Correction on the maps of WN 72 and WN 73, at 6:14 it shows the correct number, later on in the video at 6:33 I re-edited and re-painted my map and applied the wrong number "WN73" this should be 72.
@matheusbee34414 жыл бұрын
well... if you allow me, I'd like to suggest a review on the Band of Brothers mini-series from HBO
@fabiogonzalez69663 жыл бұрын
10:24 Lol
@rexthedog43 жыл бұрын
Love the video bro, but I don’t like the Nazi sympathizers spewing historical lies in the comment section.
@PanzerPicture3 жыл бұрын
@@rexthedog4 you will always have nazis in the comments.
@jerryhelm51183 жыл бұрын
My grandfather was there her father..he survived to go on to korea..he never spoke of it even after Korea..he was a real to life badass..🦈
@NaturaBreeze4 жыл бұрын
My great uncle was there at Omaha...had a foot blown off in the first wave...he's still alive in NYC
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your comment, your uncle is one of the last still alive from this amazing generation of brave men.
@dannyoneal41664 жыл бұрын
God bless him. Tell him thank you for me.
@boyfromtheblock58464 жыл бұрын
Can I ask how was he able to survive the first wave?
@demonicsamurai12booy24 жыл бұрын
I honor him
@Aditya-bv7ny4 жыл бұрын
Salute .
@seve8894 жыл бұрын
My grandpa stormed Normandy, he’s still alive and is going to be 99 next month. Thank you everyone who has left a comment and thumbs up. My grandfather passed away two weeks ago.
@infusedtoddler86974 жыл бұрын
I know it’s early but tell him happy b day
@scottmccombs22574 жыл бұрын
As a fellow servicer member please wish him a happy birthday and thank him for his service and sacrifice
@chrisbellofatto91794 жыл бұрын
Words can’t express my gratitude of thanks to your grandpa and all of those brave men. May we as a nation never forget their service and sacrifice.
@campx24764 жыл бұрын
I can never repay your grandpa for what he did, all those years ago. Thank you, and God bless him forever.
@Shoewles4 жыл бұрын
Happy birthday to him, without knowing your grandpa, I have a lot of respect for him.
@dods20024 жыл бұрын
I was an extra in beach scenes. Great experience. Spent most of that time as a German MG-42 gunner in the main pillbox. It took over 6 weeks to shoot those scenes. Cant imagine being in those beaches for real.
@DaSaintDemon4 жыл бұрын
How did you get the role? I would like to have that oportunity one day
@dods20024 жыл бұрын
@@DaSaintDemon I was a member of the reserve Irish defence forces. So we were already trained in firearms and military tactics. Reserve Irish defence forces took part in Brave Heart, which was filmed in Ireland 2-3 years before S.P.R.
@DaSaintDemon4 жыл бұрын
Thats awesome. Well im from Honduras, im far to be in a movie
@72mossy4 жыл бұрын
There was a few lads from Templemore there as well. 9th Battery 3rd FAR. I was a member for a few years as well.
@72mossy4 жыл бұрын
My father was a UN peacekeeper in the Congo.
@Disciple_Of_Lerxst3 жыл бұрын
My cousin Richard is buried there. 325th GIR, Hq Co. KIA 6/14/44 We visited him in 2019 for the 75th anniversary of the landings. I brought dirt from his home, Buffalo NY and spinkled it onto the grass over where he rests. RIP
@jackdaniel74653 жыл бұрын
I served with 3rd Bn 325th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division as an Infantryman from 1981-1985.
@jackdaniel74653 жыл бұрын
RIP to your cousin. Thank you for his sacrifice to this country.
@kampkat60893 жыл бұрын
What a fitting tribute to your family member.
@Justin-ve9oq3 жыл бұрын
I’m also from Buffalo New York. May he Rest In Peace.
@oldsynth3 жыл бұрын
I was there d-day 2019. Such a warm day and full of poignant memories. I salute the fallen heroes
@thosoz34313 жыл бұрын
"The only people who think war is an adventure have never been in one", said my dad as an old man.
@mattropolis993 жыл бұрын
A lesson we should teach leftist always calling for revolutions. Revolutions are wars on neighbors in which your homes and streets turn into Utah beaches.
@duewhit3103 жыл бұрын
War is hell
@chulachaser53213 жыл бұрын
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." "He who wishes for peace, prepare for war."
@joekekoa98513 жыл бұрын
So very true. my dad told me the same things. He served in Vietnam but I still would fantasize about it as a youngster and then joined the USMC and quickly realized the reality of it all. Ramadi and Sangin Vet.
@gkiss20303 жыл бұрын
@@duewhit310 on Earth.
@tsmgguy4 жыл бұрын
My father was a combat engineer in the 147th Engineer Battalion, 6th Engineer Special Brigade. He was the only member of his team not killed on Omaha beach. He never talked about his experiences. When Saving Private Ryan came out, I asked him if he planned to see it. "No," he said, "I saw it with the original cast." I later learned from my mother that he'd sneaked out to see the movie. I asked him later if the movie was accurate. He said that's just how it was.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your story, your dad was the greatest generation, it's great that he got to see the movie, probably pretty hard to watch for him.
@ppguntabid36244 жыл бұрын
I've watched this movies hundreds times.. Really loved it. And I really appreciate the sacrifice that made by the allied for worlds peace..
@pistonar4 жыл бұрын
I know it's not supposed to be funny, but "I saw it with the original cast" is great.
@dobypilgrim61604 жыл бұрын
@@pistonar I think tsmgguy's dad must have been about the coolest old soldier ever.
@sartainja4 жыл бұрын
tsmgguy Your dad was a brave man and a true hero. He could face anything after living through that hell.
@notanindividual64744 жыл бұрын
The people who maintain the graveyards around Normandy and also Northern France do a very good job, very respectful.
@rickylafleur98554 жыл бұрын
I visited it with my father. The place was very peaceful and as Frenchs we were also moved because the lives of those mens changed our life. I'll forever be greatful to those remaining in this graveyards and hope I could meet them in Heaven someday
@johnl32394 жыл бұрын
The American cemetery is maintained lovingly by veterans working for the American Battle Monuments
@notanindividual64744 жыл бұрын
@@johnl3239 and the love does show.
@seaglider8444 жыл бұрын
I was deeply affected by a visit with my daughter to the Canadian Cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer. It is beautifully kept and a man in town made sure we'd find it when we got a little lost....they have the reminders of the cost of freedom around them everyday. In a way I wish we were exposed to those reminders more often. Some do not understand or appreciate it.
@rosaamarillo21103 жыл бұрын
‘Lafayette, we are here’
@colinp22384 жыл бұрын
I am a British veteran of modern actions and when I saw this film for all that scene of the D-Day landings there was a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. That was only a small section of the whole thing that was happening at that time, a mere glimpse into the whole horror. People today have forgotten what was given to them by the sacrifice of those brave men. To quote the Kohima address: 'When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.' It is and will always be, to me, the most poignant part of the Remembrance Sunday Parade that I attend every year. Ubique.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Greatly said my friend. Thank you 👍 👍 👍
@SweatyFatGuy4 жыл бұрын
I'm a desert shield/storm, and OIF/OEF veteran with five desert trips. I was out when this movie was released, saw it in the theater. It sucked me in, I felt like I was there, even checked myself for what was left of the guy who exploded with the sticky bomb on the tank. It wrecked me for weeks and brought back the nightmares I had since I got the PTSD. The military enhanced my PTSD, it did not give it to me. I got it from a rather difficult and dangerous life growing up. My wars were nothing like Pvt Ryan, they were more like Hurt Locker but without the goofy story. The visuals in that one made me feel like it was 130F inside where I was watching it in 65F, I could smell it, feel the sand blowing in my face. Only watched HL once. I reenlisted back in 2000, and knew I needed to fix some stuff in my head so I could fit in again. I watched about 5 minutes of Pvt Ryan, then ten minutes, and fifteen, flooding myself with it for days then doing something different. Now I can watch it and its no problem, its just a movie for me. My last two deployments were very different from the others, in Kuwait for 9/11, and then living in the Hilton on the waterfront in Kuwait City and getting paid $86 a day to be there in 2004. Its been a long road getting to the point where I am not constantly on edge, but I still watch everything around me, and live alone in the woods... with a rather large pile of guns and ammo. Movies and video games seem to help me cope, they allow me to rewrite synapses in my mind, and create new memories that dilute the old ones. Most of the WWII guys crawled in a bottle or pushed it all down and tried not to think about it. Even the guys in the rear who were moving stuff had it rough in WWII, the horrors of it all can't be comprehended until you see it first hand, movies and video games don't do it justice... which is probably why video games seem to be a good coping mechanism. I wish nobody else would ever have to know what we know, see what we saw, do what we did. I am not delusional enough to believe humans will ever get to that point unless we go extinct.
