[music]
Michael: June 6th, 1944, the day that changed
the war in the war that changed the world.
It was the day of the long-awaited invasion
of Northwest Europe by Allied Forces.
Years of planning a direct attack on Germany's
fortress Europe was finally executed
on the beaches of Normandy France by
American, British, and Canadian Forces.
It was the largest amphibious invasion in all of human history.
Over 150,000 soldiers, 6,000 ships and boats,
11,000 airplanes, and 50,000 vehicles
crossing the English Channel coming
ashore and landing in France in one day.
Less than a year later, the war in Europe was over and Hitler was dead.
How did the Allies manage it?
What were they up against?
What was it like to be there on that day?
Why does it matter to us now?
Stay tuned.
All of these questions will be answered in
the 75th anniversary of D-Day electronic field trip
[music]
Damon Singleton: Welcome to today's special electronic field trip.
We're broadcasting live from the National World War II Museum in New
Orleans into thousands of classrooms across North America and Europe.
We're so excited to have you join us from your school.
You’re the 75th anniversary of this critical invasion, D-Day.
I'm Commander Damon Singleton,
meteorologists, and retired naval officer.
This program is brought to you through the generosity of
the museum's donors, presented by the Cain Foundation
with additional support from the Lupo Family Fund
and Dale and Janice Davis Johnston Family Foundation.
In fact, you'll see an oral history from World War II veteran and former
president of the Cain Foundation, Frank Denius during this broadcast.
Today, the story will be brought to you by our
four excellent student reporters in the field.
Michael from the United States, Wiley from Canada,
Lucy from the United Kingdom, and Andgie from France.
They will represent each of their countries as they
uncover the history behind Operation Overlord.
This program is designed to be interactive.
You won't just be watching, you'll take
part in the discussion about D-Day
including asking questions live of museums
Vice President Colonel Peter Crean.
If you're watching on the museum's website, you can
ask questions and answer polls in the box directly
below the screen or you can go to slido.com
and type in the code #1944 to join in the conversation.
Captioning of this program in English and French is also available below.
A quick note to viewers, please be
advised there are graphic images in this
program including war violence that may
be upsetting to some participants.
To start off our journey, let's join Michael in
the museum's Louisiana Memorial Pavilion to learn a bit
more about a critical piece of equipment for D-Day,
but first, let's check out the opening poll question.
What does the D in D-Day stand for?
Your choices are A, doom B, death C, division
or D, it doesn't stand for anything.
With that, take it away, Michael.
[music]
Michael: We're beginning our journey today at the National World
War II Museum beside one of our most important artifacts.
With me is Museum educator, Chrissy Gregg.
Chrissy Gregg: Michael, thank you so much
for joining me here today at the museum.
We are standing next to this iconic Higgins boat also
known as an LCVP, Landing Craft for Vehicle Personnel.
13,000 of these boats were built right
here in New Orleans during World War II.
It has a unique design.
If you noticed, this frontier is actually a ramp.
Why would a boat need a ramp?
Michael: Maybe to assist unloading a jeep or a truck.
Chrissy: Yes, exactly.
The V in LCVP is vehicle and actually, the P is
personnel, so it wasn't just vehicles but also people.
This boat is actually based off of boats that were used here
in the Louisiana Bayou to get through the shallow swamp water.
Actually, this boat could go all the way to a beach without getting stuck.
You lower down the ramp and you can just run
right off or take the equipment right off of it.
Michael: Weren't thousands of these used in the D-Day operation?
Chrissy: Yes, thousands of these were used in D-Day.
They were just one small piece of the huge operation and all
the boats and ships that would cross the channel on June 6th, 1944.
D-Day is important for a lot of reasons.
One of them being that it is the largest
amphibious invasion in all of human history.
This Higgins boat is important, but it's
one small piece of this humongous puzzle.
Michael: That's a big job.
Chrissy: Yes, seriously, it is a big job and it
required a lot of planning and a lot of strategy.
It required 12 Allied nations all working together really
years, but especially a few intense months of planning.
A really awesome Allied deception campaign.
It required 156,000 troops, 6,400 ships,
and boats, 11,000 airplanes all in one day.
Michael: Wow.
Chrissy: Yes, it's crazy, right?
Michael: Yes.
Chrissy: Today, you have a big job.
You are going to be learning all about
D-Day and you're not just going to be
doing that here in New Orleans, I'm
actually sending you on a bit of a trip.
Michael: That's awesome.
Chrissy: I know, right?
Actually, you're going to be going off to England first,
and you're going to be meeting some other students
and you guys will be learning all about the planning
and strategy behind D-Day because a lot of it happened there.
Then you're going to cross the channel just like
they did so many years ago and land in France.
You're going to meet another French student
and you'll be exploring all of the sites of Normandy
to really understand what's important about
D-Day and why we remember it 75 years later.
I guess pack your bags, bon voyage.
Michael: Okay.
[music]
Today I've arrived in Southern England traveling over 4,500 miles
to understand how the Allies put off such a massive invasion.
I'll be joined by Wiley from Canada and Lucy from the UK.
Our countries were key Allies and our teamwork
and strategic planning led to a successful operation.
