69 Years Ago Thousands Upon Thousands Stormed The Beaches Of Normandy

June 6, 1944.  A day all of us are tied to in one way or the other.  It was 69 years ago today that one of the largest 'single day' invasions in military history took place.  Here are some interesting facts:

We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit - General George S. Patton

At the time, the invasion of Normandy was the largest amphibious invasion to ever take place. Only 10 days each month were suitable for launching the operation: a day near the full Moon was needed both for illumination during the hours of darkness and for the spring tide, the former to illuminate navigational landmarks for the crews of aircraft, gliders and landing craft, and the latter to expose defensive obstacles placed by the German forces in the surf on the seaward approaches to the beaches.

A full moon occurred on the 6th of June, 1944.  This is why it was called D-Day, due to the fact that military leaders had no idea what the actual day would be so operation 'Overlord' would take place on D-Day.

• The location of Normandy was the closest kept secret. Even the landing parties had no idea where they were going.
• 156,000 Troops
• 5000 Plans
• 11,000 Ships & Landing Craft
• 50,000 Vehicles
• U.S. Soldiers killed, wounded, missing or captured: 6,603 (1,465 killed)
• By June 11, with the beachheads firmly secured, more than 326,000 troops had crossed with more than 100,000 tons of military equipment
• The number of remaining D-Day vets is estimated anywhere between 8,000 and 60,000
• The U.S. shipped 7 million tons of supplies or 14 billion pounds of material. 448,000 tons of it was ammunition.
• Between the 1st of April and the 5th of June, 1944, the Allies flew 14,000 missions losing 12,000 airmen and 2,000 aircraft
• 127 more planes were lost on D-Day. By the end of the Normandy campaign, 28,000 airmen were dead.