@IDNeon3574 жыл бұрын
Watch the Tarawa documentary. It's raw unedited unredacted and declassified footage from Tarawa. Why settle for a little dramatic theater when you can actually watch the real thing?
@IDNeon3574 жыл бұрын
Here kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnOUenaAhaygepY
@SweatyFatGuy4 жыл бұрын
@@IDNeon357 why watch film footage when you have lived or seen something similar.. honestly though, the raw footage from places like Tarawa and Iwo are hugely appreciated. A good friend of mine and my father's was a Marine in the 2nd wave to go ashore at Iwo. He never really talked about it. When I got back home after my first war he was different towards me, not treating me like a dumb kid anymore. Its like we were in the same club, but what he did made my time look like I never left home. I learned so much about cars from him, and until he died I could call him any time and he had answers, even for my Pontiacs when he was a Dodge nut. I think about all the brilliant minds we lost to stupid shit like useless wars that could have been avoided... if humans didn't tend to suck.
@garybrignell18313 жыл бұрын
My late Dad was at D Day .He drove a Sherman tank .Tank was hit .Dad was the only one who survived .Bless you dad .Hope you are at peace now x
@BruceLee-dg6qw3 жыл бұрын
Is wasn't his time yet, that is why he the only one survived.
@alvinegro23183 жыл бұрын
Lucky guy he was!
@SlyBlu73 жыл бұрын
Great Uncle (grandpa's oldest brother) was also a tanker. He drove off the ramp and into Normandy on D+1, with the rest of the heavy armor. They threw a track in the bocage and had to bail out. Months later, their tank was hit and caught fire, and they bailed out again. Both times, the crew made it out clean. He never talked about losing anyone, but he did say that both times, they didn't lose anybody bailing out. But he said that you had to bail out and get away from the tanks. He saw a crew have their tank disabled and take shelter behind it, only for a second shell to hit it and create a giant fireball. He ran over to help the men, but was too late. "Gasoline burns worse than diesel. German tanks never burned up like ours did - whooosh"
@jbrobertson60523 жыл бұрын
He's probably sitting around with everyone else that was on that beach having drinks with all the soldiers from both sides
@visassess86072 жыл бұрын
I can't imagine how traumatizing it would be to be the sole survivor of a tank crew.
@astridservel75113 жыл бұрын
I remember a lovely day on Omaha beach, we were having a picnic and our kids were playing in the sand, it was lovely. We then started to question if this was wrong and in some way showing disrespect to the young men who died there. However after some discussion we decided that this was exactly what these guys would have wanted. The best way we could celebrate what they had done was to watch small kids having a lovely day in the sand.
@eaaeeeea2 жыл бұрын
I agree. They fought for liberty against tyranny, and you got to enjoy the fruits of their success.
@amfarrell422 жыл бұрын
I had a similar experience when I visited and watched some French people parasailing.
@TheMachines2 жыл бұрын
Yep that's what they fought for. So you me and everyone else could enjoy the beaches and more.
@garrybaldy3272 жыл бұрын
Yep, I agree. I once shot a young German man there a few years ago and remember thinking, it's what Easy Company would have wanted.
@project182r32 жыл бұрын
I disagree, utterly disrespectful what you did.
@randallshughart3 жыл бұрын
I'm a French war in Afghanistan vet. I went to the 70th anniversary of D-Day in full dress uniform. Just to thank all the heroes that participated in this battle. One of them, veteran of Pointe du Hoc, in a wheelchair, cried as I insisted on shaking his hand to thank him. I'll remember it for all my life.
@b_Loopy2 жыл бұрын
I am going to the D day anniversary in 2023, what are the chances I would have the honor of meeting a WWII VET?
@_Matsimus_3 жыл бұрын
That statement at the end has never been so true. It’s soul crushing and so touching being there in those war memorials
@welsh35243 жыл бұрын
I remember being a child, I was maybe 7 or 8, I went over to France with my grandfather. We did a WW1 and WW2 tour, we stopped at a number of cemeteries, even at such a young age it stuck me how I'd never need to be as brave as these men where because of their sacrifice. It has been a memory that I've kept with me for years, and still get the same feeling as I did all those years ago as a child.
@asddsdsssd3 жыл бұрын
Unless you're Chinese, then its a fun swimming pool
@SharkWithFreakinLaserBeam3 жыл бұрын
And it doesn't even end at the bravery... another insane aspect is so many of these soldiers were really just kids. There was an interview with a war vet, recently uploaded I think. He mentioned seeing a 17 year old boy on D-Day laying there dying, crying out for his mama but instructions were to leave men behind/alone since the priority was to go back and bring more men to the beach. Heart-breaking stuff.
@craiglangley92243 жыл бұрын
How true
@larryoconnor19383 жыл бұрын
@@SharkWithFreakinLaserBeam People die every day, dude, so chill out.
@XenoLife3 жыл бұрын
I’m French. I’ve been to Omaha beach several times. And every time : I feel humble when I see the cost of freedom paid by those young men
@rogermcbride12843 жыл бұрын
Thank you.
@jackdaniel74653 жыл бұрын
Thank you, that means allot.
@todd10443 жыл бұрын
Thank you. My dad was 83rd Infantry, 329th Regiment, survived the hedge rows, Sainteny, Carentan, St. Malo, St. Lo. I visited Omaha Beach about 6 years ago. I spoke with a young docent at the museum. She described some of the battles in Normandy and Brittany, Sainteny being the bloodiest for the 83rd. I said there must have been a lot of civilian casualties. Without skipping a beat, the young woman said, "That's the price of freedom."
@trespasserswill70523 жыл бұрын
Not the 18 year old young men and women I know here in good ol' Alabama.
@XenoLife3 жыл бұрын
@DC dude you have no idea what socialism is 🤣
@InvestmentJoy3 жыл бұрын
My uncle landed on Omaha, D-day +3, he said the carnage was beyond anything anyone could ever imagine. Bodies, blood, body parts as far as the eye could see.
@b_Loopy3 жыл бұрын
Is he still alive?
@nicerides92243 жыл бұрын
As bad as the d-day landing was the trench warfare of the first world war would have been even worse. There's a few videos that show soldiers running through trenches filled with bodies. Those guys were under immense artillery bombardment plus mustard gas attacks. One soldier said that at times the artillery was coming in so fast that instead of individual blasts all you heard was a constant roar.
@ChadSimpson-ft7yz Жыл бұрын
@@nicerides9224Maybe but given the carnage of both it seems like a mute point.
@xavierzlotorowiez3162 жыл бұрын
im belgian and when i was 14, my dad took me in Normandy. we visited a lot of museum.. we walked on the beach, visited the pointe du Hoc.. but when i walked in that field with all the graves around.. i cannot explain. i don't know what my dad felt that day... but me? im infinitly grateful. and before going out the cemetary i saw 2 old persons together. i approached them and they was veteran!! i couldnt resist but present myself and thanks them. with my little knowledge in english, i tried my best to understand what they said. they was parachutist troops and i couldnt understand the rest of their conversation with me :( and im so sad about that..... but i have a nice epic picture of me, being between these great men. you can see a little teen, embarassed and all shy, and them smilling and happy to see a teen being gratefull for what they done for us... its been 20years now, i hope they are fine where they are
@662wc54 жыл бұрын
In the summer of 2016 my 17 year old (at the time) son and I flew over from the US and spent a month in Europe with a very ambitious self-guided itinerary that stretched from England to Italy and back. Our plan was to include WW1 and 2 sites along with many non-war elated sites all across Europe, which we did, but it didn't leave us with a lot of time in any one place. We had only two nights and one day in Normandy, which we spent in and around Vierville and walking Omaha Beach. We could have easily spent a week there but it would have been at the expense of other incredible things we saw and did on that trip. I'm glad my son got to see it and hopefully begin to appreciate what young men his age experienced and sacrificed just a couple of generations ago. I hope to return to Normandy someday and spend more time there. The local people are wonderful and we noticed many homes in Normandy flying US, UK, and Canadian flags. They remember.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your story.
@reisk17773 жыл бұрын
If you have a chance, it would be worth your while to to watch Ken Burns' "The Civil War" and then do a tour of the US Civil War battlefields. And here's an odd thing I'll say: I'm a veteran, and I enjoy visiting military museums and battlefields. But for some reason, the place that affected me the most, the place that made me feel almost disconnected from myself, was The Alamo.
@alvinegro23183 жыл бұрын
My dream could do this someday.
@jasonhayden50774 жыл бұрын
My grandfather wouldn't go see the movie. I understood and miss talking with him. He was one of the Rangers that climbed the bluffs on Utah beach
@melvinbennett4444 жыл бұрын
That would have been Point du Hoc. Utah Beach was very flat.