Lucy: Hi, Michael. Nice to meet you. I'm Lucy. I live in Chelsea.
Michael: It's so nice to meet you, Lucy.
Lucy: How was your flight?
Michael: It was all right, but I'm glad to be
back in the ground here with you all in England.
In fact, I met Wiley our student reporter from Canada on the plane.
She was telling all about Canada's involvement
in World War II and she should be here.
Wiley: Hi, everyone. I'm Wiley and I'm from Ontario.
I was telling Michael a little bit about the war last night.
Basically, in an official capacity,
the war began in 1939 for the UK and Canada.
The UK declared war against Hitler on September 3rd
and the Canadian parliament did the same on September 10th.
This was actually the only time Canada
has ever declared a state of war.
This occurred two years before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December
7th, 1941, which marked the US's entrance into World War II.
Lucy: Flash forward 1944, most of the plan for D-Day
took place in London over the course of the years.
However, we're not in London.
Actually, the place wherein could be more different to the bustling city.
Believe it or not, this quiet and sleepy village of Southwick
was critical to the finalizing plans of Operation Overlord.
Wiley: Really? That's so interesting.
As the Allies were nearing the intended invasion date,
the primary commander's desire to be closer to the ports in Southern
England where thousands of Allied soldiers, airmen, and sailors
along with the necessary supplies and equipment would launch.
The manor house, which is just shown behind us, held some of the key
meetings in the 11th hour with World War II's famous military leadership.
You guys want to go inside and take a look?
Michael: Sure. Lucy: Sure.
Michael: This beautiful house and the surrounding
grounds where the headquarters of Operation Neptune.
The naval component of Overlord under Admiral Sir. Bertram Ramsay.
It was from this house that General Dwight Eisenhower, the supreme Allied
commander would give the order to begin
the liberation of Northwest Europe.
Lucy: Right now, I'm standing in the home's drawing room.
which during the war,
was turned into
a map room for the senior commanders.
Behind me is the original map that helped plan D-Day,
and with me is the curator, Richard Callaghan.
Hello, Richard.
Richard Callahan: Hi, pleased to meet you.
Welcome to the map room here at Southwick House.
Wiley: Richard, what exactly was this map used for?
Richard: This is actually the show-and-tell of Operation Neptune.
The naval part of the Overlord landings.
Michael: Can you describe the scene around
here leading up to the D-Day invasion?
Richard: It's probably best described as studied chaos.
There were 6,000 people in the high command, but
very few of them actually had access to this house.
The majority were camped just outside in
the woods, but within the house itself,
there were probably about 50 people all
running around doing their separate jobs.
The house itself was the most secret room in
Southern England if not in the western world.
This was where the important decision as to when
and where we go in the Normandy Landings was taken.
Lucy: What important decisions were made here in the house?
Richard: The biggest two decisions were
actually completely at odds with each other.
The first decision was do we go or do we stay.
The hero of D-Day was a man called James Stagg.
He was a weatherman and every day he would predict the weather
and that would be tested against what the weather was like two days later.
For the whole of May, Stagg's predictions were perfect.
He's coming up to the biggest decision he has to make.
D-Day is set for 5th June.
On the 4th, he tells Eisenhower on a beautiful summer day
that he'll have to postpone, there's a storm coming.
The next day, that storm arrives.
Eisenhower listens to experts, he's taken the decision.
He will postpone the landings by 24 hours.
Stagg has better news.
He tells the supreme commander there is an interval with the weather,
it should hit the middle of the channel on the 6th of June.
The weather won't be great, but it'll be better than it has been.
If we go on the 6th of June, it should give us just long enough
to get 160,000 troops by air and by sea to land in Normandy.
That night, Eisenhower goes back to his caravan
in the woods about a mile behind this house.
He has a restless night, but he comes back into
the house just after four o'clock in the morning.
Stagg has better news.
He's much more certain the weather will be better.
Montgomery still wants to go, Ramsay's
persuaded, Leigh-Mallory is persuaded.
After a short discussion at 90 minutes past 4:00 on the morning of
the 5th of June 1944, Eisenhower says three words, "Okay, let's go."
Michael: The plan region of invasion was Normandy France.
The region was divided into five landing
zones along with paratroopers
and glider troops landing on the eastern
and western flanks of the beaches.
The sections of beach in the region were given code names.
The American 4th division will land on Utah Beach.
The US 29th and 1st divisions would land on Omaha Beach.
Lucy: The British 50th would land in Gold
Beach and the 3rd would land on Sword Beach.
Wiley: The Canadian 3rd division would attack Juno Beach.
Before the sea invasion, thousands of paratroopers from
the American 82nd and 101st Airborne along with the British 6th
Airborne with the first Canadian Parachute Battalion would land
to capture roads and bridges to prevent German counter-attack.
Michael: The decision was set here in Southwark, but were we ready?
Frank Denius: Ranger training in England was, normally, ranger
training would last longer, but for us in a specialized situation,
the 30 of us went through ranger training strictly infantry division,
and also you learn to jump from C-47s, which were troop carriers.
