secured, more than 326,000 troops had crossed with more than 100,000 tons of military equipment. Paris was liberated on August 25. Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.
Veterans Today	The number of remaining D-Day vets is estimated anywhere between 8,000 and 60,000. The Veterans Administration has detailed numbers on total WWII vets remaining available at www.nationalww2museum.org/the-greatest-generation