@jasonhayden50774 жыл бұрын
@@melvinbennett444 it was were the Germans had artillery. I remember him telling me about having to climb by rope up a cliff. He said when they got there the guns weren't there but further back than where they were supposed to be.
@melvinbennett4444 жыл бұрын
@@jasonhayden5077 Yep that was Point du Hoc. The Rangers scaled the cliffs with ropes and ladders. Only to get up there and the artillery guns were either gone or never mounted. They did find them down the road, as you said and blew them up.
@jasonhayden50774 жыл бұрын
@@melvinbennett444 I wish I could have gotten more details from him. There's alot of things I would have loved to ask him that I didn't think of when I was younger.
@melvinbennett4444 жыл бұрын
@@jasonhayden5077 I use to work with the VFW and talked with many of the WW2 vets at length about their overseas service. Some were receptive while others were not. One VFW post i worked with a lot, a lot of the vets were part of Patton's 3rd Army, 2nd Armored Division. The Hell on Wheels Division.
@nateweter40124 жыл бұрын
I’m a 33yr old American, grandson of a WW2 vet. I had the pleasure of going to Omaha in 2007. I was backpacking in Europe with my 4 buddies and for some reason they voted to stay in Paris instead, before moving on, so I only got 2 days in Normandy. I made it to Omaha and the cemetery and got to walk the shore and hike up and down the cliff. One thing that instantly strikes you when you’re on the beach, it’s like, 1/4 mile at least from the waterline to the sea wall. It’s not just 1-200 yards like I thought. You’d be absolutely gassed if you were to run it healthy and rested, and it would be unimaginable soaking wet after a 3 hour departure rally on a landing craft and under the ya machine gun and mortar fire. I took careful survey of WN 72/73 and 65. The bunkers, Tobruk pits, and trenches containing machine guns were carefully pre sighted and staggered, so the machine gun that would be firing on you as a soldier on the beach, wouldn’t be directly in front of you, but actually a 1/4-1/2 mile down the beach on your left or right. A lot of the machine guns the static Heer divisions used at these emplacements were older or captured French guns that didn’t need continued supply lines since they were static. A lot of French Hotchkiss M1914’s, FM 24/29’s, MG-13’s, and MG-34’s. There were MG42’s but they didn’t dominate the way we imagine. The German 8cm Grenatenwerfer mortar was a real killer as well as the variety of mines. If you are interested in the particulars of German Wiederstandsnests, beach obstacles and defensive armament, I highly suggest “Hitlers Atlantik Wall” by Anthony Saunders and “German Artillery of the Second World War” by Ian V. Hogg. I consider both of these required reading for anyone who wants to really dive deep into the German defenses at D-Day. Great Video! 👍🏻
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the comment and to bad you had to stay in that overrated dirty city of Paris :) Glad you made it to the beach, but the beach wasn't that long on the time they landed, the area has extreme High and Low tide, and when they landed it would have been High tide.
@nateweter40124 жыл бұрын
Panzer Picture That’s true, I forgot about that.
@Bhooker284 жыл бұрын
Ditto your comment about the distance from waterline to the bluffs. I was fortunate to visit Omaha Beach at the same low tide condition as the actual landing. Amazing anyone made it to the bluffs at all much less had the courage to fight forward.
@PL-rf4hy4 жыл бұрын
Check out the book "D-Day Through German Eyes" by Holger Eckhertz, (available in parts 1 and 2 on Amazon, last I checked) contains a chapter entitled "Utah Beach: The Tobruk Soldier," a first-hand account of one German soldier (Stefan Heinevez) manning one of the small cupola-capped tobruks. He was stationed just behind the beach, with an MG34 and cannister mags. He had a metal shield in front of the gun and it traversed 360 degrees on a rail around the cupola. Check it out -- his story will definitely make those structures come to life. If memory serves there are also accounts from a machine-gunner in one of the Widerstandsneste (WNs) and from the British and Canadian beaches (Gold, Sword and Juno) and some of the fortifications there both on the beach and inland.
@nateweter40124 жыл бұрын
@@PL-rf4hy Ok, I don’t want to be crass or abrasive here, but It’s important for others who comes across in this in the future. “D-Day Through German Eyes” by Holger Eckhertz is complete fiction. Not a single individual in any of the stories included in his books can be substantiated or verified. Despite what people think, there are very complete unit combat journals and rosters from these German units. We have excellent records on WN’s, including those at Normandy and none of Eckhertz technical descriptions or position functions add up. For those interested in the types of bunkers, pillboxes, casemates, Tobruk’s, and trenches used along the normandy coast, I highly recommend ‘Hitler’s Atlantik Wall’ by Anthony Saunders. He includes wonderful text, lots of blueprints and incredible photos from private collections. As for “Eckhertz”, he is specifically vague where it counts and it was found that the actual author, the author of “The Last Panther” and the company that published these are all the same man. It’s fiction, unfortunately, but just masked in a semi believable veil. I actually took it for nonfiction at first, and then when I was researching the 2nd Panzer Division I attempted to make reference and verify a crewman in his book which snowballed Into me looking up others. Axis history forum came to the same conclusion. There technical details within his books that are sound, just not the instances involving them. Good for a read where you keep in mind that non of the stories are true, and enjoyed as a sort of, D-Day fan fiction, but other than that, it’s good for toilet paper and fire tinder.
@lpd1snipe2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for posting this . Two uncles I never got to meet died in that war. Uncle Roy died at Pearl Harbor and he is still entombed on the USS Arizona. Uncle Joe directly after Omaha June 7th. My dad was too young to serve but went to Korea in 1950.
@CX09093 жыл бұрын
I visited Belgium in 2007. One day, near the border with Germany, I stumbled across a memorial to the battle of the bulge. I walked from the parking lot to an elegant yet conservative vista looking down on to meticulously manicured grounds. I was shocked and nearly wept at the thousands upon thousands of crosses blanketing the fields. What was more heartbreaking was learning that memorial was only for allied soldiers in that battle. There was no such memorial for the thousands of German soldiers or civilians lost in that battle. People who likely just wanted to be safe in their homes and going to their job the next day. To this day it breaks my heart to reflect on that memory.
@anandmorris2 жыл бұрын
I understand what you are saying, but imho, no nazi deserves a memorial.
@sonofabookkeeper83822 жыл бұрын
Really shows how the humanity of the losing side is so callously plucked away, leaving only a caricature for those on the winning side to pick apart post hoc. It's truly a tragedy what took place in the first half of the 20th century. All for bankers and industrialists' benefit. No more brother wars!
@CX09092 жыл бұрын
@@sonofabookkeeper8382 well said sir.
@davegibson96414 жыл бұрын
I took my father when the movie came out. He whispered to me , “That is why I joined the Army Air Corps.” He said that in the first 20 minutes. On the way home, he told me he knew he could get killed in the air or shot down, but if he survived the mission, he would have a decent meal and a warm bed.
@SweatyFatGuy4 жыл бұрын
I joined the USAF because I didn't want to be stuck on a ship for months, or sleeping in mud. Instead I was sleeping in trucks on the parking ramp waiting for the next plane to block in so I could go to work. Five desert trips, three in 91, one in 01 and again in 04. The last two were the easy ones, in a safe place, Kuwait. In 1991 Kuwait wasn't the safest place to be. Turns out even being ground crew can get you in a two way rifle range, dodging mortars, and other things these days. Throwing 900+ bags out of the belly of a 747 in 130F heat isn't like getting shot at, but its not something people look forward to doing. I make it sound like thats all we did, but its about the most people who haven't been there can comprehend. Some jobs seem safe, but end up being crazy dangerous every damn day. My brother drove trucks in the Army, HETs that hauled fully armed, crewed and running tanks on trailers, he did one year in Kuwait, and two tours in Iraq doing that. Stopped counting bullet holes in his truck at 150 in 2005. Says he is glad they can't shoot as well as our family. Then he decided he didn't get shot at enough, so he went to fly UH60s for the Army, two tours in Afghanistan, then became an instructor. Now he flies medevac choppers in the midwest. He stays incredibly busy so he doesn't think about it all. We barely talk about it, I write about some of mine because it helps to do so. For the most part, USAF life is decent, but then when it isn't so great its still better than what the Jarheads and Army have to deal with. I have lots of Jarhead friends, great guys. Most people who get killed in my job get crushed, we move heavy stuff, lots of it, and its a constant thing. Working with things that weight 10,000lbs or more means its very easy to get killed. Working around planes is inherently dangerous. A maintenance E6 was killed while working on the wing spoilers of a C17 while I was on my last deployment, someone flipped a switch and it crushed him. Simple things like that can get you killed. The first US death in Desert Storm was an AF NCO run over by a truck on the ramp at night. In Vietnam an entire unit of people doing my job at a forward airstrip was overrun and everyone killed. You can think you are safe, but then you lose friends in Khobar Towers and realize, death can come to anyone, at any time so you watch for it. Some jobs are very safe, and physically easy, not all of us go kick in doors and assault hard points. I never had anything even close to what was depicted in this movie happen to me, still lost people. Some days I can still smell the desert, feel the sand on my face, smell the jet and diesel fuel, and burning bodies is something you never forget. If I watch a movie about my wars it can be 65F in my house, but it feels like 120F-130F. I don't watch many of them. Pvt Ryan jacked me up for weeks when I saw in the theater. I felt like I was there. I wonder how many guys who assaulted beaches and did the infantry thing went to see it. If it bothered me that much, what would they think?