You went to intensive training and as well as
the opportunity to observe actual infantry combat so that as
a forward observer, you had more of appreciation of what
it was like to be an infantryman per se so to speak.
It was very beneficial and it really was training that came
in handy for me personally during the next year's time.
Marsie Taylor: Three WAAFs and three ATS.
We did all the initial typing and working
on the operation orders for Overload.
They were being changed all the time because these were
the orders for the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force.
Naturally, all the services they were always having to change things.
That was really hard work.
Up to a few months before D-Day, we did extraordinary
hours because they were running out of time.
We worked from, say, 6:00 AM to 12:00 noon, and then
we were on duty again at 6:00 PM till midnight.
Then on duty at 6:00 AM again, and so that went on.
I don't know how long we did that for, but it was just non-stop.
[music]
Damon: We'll pick it up again as soon as Wiley, Lucy, and Michael
make it to the English coast and then cross the Channel themselves.
To recap, let's reveal the answer to the first poll question.
This may surprise you, but the answer is D.
The D in D-Day actually doesn't stand for anything.
It's a code name that just means the day of invasion.
Because the actual invasion day change while
the operation was being planned, it was
easier to use this term than assigning
an actual date and changing it on every document.
The term H- Hour was also used meaning the hour of invasion.
Now, I'd like to introduce museum Vice President Colonel Peter Crean
to provide some insight into D-Day and to answer your questions.
Colonel, we know the D in D-Day didn't really stand for anything, but
we've heard both D-Day and Operation Overlord, are these things the same?
Peter Crean: Actually they're not.
Operation Overlord was the codename for the overall battle of Normandy,
but Operation Neptune was the codename
for the landings on June 6th.
D-Day was full of code names to ensure
everything remained top secret.
The landing beaches were called Omaha,
Utah, Gold, Sword, and Juno
and the code name for the overall deception plan was called Bodyguard.
Damon: What was the goal of deception plans?
Peter: Deception was paramount to the success of D-Day.
There are a lot of elements to strategy like turning German
spies or decoding German enigma messages, but one of
the most important elements was to ensure that the Germans didn't
know where or when the crossing was going to take place.
Dummy equipment was stationed in England such as
inflatable tanks, and planes, trucks, et cetera.
The entire fake military group was stationed in Dover.
The Allies wanted the Germans to think that we were crossing at
the narrowest part of the English Channel,
The Pas-de-Calais or through Norway.
Here's another element of the deception plan.
Something as simple as our little friend Rupert here.
Rupert is a paratrooper dummy that was attached to a parachute
and was dropped east of the real D-Day invasion site.
These Ruperts were dressed in uniforms
and, of course, had the parachute.
They were equipped with firecrackers so that when they
hit the ground, it would sound like gunfire going off.
They appeared to be a formidable unit landing in the area.
Damon: That is amazing.
Now, let's take some student questions.
We've got one question from Lafayette Elementary.
How many troops could fit in a Higgins boat?
Peter: Your standard Higgins boat could carry roughly
a platoon, which was about 30 to 35 soldiers.
Damon: Wow, that's fascinating.
I think we've got another question.
Let me go to the next student question.
This is from Jonathan right here in New Orleans.
How old was the average Allied soldier?
Peter: The average rifleman that was hitting the beach that day is not
much older than the students that are watching this field trip right now.
They were from about 17 years old to maybe as old as about 25,
but most of them were teenagers or just past being teenagers.
Damon: Kids.
Peter: They were kids.
Damon: Wow.
Let's check back in with Wiley, Michael, and Lucy in Portsmouth.
Looks like they're at the D-Day story about the check out the Overlord
embroidery, which is inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry located in Normandy.
This relates directly to our next poll question.
What is the subject of the Bayeux Tapestry?
Your choices are A.
The Norman conquest of England, B, King
Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, C,
the Battle of Gallipoli or D, the duel
between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr.
Okay, let's turn it over to our friends at the D-Day story.
[music]
Wiley: We're at the D-Day story in the city of Portsmouth.
This museum keeps the story of D-Day alive, particularly the critical role
Portsmouth, the region, and the entirety
of England played in Operation Overlord.
We're here to learn about how the Allies mobilized
for the largest amphibious invasion in history.
Lucy: A better way to understand this is to
explore the museum including this amazing
piece behind me called the Overlord Embroidery
inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry of 1066.
This piece depicts the Normandy invasion measuring in at 272 feet.
Michael: This is Felicity Wood, the public
participation officer at the D-Day story.
She's going to tell us a little bit more about the embroidery.
Felicity, who made it and how long did it take to make?
Felicity Wood: The embroidery was commissioned
by a man called Lord Dulverton, and he
commissioned an artist called Sandra Lawrence
who was actually only 22 at the time.
She didn't really know a huge amount about the Second World War, so
she had to do quite a lot of research before she could design it.
It was made by the Royal School of Needlework
and it took them five years to make.
They started it in 1968 and it was finished in January 1974.
Lucy: Is it accurate what happened?
Felicity: The designed committee was made up of three
senior army officers and a team of historians and they
all approved Sandra's designs, so none of the designs
could actually be stitched until they'd sign them off.
Wiley: What can we learn about the Allied invasion from this embroidery?
Felicity: We can learn a lot and it's
full of interesting historical details.
For example, the panel behind us is actually based on a real photograph,
and these three soldiers here are reading a booklet that they
were issued with to tell them what life was like for French people
under German occupation, and how to behave when they were in France.
Why don't we go outside and see what was next for the Allies?
[music]
Felicity: We're standing next to the Solent which
leads to the English Channel, and roughly 120 miles
in that direction was the final destination for
the Allied troops which was Normandy in France.
Lucy: What was Portsmouth like the day before D-Day?
Felicity: The whole of the South of England would have been like one
huge army camp and Portsmouth was part of those preparations for D-Day.
The troops and the Navy that were marshaling
here were heading to Sword Beach.
If you looked out across the channel, the eyewitnesses
said there were so many ships and landing
craft in the Solent it looked like you could
almost walk across them to the Isle of Wight.
Michael: With the brief clearing in
weather and Eisenhower's directive to go,
he issued the order of the day to over
150,000 soldiers bound for Normandy.
He reinforced the importance of their mission
and the intense challenge they faced ahead.
Eisenhower: Soldiers, sailors, and airmen
of the Allied Expeditionary Force, 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.
The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving
people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other
fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war
machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed
peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Lucy: On the early morning of June 6th, a large fleet of ships carrying
troops and supplies leaves England to commence its Channel crossing.
Today, we're going to embark across the channel
and follow in the footsteps of the Allies 75 years ago.
[music]
Wiley: Shortly before midnight, British, Canadian,
and American paratroopers board C-47s and gliders
which will soon be on their way for an early morning
drop in the region before the sea invasion begins.
Through the middle of the night, the ships
would make their journey across the channel.
Eventually, the transport ships dropped
the anchor roughly 11 miles off the coast of France.
At around 3:30 in the morning, the assault forces climbed
down rope ladders to board the Higgins boats and LCAs.
Michael: Despite the slight break in weather, the seas were still choppy.
Men from all nations got seasick as they
approached the coast in their landing craft.
However, this would be the least of their worries as
the boats were given the signal to move in a few short hours.
Andgie: Bonjour et bienvenue, je m'appelle Andgie.
That means hello and welcome, my name is Andgie,
and I live in this region of France called Normandy.
I also went to school in Sainte-Mere-Eglise
Bordering the English Channel, Normandy is one of France's
13 mainland regions and rich in beauty and history.
Iconic sites decorate this region from the Bayeux Tapestry to stunning
medieval cities to quiet rural countrysides, castles, and cathedrals.
This entire region has a violent past.
William the Conqueror hailed from the City of Falaise.
His bloody quest for English rule is well-known history.
Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in
the city of Rouen, and, of course, 75 years
ago, it became the site of the largest
and amphibious invasion in all of history.
Allied soldiers poured on to descend under heavy
enemy fire and rangers scaled these sheer cliffs.
Further inland, skirmishes erupted in small villages to secure
streets and bridges from the Nazis as French civilians took shelter.
Similar as us planning for Overlord for years,
the German had been preparing for years.
The Allied forces needed to open a new
front in Northwest Europe to win this war.
In anticipation of this critical battle,
the Nazi constructed the Atlantic Wall.
Now it's not an actual wall, but a series of defenses
that extended from Norway to French border with Spain.
The Atlantic Wall began construction in 1942
and work heavily ramped up in early 1944.
Wiley: That's really interesting and what
were the large gun emplacements used for?
Andgie: This is the Longues-Sur-Mer battery probably
the best-preserved pieces of the Atlantic Wall defenses.
Out of all defenses in Normandy, it's the only
one to still be equipped with its original guns.
The release of these defense systems of which
there were hundreds along this coastline
serve up some of the most visible reminders
of what took place here 75 years ago.
Harley Reynolds: 12 miles out in that storm that had blown
up and canceled the first day, it hadn't let down that day.
The prediction was that it would subside and it did because
we made it ashore, but it was still very, very bad.
The people being seasick, it was such a stinking mess that that alone
was enough to kill a man from the stench
of the diesel oil and the puke.
One thing that I was glad for, I was the first one off of that boat
and being up front the boat and it moving all the wind went to the back.
The men further in the back are the ones who
got the smell because I didn't get any of it.
A long ride, rough ride, drenched cold
into the end to the beach.
Hugh Buckley: They put me in the reconnaissance
troop which were very light tanks.
They were the Stuart tank and I was a gunner operator.
Then I was with them on D-Day and we departed from Southampton.
It was very impressive because crossing the channel.
We woke up in the morning and there were thousands of ships.
The reassuring thing was there was
no way anybody could stop this invasion.
Once it got going, there was so much of it.
Clayton Kelly Gross: A great mission.
I remember saying to the guys that if you have
to go down on the Channel, don't worry about it,
you could walk back to England on the ships, there
were that many of them, unbelievable number.
What a job that was to put together.
Damon: The Longues-Sur-Mer battery is an impressive sight.
It is so well preserved many years after the war.
Now, let's reveal the answer to the last poll question.
The answer is A, the Norman conquest of England.