@williamhanley25664 жыл бұрын
The Eighth Air force was the most dangerous assignment in all WW2. 24percent casualties. Far worse than Iwo or D day.
@spaceskipster44124 жыл бұрын
@@williamhanley2566 The Mighty Eighth were predominantly stationed around my home city of Norwich in England. They, and the RAF, had airbases all over Norfolk and other East Anglian counties. There's a permanent memorial to them in our city library. Needless to say there are plenty of other memorials to them in the surrounding countryside. And American cemeteries. They are fondly remembered here, and we honour their memory.
@spaceskipster44124 жыл бұрын
@Logan Stroganoff my family live in Norfolk. They often talk about the Americans here during WW2.
@bucksdiaryfan3 жыл бұрын
That's exactly what Andy Rooney said... he covered the war, and he said the airmen lived a nice relatively nice life in the service compared to the foot soldier, but the trade off was that it was highly likely they would not make it
@RamblinRick_4 жыл бұрын
In 1988, I walked on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. From Pointe du Hoc (still surrounded by an uncleared mine field), I looked out upon the channel and imagined myself a German commander seeing over 5000 ships and landing craft. As I walked among the graves above Omaha Beach, I felt small and unworthy to be among them, even though I'm a military veteran.
@twinsonic3 жыл бұрын
Same here in 1992..uncleared mines and signs everywhere to keep on tracks
@rushmanandtucker7623 жыл бұрын
Felt that way when I went to Gettysburg Pa.
@bunnystrasse3 жыл бұрын
Is it still surrounded by a minefield?
@indy_go_blue60483 жыл бұрын
In a scene of "The Longest Day" a German officer is calling his CO to report the armada. He's asked where is it headed. He shouts "RIGHT AT ME!" I'm sure it felt that way, especially to the large number of soldiers who were boys or old men or members of an Ost unit.
@nikolatesla55534 жыл бұрын
My father was a sailor on an LST that delivered tanks to Omaha beach. He told me that it was the most frightening day of his life.
@LoneWolf0514 жыл бұрын
I recall speaking to a P-38 recon pilot at an airshow in Pennsylvania around 2000 or so, who was flying missions over Normandy on D-Day and the weeks after, he told me that he was on a recon flight around midday on June 6th, it was his first sortie since the landings began. He was assigned to photograph a suspected 88 battery along the Douve river, as he was passing over Omaha Beach, there was a pretty decent break in the clouds so he could see the beach, he noted how many bodies, smoke plumes and equipment were littering the beach in its entirety, what struck him was the pinkish red tinge that the sand had become and how the water just off shore had huge plumes of red in it stretching for nearly a mile, with hundreds of little black dots floating all over. this was seen from 8,000 above the beach.....He knew what it all meant, and it shook him to his core till the day he died
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
@Kevin Collver it's weird that a lot of comments here claim that the sea was never red and there weren't so many bodies in the water and it's all over-dramatized, in there opinion.
@howardkoontz47354 жыл бұрын
I attended the opening of the WWII D Day memorial in VA. There I met one man who was singling the man on the LST to send in the tanks. Just a few minutes later I met another man who was on the LST taking the single to send the tanks. I took him to where the first man was sitting. They did not know each other until that chance meeting with me.
@stealth7usa4 жыл бұрын
If your father is still alive, and if he hasn't been awarded the French Legion d'honneur, please contact me. I can help him receive France's highest honor.
@flight2k53 жыл бұрын
It was the coast guard the drove them
@ule41313 жыл бұрын
My dad was a combat engineer on Omaha beach, 19 years old and his first esperience of war tasked to clear the barbed wire on the beach exits. I tried for years to get him to tell me what it was like being in combat. He would only tell me the funny things that happened in his year of combat, obviously trying not to recall the horrors. I finally got him to tell me about what it was like assaulting the beach and what he described to me when I was 17 years old, about to register for the draft,. It was exactly what you see in the beach scene of the movie. Body parts, heads blown off, men cut in half, and one of his buddies disappearing from a direct shell hit while running next to him.....Imagine for one minute....at 19 years old! He told me to ride something if I joined up..... I did..... Nuclear Fast Attack submarines during the 70"s.... countering the russians threat to the USA. God bless all those men who have fought in war. They are Heros.
@chrisfritsch79344 жыл бұрын
My dad was a BAR man and fought in the Korean war, so I took him to see this. He needed to leave after the Omaha beach landing and get some air. Once we got into the lobby, his hands were shaking and his shirt was soaked in sweat. He just said "That was too close to home." and we had to leave. In 2016, my wife and I went to Omaha beach, and the cemetery, Its amazing, and humbling.
@wingy200 Жыл бұрын
When I was a kid, I went with my dad to see this in the theater, and there were several war veterans getting up and leaving, some sobbing. I'll never forget it.
@NastyCupid4 жыл бұрын
I visited the beaches when I was 14 years old, on Utah, on the cliffs between the bunker debris there was an old man (veteran) who collapsed unto a bunker piece in tears, I was so moved by that moment... I will remember it for the rest of my life.
@Billy_the_Greek2 жыл бұрын
Your story brought me to tears
@thetooner82034 жыл бұрын
No background music. That alone is enough to make it the most realistic depiction of battle I have ever seen on film.
@MaxwellAerialPhotography3 жыл бұрын
What, your telling me that they didn’t have grand and patriotic music playing on loudspeaker or on their iPods?
@denisriordan45484 жыл бұрын
Yes I was in awe when I visited the cemetery at Omaha beech. Everyman in that cemetery sacrifices just hit me at once. It's a very weird feeling. I advise everybody to visit Omaha once in your life and I promise it will change you forever.
@brianwalsh14014 жыл бұрын
I always get so choked up at that part of the movie when Matt Damon's character ask his wife in front of Captain Miller's grave if he has led a good life and "earned" his life being saved. I'm tearing up just thinking about it now.
@chrisjones16464 жыл бұрын
Yes I also visited the beach and the cemetary... the ones that got me were the crosses that said "Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God"... the boys who were so torn up they couldn't even give them a name. Imagine being a loved one back home and being told that they THINK your loved one died on Omaha but they aren't sure.
@pnwfarmdog40904 жыл бұрын
I was 13 when I visited Omaha Beach. 25 years later I’ve never forgotten how it felt to look over the rows of crosses and see what freedom cost.
@geodes47624 жыл бұрын
Went there for the 50th anniversary of D Day in 1994 with my wife and father-in-law who land on Utah Beach with the 1st Engineer Special Brigade. His picture was featured in Time Magazine in 1944 standing next to the monument the Brigade built to honor it fallen members shortly after the landing. The monument is still there on Utah Beach and looks exactly the same.
@hosswindu1663 жыл бұрын
@@brianwalsh1401 That part gets me. Every. Damn. Time,
@ronaldmello93403 жыл бұрын
My dad was there at Omaha beach...survived the war. Died of cancer in 1989. Growing up he and I butted heads at almost everything. Now I'm almost at the age he was when he passes away and I just wish I could thank him, apologize to him and show him the man I became.
@liampett13133 жыл бұрын
My grandfather fought in Dieppe so this hits home. For those that don't know it was just Like Omaha but the Germans won and thousands died, my grandfather was one part of one of two regiments who successfully captured their objectives that day. He later retreated from the position and was one of the last soldiers to evacuate the beach.
@jurtra9090 Жыл бұрын
Your grandpa was a Ranger, then?
@louisboutcher18534 жыл бұрын
Went to the cemetery and the beach a couple of years back. You're very right in saying you feel dwarfed when going past all those graves. It really puts it into perspective the amount of human lives lost and the sacrifice made. Lest we forget.
@nonamesplease62884 жыл бұрын
I've never seen anybody who did a critique of this movie take us to Omaha Beach and show where these events actually happened. I always thought they replicated the actual beach in the movie and was surprised that there were so many differences. Excellent!
@thundercheck36914 жыл бұрын
That's what I thought to, but the exit is a big road and not just a small path.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
I could not find any video, so I thought why not make a video, I want to do the same with Carentan and Band of Brothers, but people did make videos about that.
@michaelomalley18564 жыл бұрын
@@PanzerPicture Your info is misleading a little when showing and talking about the PAK 43 you showed the position marked as WN73 when in fact it is WN72 as WN 73 is on the Western side of the D1 Exit/Draw in Charlie Sector on the bluff as WN71 is on the Eastern side of D1 with WN70 past that in Dog White Sector, 50mm cannon mention is correct however it was a 5.cm Kwk 39 L/ 60 (50mm) cannon not the 5.cm kwk 38 l/42 (50mm) cannon to be specific. sorry that i'm nitpicking i am very grateful that your info was pretty much as accurate as it gets on KZbin so far as it has bugged me for years that everyone thinks this movie is so Authentic when it really isn't and yes i get spielberg was just going for dramatic effect but it is taken as fact by so many and it's awesome to hear someone did there research.
@jantschierschky34614 жыл бұрын
Actually Omaha beach is very big at low tide about 800m wide, also that section has a grey tight compacted sand with pebbles banks, those pebbles stopped those tanks
@krisfrederick50014 жыл бұрын
If you trigger an 80 year old case of PTSD from a movie, that's more of an authenticity badge than any film critic can give.
@b_Loopy3 жыл бұрын
Critics be saying “the movie tried to hard to be real“
@frederickfitzgeraldfazbear71542 жыл бұрын
@@b_Loopy Critics do be thinking they know everything
@jona55172 жыл бұрын
When I seen this movie in the the theater, 6 times, I seen plenty of people walk out, mostly elderly women, most likely reminded of the love that they lost decades ago. A few older men, who were military age at that time period did too...but most of them stayed.
@pepqcat31692 жыл бұрын
@@frederickfitzgeraldfazbear7154 same with historians and veterans thinking they know everything (:
@jsullivan2112 Жыл бұрын
Throwing a video together about questioning the historical accuracy of a movie and putting it on KZbin doesn't make you a film critic anyways lol. Most proper film critics praise the shit out of this film because it's a terrific blend of accuracy and storytelling. It's hard to put those two together, accuracy is usually boring is shit, even in real history the stories that probably didn't happen (like the Black Dinner in Scotland) are way better than what actually happened.
@edfeifert98383 жыл бұрын
Being there was extremely moving. Standing on the beach looking up at the hills I was left with how completely open the whole beach was. I can't imagine coming off those landing craft into the water and facing the fire coming at you. Those men were beyond heroes. To walk the cemetery was something I will never forget. The sacrifices made by all those fine people is something I can barely put into words. Thank you
@charlieboffin24323 жыл бұрын
My father was British and landed on Omaha beach with the Americans. He was part of a RAF base defence / radar unit who also took heavy casualties on D-Day . He never spoke about the landings much but was forthcoming about what he described after D-Day. I have lots of his photos which I treasure greatly. Mark Felton uploaded a video called the Brits who fought on Omaha which filled in so many gaps for me and accuractly described why they were there , I think most people are un aware that British units fought along side the US infantry on that beach landing zone .
@Saxxonknight4 жыл бұрын
I have an uncle buried there. I want to get there before I go. We owe him a lot, for all he never got to do after his 24 years that ended that day.
@williamrussell94044 жыл бұрын
That’s very true when you walk in that field. Can’t help but tear up.
@donadams91214 жыл бұрын
I can't help but tear up evet time I see this scene.
@joe-lf2dv4 жыл бұрын
I think if a person wouldn't tear up they must not have a soul.
@jaygreider47534 жыл бұрын
My father didn't go to Omaha. He was 82nd and they dropped behind the beaches, as everyone knows. He never spoke about his experiences during WW2 until he only had a few months left to live and told me the most amazing stories for what he did and saw.
@no-pl6jc2 жыл бұрын
I've heard similar stories that your father told told you that I heard from my grandfather Thomas B. Walsh he was a Sargent in 101st and from what he told me was the 7th American soldier on foreign soil since he pushed the first 6 out the plane at 2 am night before D-Day while be shot at the whole time. I'm getting chills watching this and writing. Hardcore men back then salute to your old man they broke the mold.
@jaygreider47532 жыл бұрын
@@no-pl6jc The 82nd was the first division to liberate a town on D-Day. Ste. Mer Elis. Dad was a pathfinder - 82nd/505. He was a private on D-Day. He retired in 1972 as a Sgt. Major. I'm not an "Army" brat, I'm an 82nd brat.
@robertmonaghan5420 Жыл бұрын
Will Definitely Buy You A Coffee. Great Video
@Del-Canada3 жыл бұрын
My grandfather stormed Juno Beach on D-Day with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. He passed in 2010. Great man with a great sense of humor.
@davekelders2834 жыл бұрын
"You can be the biggest man alive, but once you set foot on that grass between all those men you will instantly dwarved and small in comparison" Your father is a wise man. I recently visited Luxembourg and the Ardennes, mainly Vianden in Luxembourg and Bastogne in Belgium. Once i set foot in the Bois Jaques between Bastogne and Foy i really felt dwarved. What the men of Easy Company went through is hard to fathom from the series Band of Brother. Being in that small patch of pine forest made me realise just that. Those brave souls who liberated Europe from tyranny are mostly deceased now and we must never forget and I truly hope schools over the world do not follow the call to remove this history lesson because it might be offensive. Being offensive makes young people learn from mistakes made decades before they were even born. We need to and we need to keep learning from mistakes so we can become better men and women.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your great comment 👍 👍 and I agree with you.
@GeorgiaBoy19614 жыл бұрын
@ Dave Kelders: The central tragedy of history is the humanity refuses to learn from it. Every eighty or so years, roughly the span of a typical human life, humanity repeats the errors and calamities which have always pursued the human race - war, famine, pestilence, deprivation. The cycles of history repeat over and over.
@motographicartsandfilming4 жыл бұрын
I visited Arnhem and Nijmegen and visited the war graves there. The Paras died there surrounded without ever surrendering after they landed on top of a Panzer division. All massive heroes.
@slavabtomat4 жыл бұрын
Strong men make for good times, weak men make for hard times. Unfortunately, our skools care more about not hurting someones feelings than telling it bluntly, like it was when I was in school.
@TheRealDill934 жыл бұрын
Loved the description of the types of bunkers. As a kid I was nearly obsessed with the huge bunker seen in the movie. I made models of it for my toy soldiers. Later when I was old enough to do my own research o realized that it didn’t really exist as seen in the movie. I had really hoped it did. But it was really nice to see someone else explain this. Thank you
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
You're welcome, I'm glad you liked the video.
@CSUnger4 жыл бұрын
It’s a damn crying shame that we are about to lose what these guys fought and died for simply because of a cadre of corrupt career politicians and a population that cannot be bothered to question them.
@gadblatz48414 жыл бұрын
@Hydin Biden That's funny, actual nazis voted for and endorsed Trump. You're rhetoric is better than your logic.
@Eid-yy3ot4 жыл бұрын
You are correct, but if it is lost, as you state, then it is lost. So, there is not much that can be done about it.
@CSUnger4 жыл бұрын
@@Eid-yy3ot That's what the sound of one licking his chains is like.
@Eid-yy3ot4 жыл бұрын
@@CSUnger With all due respect, I have been hearing pretty much exactly the same type rhetoric, which was mentioned by you in your original post, for a good many years. You state "about to lose," sir, the situation was lost years ago (my opinion). Just a suggestion: you might do a bit of research and ask yourself just exactly "what these guys fought and died for?"
@CSUnger4 жыл бұрын
@@Eid-yy3ot I think that you might be missing a much larger and more immediately relevant point.
@thecracken98553 жыл бұрын
My grandfather was on the third assault wave into Omaha. When he sat down to watch this movie in the theater with us, he made it about 30 seconds into the landing scene and walked out. Never spoke much about it. He told many stories of his campaign throughout Europe as a mortar section leader but never about that beach. God rest his soul, he passed away back in 2006. Lived a quiet, humble life. He absolutely earned it. God bless all of the lives lost for us. Lest we forget.
@macgyversmacbook18612 жыл бұрын
My Great Grandaddy was like that according to my mom, he never talked about his time serving, only showing Mama a safe that he kept his things from the war, like a flag his buddies signed after they captured it, a luger he brought home and parts of his uniform after she told him she was researching the Holocaust for her German class. it was only after I researched his documents (like a certificate that a CO signed saying he was allowed his Luger pistol) that I found out he was in one of the Liberator Divisions which specifically liberated concentration camps, the 84th. He was at the Battle of The Bulge but was in a hospital in England on D Day itself
@cjhan472 жыл бұрын
Unfortunately as US. veterans we are still treated poorly and mainly by those who talk the most about patriotism who never had the courage to stap on a uniform. utmost respect for your grandfather and all who serve with honor.