You heard Andgie review the rich history of Normandy
and mentioned William the Conqueror's takeover of England.
As you heard, William the Conqueror hails from Falaise and you'll
see an interview with Andgie in that city later in the webcast.
Let's bring it back to World War II.
Colonel Crean joins us again to take a look
at examples of airborne uniforms from D-Day. Colonel.
Peter: Damon, here we have two uniforms that would
have been worn by paratroopers during the invasion.
This is an American uniform.
Now, American paratroopers had a different
uniform from the rest of our infantry.
You'll notice some things that are different is that
it has more pockets and the pockets that are on
the top are angled which made it easier for the paratroopers
to get at while they were in their harness.
The other thing that you'll notice is the British one over here.
This is a call to jump smock.
The British paratroopers wore the same uniform
that their regular infantryman wore, but they
put this jump smock over the top which made it
easier to get in and out of their parachute.
Then once the parachute was off, it was camouflaged
and then also served to protect them from the elements.
Damon: Wow. Colonel, we also have in our pockets
these little crickets, are they called?
Peter: They're called crickets.
The 101st Airborne Division carried these crickets.
They were used as a countersign to help identify if there were any other
paratroopers in the area without giving
away their position to the enemy.
If I click this cricket once and I hear two clicks
back, then I knew there was a friend nearby.
The cricket sounds blended in with the real
crickets and the real noises of Normandy
so hopefully, it wouldn't alert the Germans
that were in the surrounding area.
Damon: Wow, thanks, colonel.
Let's take a look at some student questions.
We have a question from Mike.
Were there any Medal of Honor recipients at D-Day?
Colonel: There were.
The American side in the entire campaign of Normandy,
there were 12 recipients of the Medal of Honor.
Even on D-Day alone with the Commonwealth
troops, there was a gentleman named Stanley
Hollis who received the Commonwealth equivalent
of the Medal of Honor, the Victoria Cross.
Damon: We have another question from from Echo School District.
How long did D-Day last?
Peter: D-Day signifies that it lasted for 24
hours and with the first paratroopers landing
shortly after midnight, but the campaign in
Normandy went on for a couple more weeks.
It's more than just one day, but
the Operation Neptune was just the 24 hours.
Damon: Got it. Thank you, Colonel.
Before we join our students in Normandy,
let's take a look at the next poll.
How many Allied countries participated
in the Normandy invasion?
Your choices are A, 3 B, 4 C, 12 or D, 27.
Now we'll turn to Andgie who is going to kick off
the exploration of this 45-mile battle fought.
Andgie: Because the Normandy region is large and D-Day is complex,
we decided to split up to explore invasion sites for each country.
Starting off the investigation is Michael
in the town of Sainte-Mère-Église.
[music]
Michael: We begin our story with the pre-dawn
invasion by American and British paratroopers.
Their mission, to capture roads
and bridges on the eastern and western flanks
of the beaches, to prevent German
reinforcements from moving into the area.
Over 9,000 C-47 sky trains towing gliders and carrying more than 13,000
paratroopers from the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
The British 6th Airborne Division and the first Canadian
parachute battalion took off from various bases in
Southern England and crossed the Channel dropping forces
behind enemy lines in the wee hours of the morning.
The 82nd Airborne Division dropped in
and around the village of Sainte-Mère-Église.
With me is Magali Mallet from the Airborne Museum
to talk a little bit about what happened that day.
Did everything go to plan for the Allies that day?
Magali Mallet: Not exactly.
For the paratroopers, not exactly, because
it was a very bad weather for D-Day.
Here especially, we have marshlands
and the German flooded all the marshlands, so it was
very difficult for the paratroopers to jump,
and some of them were drawn in the marshlands.
Many paratroopers were scattered everywhere
around Sainte-Mère-Église and Sainte-Marie- du-Mont.
Sometimes they were dropped maybe 20 or 30 kilometers
from here, so it was not exactly the plan.
Michael: Wow. What's with the church in the background especially
the paratrooper hanging off the side of it?
Magali: This man, this American, 82nd Airborne
paratrooper, the name of this man is John Steele.
John Steele was in the stick that jumped over Sainte-Mère-Église.
John Steele received a bullet in his foot
during his jump and he was not
able to control his parachute, so he was hanging on the church steeple.
At that time, you always have Germany troops in the steeple
because it's a good point to observe what happened.
You have two Germans in the steeple
and the German took John Steele with them.
He was their prisoner for three days
and fortunately, after that, he was able to escape.
Michael: That's so interesting.
Overall, were the Allied paratroopers successful?
Magali: Yes, we are used to say that Utah Beach is a successful landings
thanks to the paratroopers because they complete all the objective.
They gain control onto Sainte-Mère-Église,
they gain control at La Fière Bridge
and also they were able to secure the exits
of Utah Beach so to secure the landings.
Thanks to them it was a success at Utah Beach.
Michael: Wow. Thank you, Megali, thank you for your time.
Magali: Thank you.
Michael: Now we're going to go to a place where
we can see both Utah Beach and Omaha Beach.
[music]
I'm standing here at Pointe du Hoc, a prominent
observation point between Omaha and Utah Beach.
At approximately 0630 hours, the first American troops landed
on Omaha Beach, the most heavily defended by German forces.
Surrounded by steep elevation, the attacking
Americans faced intense German opposition.
In order to get off the beach and push
further ahead, the Americans had to
capture all beach exits or causeways that
led inland to the Norman countryside.
This site earned the name Bloody Omaha as roughly half of
the Allied casualties occurred on this one beach on June 6th.
Some men didn't even make it to the beach itself.
A combination of rising tides and scared young Higgins boat
pilots caused many of the infantry to be dropped far offshore.
The men had to wade through the water with packs
weghing anywhere from 80 to 120 pounds on their back.
Despite initial confusion and an extreme
loss of life, a small number of units
managed to knock out German defenses,
secure the beach exits, and move inland.
Pointe du Hoc was believed to be a German stronghold.
Allied intelligence suggested that this was a location for the German gun
emplacements that would threaten Allied
beaches and had to be destroyed.
Here, you can see signs of heavy Allied bombardment.
Huge craters decorate this landscape.
The Americans 2nd Ranger Battalion landed here, scaled these
100-foot cliffs, but didn't initially find the German weaponry.
They moved further inland, discovered
the transported artillery pieces and destroyed them.
Further to the west of me is Utah Beach
taken by the 4th Infantry Division.
Not in the original plans for D-Day, it was a late
addition for its proximity to the port city of Cherbourg.
The force landed further east from original
plans, but the defensive fire was light.
Once troops advanced further inland,
they were slowed down by flooding,
but eventually met up with members of the 101st Airborne by nightfall.
Now let's check in with Lucy to see what
was going on with the British on June 6th.
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Lucy: I'm standing here at the beautiful
look out of our Arromanches-Les-Bains
and to my right is Gold Beach, which was
assigned to the British 50th division.
Landing at 7:25 in the morning, this beach and the surrounding towns
were captured quickly by the British after a short sharp fight.
Some fighting continued along the area behind the beach
until morning with roughly a thousand British casualties.
German forces had been holed up in housing along the coast
which was heavily damaged or destroyed by naval gunfire.
The Longues-Sur-Mer battery where we were earlier
served as a German observation post for Gold
Beach, but its guns had also been put out of
commissioned by British bombardment from the sea.
In the distance, you can see the remains
of Mulberry Harbor, which like another
harbor on Omaha Beach turned this coastline
into a temporary port during the war.
On D-Day, British troops deliberately didn't land
here so that they could keep this beach clear.
The pieces of the harbor were tugged over
from England and put in place at Arromanches.
What we see remaining are the landing pontoons
and floating roadways that can bring supplies
and equipment to the beaches and then further
inland to support the ground campaign.
In the five months, this harbor was
used, 500,000 vehicles and four million
tons of supplies along with 2.5 million
men reached the Normandy region.
It was crucial to the success of the invasion.
Further east is the second British landing spot, code-named Sword.
The mission of the British 3rd Division that day; meet up
with the British paratroopers and take the city of Caen.
The forces moved inwards relatively quickly, linked up with
the paratroopers, but faced stiff resistance by German tankers.
Although still a success by the end of the day,
Allied forces were still five miles from Caen.
Now let's toss it to Wiley who's exploring Juno Beach.
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Wiley: Behind me is Juno Beach, the original code name for
this Beach was Jelly as in jellyfish, swordfish, and goldfish.
However, the planners didn't think that that was a serious enough
name for such an important operation, so they changed it to Juno.
Right now, we're at the Juno Beach Centre.
This museum commemorates the role that
Canada played during the Second World
War, especially for those that were killed
in the Battle of Normandy and D-Day.
Right now, were steps from Juno Beach itself
where 359 Canadians died on June 6th, 1944.
With me is Alicia Dotiwalla from the Juno Beach Centre.
Hi, Alicia, how are you?
Alicia: I'm doing great, how are you?
Wiley: Good, thank you. Thank you for joining me today.
Alicia: My pleasure.
Wiley: I was just wondering if you could
walk us through what exactly happened
here 75 years ago and what kinds of challenges the Canadian troops faced?
Alicia: Absolutely. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division stormed Juno
Beach at about 7:55 in the morning of D-Day.
That was about 10 minutes past H-Hour.
The troops were supported by the tanks
from the second Canadian Armored
Brigade, as well as artillery and other units attached to the division.
Because low tide had already passed, some of the German beach
obstacles were already partially submerged under the water.
This created an incredibly dangerous situation
for the incoming landing craft as there was
no telling as to where the obstacles were
located as they were partially already covered.
As a result, about 30% of the landing craft were either partially damaged
or completely destroyed even before they arrived on to the beach.
Wiley: Were the Canadian troops successful?
Alicia: Despite heavy losses in the first
wave, the Canadians persevered,
and they captured the bridgehead, as well
as a few of the surrounding villages.
The Canadians were able to link up with the British troops at Gold
Beach, but they were still a few miles away from those at Sword.
It's also worth noting that the Canadians advanced
farther inland than any other troops on D-Day.
Wiley: That's an amazing story. Thank you very much.