@tomholec26213 жыл бұрын
I've been there a few times having always found the time when I was in Paris to get to the beaches. I've also taken people there to experience what you have shared and it is always incredibly powerful. My last visit I was looking at the graves and crying at the sacrifices as my kids were now the ages of those who were killed when a group of French students approached me. They introduced themselves and I spoke with the teacher - their comments were genuine, honest, and extremely respectful. What stuck w/ me is the comment from the teacher who said her entire life and that of her family was possible because of what that generation represented and by their actions they freed France - and Europe - of the Nazi's.
@351wmustanggt4 жыл бұрын
I was there in July 2019, you cannot help but be awestruck and emotionally touched by the experience. The beaches are majestic, we visited Omaha Beach Dog Sector, Utah Beach and Point Du Hoc. It is ironically a very peaceful place. We also visited the American cemetary and when you step onto the grounds and see the thousands of crosses it will bring you to tears I guarantee you will be emotionally overwhelmed by the experience. And while it is a protected historical site it is also an active recreational beach destination for many people which was the goal for those who gave their all in the liberation of France to restore the country back to the way it was before the occupation. As an American, I felt very welcomed by the French citizens especially along the Norman coast. June 6th is still recognized to this day, 75 years later, with celebrations and parades to commemorate D-Day. I would have visited again this year had it not be for the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully in 2021, we shall see.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your comment and story.
@timlewis19564 жыл бұрын
I was there in October 2019 and had the same experience you did - unbelievably moving to see the beach and all the crosses at the cemetery - we took part in a wreath laying ceremony and all the veterans participated. Many were moved to tears. At Omaha Beach we ran into a couple of old Brits who were kids during the war - they thanked us Americans for coming to their aid. They said "We were afraid when the war started, but we knew once the Americans came, we would be all right".
@EIBBOR26544 жыл бұрын
My Uncle (Dad's older Brother) was there, he was in the second wave of troops to land and he never talked about the war very much. He suffered from PTSD for the rest of his life. I'm still trying to get his Military records but from the bits I could gather, my Uncle Mike enlisted in the Army just after 7 Dec 41 and his enlistment papers state "For the Duration". He was in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, but from what I could gather they needed combat experienced Officers and NCO for the D-Day Invasion, Mike was an NCO that had combat experience so he was sent to England to train for it. Again, I do know he was in the Normandy Invasion but I can't confirm some of the timelines. Mike was an NCO and had done and seen some bad stuff that he had to live with until his death fittingly on Veterans Day 2013. On his way back to the States after the war on a Troop Ship, at about the half way point, he through all his metals overboard. They included a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. His mother sent away for them and he got mad, telling her that if he found them he would burn them. If she did get them they were not found after she passed away, so he may have kept his promise. He felt that he did not deserve them and as he told me, the others that didn't come home deserved them far more than he did. My Uncle did open up to me about the war after I was in the USAF and home on leave just before he passed. I wish he would have written down what he did in the war. I know it was hard for him to even watch a war movie or TV show and he never did watch them. It is a shame too as so much history went to the grave with him. I believe many of the youth today would appreciate more of what they have today if they knew what he had been through. My Dad and his two brothers grew up dirt poor after their father abandoned them during the depression. My Grandmother did all she could, but there wasn't much she could do for work during those times.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your story. it's sad that your uncle had so much trouble from his PTSD, it's sad that they didn't really had anything to help people with PTSD back in the day, because talking about those really help a lot.
@cld518603 жыл бұрын
I visited the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer about eight years ago. There are few things on this earth that can humble a person as much as that place. I was also struck by the level of respect the hundreds high-school-aged French kids that were there too. They played the National Anthem and Taps and each of us were given a flower to put on a soldier's grave. The kids were utterly silent and respectful. We placed our flower on the grave of a young pilot from Arizona who had perished the day before the landing. We later visited Omaha Beach. Thinking back on it even today, I could not believe I stood on that hallowed ground. Thank you all for giving all you had during that time. And thank you for posting this video. Very interesting and informative!
@realmasterchief3 жыл бұрын
I visited Normandy on June 7th, 2012. I still remember the silence in the memorial at the cemetery. I forget the words inscribed inside on the wall, but I remember the only sound was the hushed sighs at the words followed by sobbing. A humbling experience to say the least. Edit: it was a chapel, and inside are the words: “I GIVE UNTO THEM ETERNAL LIFE AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH”.
@ovidiuschley33464 жыл бұрын
Great description of the events from the movie . A great one with a great distribution . Thank you again for posting !
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the comment.
@SandervkHistory4 жыл бұрын
Great video! Really enjoyed it! 🙏
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it.
@stevek10184 жыл бұрын
My two brothers took our father to see the movie. He was a combat veteran in the 28th. Inf. Div. They came ashore around a month later. He was wounded twice in the war . Seeing combat in Normandy, Hurtgen Force, Battle of theyBulge, Comar Pocket, and others up to the end of the war . He served 20 years in the Army, and another 20 in civil service working for the Army and the Air Force. My brothers and I had planned to take him back to England, France, and Germany. But we lost my older brother to cancer in 2006. Then my father passed away at 93 in 2016. My youngest brother no longer expresses interest in going. And well I no longer have the money. Cancer has taken it up.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your story, and I'm sorry for your lose, cancer is really a terrible decease and I hope you get better soon and maybe have a change to visit in the future.
@kentharrisgeorgia3 жыл бұрын
Saddens me but in darkness there is light. Your friend, Kent
@morfi33953 жыл бұрын
Thank you for posting. I have been to several beaches including Omaha. It was impressive to be there as well as in the hedgerow lands more inwards. Tome stopped there as I could still see remains of the heavy fights. Cannot forget this brave young men, risking their lives far away from home.
@marcobrian16192 жыл бұрын
Back in early 2000s my ex wife's grandfather got me this film, we sat down to watch it.....he lasted afew minutes and left us in tears......he was there on D-day. Me and the ex went to northern France in 2004...... I was not one for history at school, but that holiday changed my life seeing the war graves, battle fields and old armaments.......70years on shocked me. Total respect to the men that day, No words can bring them back....... But by passing the words can keep there bravery alive. Thank you and rip guys.
@StevenMelching4 жыл бұрын
My grandfather was in the USN, and drove landing craft for D-Day. He never talked about it until this movie came out -- like it gave him permission, in a way. I was able to visit the beach myself in 2018, and as soon as I walked out onto the sand an incredible wave of emotion swept over me. Like the echo of the enormity of that day. I teared up.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the comment and story about your grandfather, they were the greatest generation and every story brings a tear to my eye. They will be missed.
@37Dionysos4 жыл бұрын
My uncle was an Army private in D-Day's second wave, said there was still lots of firing as he waded in. He had a 40-lb. pipe bomb to use against bunkers but things were so bad that he threw it away. "Thing could have killed me!" he said.
@MalcolmBrenner4 жыл бұрын
Hey! The government said it would only kill Nazis! Didn't you watch Private Snafu?
@XHollisWood4 жыл бұрын
Thank You for sharing 🇺🇸 my father(now past) was in the Army 82nd AB during the day of days. My Best to you
@mossbrg54 жыл бұрын
My wife’s uncle was 82nd AB. Fought on D-Day, Normandy, Market Garden, and Battle of the Bulge where he was killed. Greatest generation.
@esoxkid064 жыл бұрын
My great grandfather was 82nd Airborne as well! Was wounded in the bulge.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
These men were indeed the greatest generation, thank you so much for your comment.
@ds21123 жыл бұрын
In Sep 2015 I visited Normandie on a break on a business trip to Paris from Tokyo, then back to the states. I was with 2 pilots of my airline, all three of us are vets, one Navy flew Tomcats, one Marine who flew Harriers, and myself USAF as a linguist. Walking Omaha beach the tide was low and I went as far out as I could, the sand was hard packed; the beach scenes of SPR flooded my mind. What blew me away on our drive up to the beaches past Bayeux, in every little French farm ville, someone was flying either a US Flag, the Canadian Maple Leaf, or the British Union Jack. This wasnt a weekend around the anniversary of the invasion, just some shmoe weekend of Sept 2015. Normandie remembers. Around seemingly every curve of those roads was a memorial to something that happened there during the invasion. You can still feel the heaviness. The American cemetery at that overlooks Omaha blew me away.
@mma1st1054 жыл бұрын
My uncle Eddie was such a calm man. A classical pianist actually and it's hard to imagine him so young and scared storming that beach. I wish they all could know how much we all appreciate them.
@gbricks14303 жыл бұрын
God bless your uncle and all others who fought in this horrible war.