D-Day is an excellent example of how sacrifice,
bravery, and teamwork can turn the tide of a war.
Many nations, along with the intelligence
and cooperation of the French Resistance, paved
the way for an entire army to be brought to
shore in one day, never to be dislodged.
John Marr: We began to see the anti-aircraft
guns, then we were waiting for the green light.
We saw the pasture land passing underneath us.
It appeared like a very peaceful
pastoral area below us, little did we
know that the land that we were
approaching was absolutely under water.
When we got the green light, went out, we were
flying at a very low level, at least my plane was.
I went out and got about one full oscillation after
the opening of my parachute, and I hit the water and went under.
This was a great surprise to me because I thought
I was going to be landing in a pasture land.
Hal Baumgarten: When our ramp went down, the signal for every
machine gun on that beach to open up on the exit to our ship.
Harold Donaldson, the lieutenant, was gunned down
in the boat like you see in Saving Private Ryan.
The fellow in front of me, Clarence Riggs,
was machine-gunned down the ramp.
I dove in behind him, only my left side
of my helmet was creased by a bullet.
I hit the sand behind the Hedgehog, which
was about 130 yards from the seawall.
I observed in my right, Private Robert
Didmar, Fairfield Connecticut.
I was yelling.
He tripped over the Hedgehog, spun completely around, lying on his
back and yelling, "I'm hit, I'm hit, my mother." Then he was silent.
Harley Reynolds: Just a short time after
that, a man crawled up on my right side.
I saw what he was doing, he had a Bangalore in two sections,
and he was putting it under the barbed wire, which he managed to do.
He pulled the fuse on it to light the primer, backed up a little bit.
I braced myself for the Bangalore to go off, and it didn't go off.
He crawled back up and removed that bad lighter, put a new one
in it, pulled the string on it, and started to back up.
At that second, he was hit, and his eyes looked directly into mine.
The look in his eyes as he died, was
a questioning look, or a puzzling look.
It's hard to describe.
Then his eyes just closed.
To me, that man was the greatest hero on that beach.
Because, that Bangalore went off, and when
it went off, I was up and through that wire.
Damon: That was some powerful testimony and stories
of survival from those who were there 75 years ago.
Let's actually bring in Colonel Crean to answer the previous poll question.
Colonel Crean, how many Allied nations
actually participated in D-Day?
Peter: Although we're focusing on four
countries in this program, actually
a dozen nations played a role in this massive
undertaking that's known as D-Day.
For example, an Australian Aircrew in the Royal Air Force would serve
in many different roles, including towing gliders or on bomber runs.
Two Greek warships were part of the massive armada in the channel.
There are countless other examples.
Damon: I bet there are.
Let's talk about another lesser known
story of a nation participating in D-Day.
In this case, the American-Indian Comanche Nation.
These men were utilized as code talkers, creating an organized
code and using their language to send messages from the beach.
Colonel, is that pretty accurate?
Peter: Sure, it is.
This is one of the great history stories of Native American culture.
There were 13 Comanche code talkers who landed
on Utah Beach with the 4th Infantry Division.
The Comanches didn't have words in their
language for modern military terms,
so they created code to communicate with one another on the battlefield.
They used their coded native language to send messages via radios
and telephones, and then translated them back into English.
The first message in Comanche from Utah Beach was, "We
made a good landing, we landed in the wrong place."
These codes, along with the codes from the Navajo code
talkers in the Pacific, were never broken by the enemy.
Damon: That is fascinating.
Colonel, let's take some student questions.
We have a question from MP Middle School.
Why would gliders be used?
Peter: If you use gliders, you could
get more troops to the ground quickly.
You'd have 13 on that, and then you can also drop
people out of the planes that we're telling them.
Damon: Let's answer another question from some of our viewers.
This one from Montevideo Middle School.
How many allied casualties were there on D-Day?
Peter: The quick answer to that is, no one will ever really know.
That's one of those questions that's been argued
forever, but there were over 4,500 alone.
Juno Beach and Omaha Beach were the worst.
There were roughly 1,200 on Juno Beach,
and there were about 2,500 on Omaha Beach.
Damon: It was a huge loss of life.
Peter: Absolutely.
Damon: It's time to reveal our last poll question for the day.
Are you ready?
How long did it take Allied forces to liberate the Normandy Region?
Your choices are, A, one-day.
B, two weeks.
C, two and a half months.
D, eight months.
Let's join Andgie again to learn about the civilian
experience in Normandy during World War II.
A quick note, the beginning of this segment will
be in French, so be sure to read the subtitles.
Angie: In the last segment, we reviewed
the fierce fighting that took place on
the D-Day beaches, and the sacrifices of
the Allied forces invading this region.
In addition to the casualties on both sides of the conflict,
the war ravaged civilian populations caught in the crossfire.
I am now at the Civilians in Wartime Memorial Museum in Falaise, France.
This is a unique museum dedicated to the lives of regular
people, their world is upended by war and conflict.
Towns were bombarded before and after the invasion.
Civilians tried to find protection and safety underground,
with many losing their homes or even entire towns.
In the battle for Normandy alone, 20,000 victims lost
their lives, and thousands more will become war refugees.
Michael Armbruster: Today, we're at the Normandy
American Cemetery, visitor center, and Memorial.
This place, which looks out to Omaha Beach, serves as
a reminder for the cost of D-Day and all of World War II.
Lucy: Over one million visitors
from across the globe travel to this place every year.
It was the first American Cemetery on European soil in World War II.
Over 9,000 individuals are remembered here by these beautifully kept
graves of those who lost their lives in the battle of Normandy.
Wiley: Here we also have the walls of the missing,
for those who have perished but their remains have not been recovered.
The rosettes marking some of these names indicate
those who have been officially identified.
Michael: We're at the grave of Private
First Class Jack Powers, one of
thousands of Americans who lost their lives in the battle for Normandy.
Wiley: Jack, along with his older brother, Clyde,
stormed Omaha with company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment.
Both were residents of Bedford, Virginia with roughly
30 other men who participated in Operation Overlord.
Lucy: As the day closed on June
the 6th, 1944, 19 men from Bedford, Virginia lost their lives.
In the small town of 3,200, it was a devastating loss of life.
In fact, it was actually the largest loss
of life per capita in any American town.
Andgie: The Powers were one set of three groups of brothers from
Bedford who were sent to the shore in the first wave of D-Day.
These men weren't the only group of brother to storm these shores.
George Albert and Thomas Westlake from Toronto
were killed within only four days off
each others and are buried together in
the Beny-sur-Mer Cemetery behind Juno Beach.
Michael: Jack enjoyed singing, dancing
the jitterbug, and playing his guitar.
On D-Day, fellow veterans, we call it, the usually calm Jack
was tense as he boarded the landing craft to get him to shore.
Eyewitnesses say that he died instantly on the beach.
His brother returned back home to Bedford with
intense sadness and guilt, without Jack by his side.
Today, we remember Jack, the Bedford boys and thousands of other
Allied troops who lost their lives in the battle of Normandy.
Today we remember them and let them rest in peace.
Peter Haughton: I couldn't say in what way it was positive, except
that I know that I wasn't the same boy coming out as I was going in.
I didn't look at things the same way.
I didn't feel things the same way.
Why that was, I don't know.
It's strange. I often wondered about that.
I suppose if you see violent death, enough times, you get used to it.
That must be it, because otherwise, it would drive you mad.
Jack Commerford: There are none of our boys alive now.
Well, I miss them but I feel grateful that I've lived so long, really.
It'd be nice to be able to get together with them again.
I hope I go to heaven and that I'll meet them there.
They were courageous, kind and caring.
Frank Denius: Being a loyal Texan and American, it just was
my duty to defend my country and fight for my country.
People have asked me, well, over the years,
"Frank, did you fight for apple pie and mom's cooking?"
Actually, when you become
a combat soldier, you fight for your buddies.
You'd fight for the guys that you are in the same unit with.
You'd fight for each other.
You'd fight for your objective.
I know that I'm a very patriotic person.
I love my country.
I love my state.
I love the opportunities that it affords the people of our country.
One of the core values that I have and always will have,
is the freedom that our country provides our people.
Damon: What a powerful remembrance of this important day in history.
Here's the answer to the final poll question.
It's C, two and a half months.
Colonel Crean, we're almost out of time.
I only have one more question for you.
Why should we remember D-Day so many years later?
Peter: Well, Damon, the Normandy invasion was one of
the great turning points of the 20th century in history.
An immense army was placed in Nazi-occupied
Europe, never to be dislodged.
Germany was threatened that same month by a huge Soviet invasion from
the east that would reach the gates of Berlin by the following April.
The way to appreciate D-Day's importance is to
contemplate what would have happened if it had failed.
Another landing would not have been possible for at least a year.
This would've given Hitler time to move
soldiers to the east to strengthen
the Atlantic wall, to harass England with a newly developed V-1
flying bombs and V-2 rockets, to continue
to develop jet aircraft, another
so-called miracle weapons, and of course, accelerate the Holocaust.
Damon: This world may have looked very
different if the invasion was not a success.
It's another prime example of how history
ultimately shapes the world we live in today.
This museum, along with other museums
and historic sites we visited today, look
to preserve that history for generations
to analyze, debate and appreciate.
With that, we're completely out of time today.
I want to thank Colonel Crean for his insight into the Normandy invasion.
Bravo to our student reporters, Michael, Wiley, Lucy, and Andgie.
Teachers, if you'd like to dive in further
to the story of D-Day, curriculum
materials are available on The National
World War II museum's website.
Peter: I'd also like to say thank you and Merci beaucoup
to our filming partners in southern England and Normandy,
France for welcoming us into your museums and historic
sites to capture these stories, including Soudek house.
The D-Day story, the American Battle
Monuments Commission, and the Civilians
in Wartime Memorial, the Juno Beach Centre and the Airborne Museum.
Lastly, our gratitude to the sponsors who've
made this international program possible.
Damon: With that, I'm Commander Damon Singleton.
Peter: And I'm Colonel Pete Crean.
Damon: And we're signing off from the National World War II Museum.
Au revoir.
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