@jsullivan2112 Жыл бұрын
Being a classical pianist makes perfect sense to me, it was probably one of the few places he could find peace after something like that.
@fdm19684 жыл бұрын
I have had the Honor of walking these beaches and even now I get a tear thinking of standing on that Hallowed sand. You did an excellent job with this video.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video.
@m1m3rmedia4 жыл бұрын
Well done as always, PP!
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you.
@m1m3rmedia4 жыл бұрын
@@PanzerPicture I've been to the beaches in 2012 and 2019, will be returning many times more. Your videos always bring back many memories.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Been there many times myself, even before all the terrible mass tourism, in the 1990's you could enter the bunker and walk around that Pak 43, that was a lot more interesting and as a kid I explored every bunker on that beach.
@CarlitosWayz124 жыл бұрын
Outstanding video! Great Job!!
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you..
@longtabsigo2 жыл бұрын
I went to see it with my father, Korean War and Vietnam War veteran, the theater had a fire alarm go off and we had to exit. There was no emergency, I could see he had been affected by the film. I asked if he wanted go back in to see the rest of the movie. “Not if I have to sit thru the last 25 minutes again”! I asked the manager to please que the movie where it left off. We live in Fayetteville NC, next to Ft Bragg, the manager completely understood and he did. I had to agree, my 2 combat tours were mild compared to his; but we made it and it helped him to heal as it gave us something to use as base to get us both assistance in recognizing and getting treatment for our PTS(d).
@Trial2122 жыл бұрын
What a good video!! Thank you for pointing out the changes and how the machine gun nests were not even visible. My Uncle Mac landed on Omaha in the first wave. Hit in both legs he managed to be saved by a medic. He lived to be 88 years old. I would like to visit Normandy!!! My Dad was a Marine who survived Okinawa. They were the Greatest Generation!!!
@jktrader374 жыл бұрын
I was there in Oct 2008. Got super lucky, I wound up with a free day in France. It was s beautiful day . I have always wanted to visit those beaches, and finally had the chance. I took trains from Paris through the beautiful French countryside all the way to Caen. From there ( It was a Sunday - everything was closed ! Not like in the USA.. ) I found a taxi driver who took me to Omaha Beach. I was there for almost the whole day. It was absolutely incredible to be there. One thing that really struck me, was there was indeed a concrete bunker on the West end of Omaha Beach.. From there, you could see the ENTIRE crescent shaped beach. There was simply no place to hide.. What a killing field :-( I hope it's OK to do this on KZbin, as I would like to highly recommend this book, it was about the landings on the East side, which don't get the same attention. I thought it was one of the best WW2 books ever written - it explains how the US Naval Destroyers shelled some extremely stubborn German strong points, and how the Americans miraculously and with incredible leadership worked their way off that bloody and horrible beach.. I would say "it's a MUST READ." www.amazon.com/Dead-Those-About-Die-D-Day/dp/1524745502/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1BSMXNE7UETBN&dchild=1&keywords=those+about+to+die&qid=1609043964&sprefix=those+abut+%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-3 At every turn the French people I met were polite and helpful.. I flew back to the USA the following day. It was a day I will never, ever forget..
@MithridatesOfficial4 жыл бұрын
My Grandfather was in the Coast Guard and took troops ashore on Omaha Beach. He'll be 99 in December. Has dementia now and struggles, but when I ask about the war, he can tell me stories in detail about what he went through.. 🙏🏻
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your story, these stories people share here are really the best, and I'm glad your grandfather is still alive, he is truly the best generation and I hope he will live past 100.
@otero22354 жыл бұрын
And by size of service, the Coast Guard lost more men than any other branch of service. Not good odds for small landing craft personal.
@ferencpusztai52014 жыл бұрын
I think you should ask him, to tell his story. Record it, and share it with a researcher, before its too late.
@MithridatesOfficial4 жыл бұрын
@@ferencpusztai5201 Not a bad idea. He has photo albums and can name every person in them and where he was.. name those that died in the war and how they died and those after the war. He stayed in touch with a lot of his shipmates, but eventually someone would answer the phone and say “such and such” passed away however long ago. He used to run every day up until he was 92.. very healthy all his life. Eventually his mind started to deteriorate though. He’s the last one alive from his ship apparently. Again, he’s very reluctant to talk about the war, but maybe I’ll see if I can film him talking to me about it (with his permission of course) .
@ferencpusztai52014 жыл бұрын
@@MithridatesOfficial If he understands you, tell him, however our countries fought on opposite sides( im Hungarian), i know, they gave their best to make this world better, so, i wish him a good health! Tell him each days, how much you love him, how proud you are of him! And yes, if hes ok with it, record the interview, or at least his voice. If he dislikes it, at least just make him, to tell his story. Your country is full of researchers, and make him, to share his story, before its too late...
@samoramachel554 жыл бұрын
I am blessed to have made two trips to Omaha Beach, the first was in 1984 with my dad and the last time was in 2016 where I rewalked where my father and I were years before. Sadly, most Americans do not know that African Americans were on that beach that morning and for some strange reason written out of that history. It really affected my dad up till he went over in 1984 with 19 other members of the 761st BTN where some were former truck drivers and signalmen - he told me he spent his first days removing bodies from the beach. A small bit of history my uncle was killed there - his name is enshrined on the wall at the memorial. I shared the western union telegram my grandmother received about her son. Great post.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the amazing story, I would have loved to have met your father I'm absolutely amazed with the history of the 761st Tank Battalion, I knew they landed on Omaha, but I thought they landed after the capture of the beaches?
@janbyrdal6452 жыл бұрын
I was there this summer 2022 and it was a Big experience seeing it all. Thank you for this video.
@danhoenigman2757 Жыл бұрын
My Father came ashore on Dog Green with the 112th Combat Engineers. He told me that they were supposed to be the second wave, but things were so chaotic that in reality they were only about a minute behind the first wave.
@Taooflu4 жыл бұрын
Let’s never forget war is hell. My heart goes out to all these young men at the time, so many who would never return home to their families.
@jakej41944 жыл бұрын
Of all the times I've seen this movie, I've never noticed that Sherman in the background.
@MetalDetroit3 жыл бұрын
Missed it too
@freshweezyboy17333 жыл бұрын
Tanks usually sunk before they got to the beach
@William_Green_2523 жыл бұрын
Nicely done....Thank you for your videos Panzer Picture! I would love to see that area some day.
@PanzerPicture3 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the comment 👍 and I hope you have a chance to see it.
@jackmcgonegal87282 жыл бұрын
I've been to Normandy several times and will be spending two weeks there again next summer. We never run out of places to explore. Thanks for finally pointing out that the telephone pole obstacles were pointing in the wrong direction on the beach. I could never believe they got that detail so wrong. When I was stationed in Germany, my next-door neighbor was a Wehrmacht veteran who'd been at Omaha Beach. It was fascinating, to say the least, to listen to his experiences of that day.
@sdj97764 жыл бұрын
Well done. I lived in France for a couple of years and consider it my second home. Members of my family have fought in two wars to liberate it from Germany. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if it weren’t for them and the thousands like them. I wanted my daughter to understand their sacrifices. While walking among the headstones in Normandy we met family members paying their respects. We stopped at the headstone of an unknown soldier. Showing understanding well beyond her 12 years, she simply said, “We’ll be his family today.”
@keithneale30553 жыл бұрын
What a wonderful daughter you have.
@sdj97763 жыл бұрын
@@keithneale3055 thanks. I think so.
@danpatterson69374 жыл бұрын
Very nicely done, thank you.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
You're welcome Dan, glad you enjoyed watching.
@stevemance28124 жыл бұрын
Visited Omaha beach along with other key areas of the Normandy landings back in 1994 for the 50th D - Day commemorations, drove my friends GMC on it, completely moved after visiting the cemetery afterwards, RESPECT.
@mossbrg54 жыл бұрын
I visited Omaha beach back in September last year. I couldn’t believe I was actually standing in the place where the landings had happened. I want to go back.
@petezny4343 Жыл бұрын
I took my father to see Saving Private Ryan in the theater. He was a WWII veteran who landed on Utah Beach on the morning of D-Day and fought across France, Belgium and Germany with the 90th Division. He broke down and cried as we left the theater. He said that was the first war movie he had ever seen that truly depicted the war. The most moving scene for him was the last battle scene. He said they were holding a small village and were being overrun and it came down to hand to hand fighting inside buildings. He said it was the first movie he ever saw that brought back that day for him. For me I cry every time I see the scenes with the old Private Ryan walking in the graveyard, his gait, that limp, was exactly how my Father walked. My Father had told me previously that when he went to 90th Division reunions he didn't have to ask someone what they did in the war, if they walked like him they were riflemen who had humped a pack across Europe. Spielberg certainly did his homework.
@eugeneenslow85633 жыл бұрын
I served 22 years in the Army. I am a veteran of Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. I have not had the honor of visiting Omaha Beach or the cemetery. Yet. Thank you for paying homage and sharing your dad's comment with us. It means very much to many I'm certain.
@kingspeakbackcountry19254 жыл бұрын
My father, former Green Beret and West Point graduate took us there when I was 16. Amazing experience that I won't ever forget! I would like to go back one day with my own children so they can see for themselves the sacrifice of freedom. Had family on both sides during the war. My cousin on my father's side dropped in that morning with th 101st Airborne. I still have his bayonet.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
That would be an amazing experience to be there with your father, hear his stories, that's something you will never forget.
@kingspeakbackcountry19254 жыл бұрын
@Jakor Killudge Have it on an M1 Garande manufactured in April or May of 1942 according to the serial numbers. Not my cousin's rifle, but I thought they would go well together. My father was given his jump wings as a good luck charm when he deployed to Vietnam. He couldn't wear them as they had 2 combat stars on them, but carried them in his pocket throughout his tour. My cousin told him that those wings got him through D Day plus 105 days of combat without a scratch and would bring my dad luck on his combat tour, but wanted them back when he came home. Sure enough my father came back from Vietnam without a scratch as well. He gave them back and now nobody seems to know where those wings have gone. I did however find some similar wings on ebay a few months back from ww2 with 2 combat stars that now are an addition to my little ww2 collection.
@kingspeakbackcountry19254 жыл бұрын
@Jakor Killudge I had 2 Uncles and my Grandfather on the German side. They were from Latvia. My Uncle Harold was killed in Russia, but my other Uncle Ernst survived the war as did my Grandfather. My Grandfather and Grandmother escaped from the Soviets after the war with my Uncle and Mother. They immigrated to NY in the early 1950's. I am in the process of writing a book of their story about how they escaped from Europe before the Communist clampdown.
@klausvonschmit47224 жыл бұрын
Kingspeakbackcountry Hopefully, an opportunity presents itself to read such a story when its available as I really do enjoy learning of peoples crazy adventures and their grit and determination to escape!
@kingspeakbackcountry19254 жыл бұрын
@@klausvonschmit4722 I will notify you when it is finished and published! Thanks for your interest.
@TheFlatlander4404 жыл бұрын
Well done. Yes, I have been to all 5 Normandy beaches back in 1969 when I was 13. My family was transferred from the US to France in 1967 and lived in Le Vesinet, France for three years. In that time we took quite a few vacations to Normandy and Britanny and visited many of the surrounding towns. They did not have all those museums as they do now and if I remember correctly only Arromanches-les-Bains had a museum at that time. Additionally, there were still many wrecks of landing craft littering the beaches there as well as Danger Mine signs on the dunes in certain places. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
That would have been an amazing time to visit, a lot of it was on touch by mass tourism.
@tbtt54 жыл бұрын
The lack of museum etc was due to, the French government wich didn't recognize the sacrifice of these guys because of the AMGOT program and the fact that De Gaulle wasn't in the D Day organization, our veterans from the Commando Kieffer were decorated very late...
@sayerma4 жыл бұрын
I've been to the normandy beaches and also the surrounding towns such as Caen and Bayeux. The graveyards are very moving. I've always been a history buff and to get to those places was brilliant, just being able to pay tribute.
@cgross823 жыл бұрын
Your video moved me deeply. We just laid my uncle to rest at age 97. He flew a black B-24 Liberator for the top-secret 406th Night Leaflet Squadron, 801st/492nd Bombardment Group “Carpetbaggers”, Office of Strategic Services (OSS). We owe so much to those men and women who defeated Nazi fascism and imperial Japan!
@adambarkermusic3 жыл бұрын
I first watched the film about 15 years ago and it quickly became my favourite. I’ve always had questions about how real to life the beach landing was, particularly when you compare it to the little footage of the actual landings. This video addressed everything I’ve questioned about the movie and I love it. Thank you
@kevinlittleton23274 жыл бұрын
Saw this movie in a big screen theater. As a vet of more than I care to remember, I left the theater feeling like I had been in a 2hr. fist fight. I had two great uncles who fought in WW2. One at Anzio and the Italian campaign the other at Omaha beach. Neither would speak of anything they experienced. When I joined the Army they both said one thing, "When you get home ,learn to forget." I did.
@cleawox3 жыл бұрын
Thank you, and thank your Uncles too.
@paularowe76514 жыл бұрын
From UK, my father was in the Royal Engineers and worked on the building of the Mulberry Harbours in England and then on their installation on the Normandy beach. He never talked about his experiences there and died at 68 When will we ever learn that nobody wins a war.
@melvinbennett4444 жыл бұрын
Yea the elites always win and wars are massive profit events for them.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the story, these stories are the greatest to read, your father was really the greatest generation.
@Jimmy-b1y5q4 жыл бұрын
When I visited Omaha beach last year, the bunker was the most confusing part. I was expecting this massive bunker in the bluffs. The bunkers are so much smaller and they face the beach diagonally. I had to do a bunch of research to find out that Spielberg depicted them this way for dramatic effect. The main bunker on Dog green is now where the monument stands.
@pamelabell80373 жыл бұрын
Nice video. I was in Normandy for the 75th anniversary of dday. Amazing experience! Thanks for sharing!
@shan60214 жыл бұрын
Glad you pointed out that the anti-boat structures were facing the wrong direction. Hats off to you!
@buggybill20033 жыл бұрын
I`ve been to Omaha beach, and struggled up the hill just carrying a jacket, without being shot at too. Those men were incredibly brave.
@kevinmurphy25563 жыл бұрын
I’ve been there and, more importantly, my Grandfather landed there. He was a doctor on a Navy LST, and was sent ashore late on the first day of the invasion to help treat the wounded.
@thavinny99434 жыл бұрын
I went to Omaha beach, it is indeed a very sobering place when you stop and think about it. Pointe du Hoc was also quite impressive. What shocked me was the average age I saw on the tombstones. I was 29 when I visited and I got to live more than many of these young men in part because of their sacrifice. As I said, very sobering.
@zoso733 жыл бұрын
Subscribed. I'm American. Visited Omaha Beach 3x. I left work early to watch this film opening day. I watched it the year before I married. Today, I am liberated with 3 kids. 😆🤣
@bryanparkhurst172 жыл бұрын
Had the privilege of standing next to my grandfather at Omaha Beach in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of the invasion. T'was the only time in my life I ever saw him shed a tear. Let that sink in.
@mtygardsurgimesh4 жыл бұрын
Those brave men gave away all their tomorrows so that you could have your today.
@calvacoca4 жыл бұрын
They were not heroes, just victims. These guy were obliged to do that. Nobody gave them the choice - Hey young guy, would you prefer to stay with your familly, wife and children, or go making war in Europe ?
@1pcfred4 жыл бұрын
Speak for yourself. I have blond hair and blue eyes. So I'd have gotten along with the Nazis just fine. heh
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
@calvacoca you do realize curtain man had honor and duty, they did this for there country and not for Europe.
@richardcurtis24694 жыл бұрын
And what have we done with it. It makes me weap just to think what we have done with it
@1pcfred4 жыл бұрын
@@richardcurtis2469 you weep what you blow.
@margretsdad4 жыл бұрын
Two of my uncles were in Normandy on D-Day. Hank was a platoon sargeant with the 82nd Airborne while Sam was a combat engineer sargeant with he 4h Infantry on Utah Beach. Both lived into their late eighties and were he best uncles a boy could have. Hank became a major figure in the California dairy industry . Sam became the assistant post master of El Monte California. Oh, both were immigrants from the Netherlands.
@PanzerPicture4 жыл бұрын
Thank you for your story.
@kenfornicola8902 жыл бұрын
Went to this location several years ago. Humbling does not describe the feeling I Experienced seeing the cemetery and viewing the beach from which those brave souls saved the world.
@butchclay81263 жыл бұрын
Great video. Thank you. My uncle Benjamin's war grave is at the Normandy American Cemetery above Omaha. KIA Domjean, 8/1/'44, Sherman Gunner 737 Tank Battalion, Cobra Breakout. I really like the way you conclude your video with the quote about how it feels to walk among those thousands of white crosses. Too many Americans today know far too little about the courage and sacrifice of those young soldiers. Your video is a good service to America.
@austinpblack3 жыл бұрын
I finally just got the opportunity to visit Omaha beach this week. Seeing it in person, it was still so hard to comprehend what those men had to go through and what happened at that place. There’s still massive craters in the ground at Pointe de Hoc not far from Omaha beach from artillery shots. Then seeing the cemetery in person and getting and idea of how many lost their lives in the Normandy area leaves you lost for words.