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Today marks the 73rd anniversary of "D-Day," the World War II Allied invasion of German positions on the beaches of Normandy, France, the largest amphibious (troops landed by naval ships) in history.
In military language, "D-Day" was an Army designation to indicate the particular day on the calendar for the start of a field operation, in this instance June 6, 1944.
The military also used the term "H-Hour" to refer to the actual time of day the action would commence.
Code-named Operation Overlord and commanded by a future president of the United States, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the objective of the Normandy invasion was to gain a foothold in Nazi-occupied France and thrust eastward to liberate Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control.
Not surprisingly, historians have written many outstanding books on D-Day.
Cornelius Ryan's The Longest Day, Stephen Ambrose's The Victor's, and Anthony Beevor's D-Day are excellent resources on the Normandy invasion.
Even Hollywood searingly portrayed the Normandy event in Steven Spielberg's masterful film, Saving Private Ryan.
The Allied invasion plan broke the Normandy coastline into five attack zones – Sword, Juno, Gold, which involved British and Canadian troops, and Omaha and Utah, which involved American troops.
Omaha Beach was nestled between cliffs at each end, with a pair of high ridges overlooking the beach area, making it ideal ground for the Germans to defend. Of the five invasion beaches, Omaha would be the most formidable challenge for the Allied forces.
The Germans knew that if they were going to stop the invasion anywhere, it would be at Omaha Beach, an obvious landing site.
German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's defensive plan for Omaha included placing steel water obstacles and mines in the waters offshore, heavily mining the beach itself, and weaving concertina wire along the entire beachhead.
Rommel prepared artillery positions above the cliffs, capable of delivering fire all across Omaha.
Finally, he laid out machine gun positions presighted to cover every inch of the beach. Rommel was a master of tactics to stop frontal assaults and his objective was to trap the invaders in a kill zone at the waterline and drive them back into the sea.
At 06.30 (H-Hour) on June 6, 1944, troops from the U.S. First Infantry Division (Big Red One), commanded by Major General Clarence Huebner, along with the 29th Infantry Division, and Army Rangers, invaded Omaha Beach, immediately finding themselves in one of the most hostile environments of the war.
Troops exiting the landing crafts were met by the full force of the German war machine, all the while struggling with the deep water and the steel obstacles placed in the off shore waters.
Landing craft were torn apart by incoming artillery fire, mines attached to the water obstacles were detonating, men were being pulled under water by the swirling surf. Those who made it to the beach encountered blistering enemy artillery and machine gun fire.
The scene at the beach was hell on earth, as some described it. Scores of troops were dead or wounded, the incoming surf red with American blood, medics frantically attempting to save the lives of the seriously injured, unrelenting fire raining down upon the American soldiers – that was the scene at Omaha seventy-three years ago today.
The German defenses were designed not just to kill the invaders but to pin them down and destroy any semblance of organization, defeating them through sheer terror and shock.
Under these most traumatic conditions, the American troops had to somehow navigate across 300 yards of sand beach and then move inland by way of five small draws or ravines that sloped upward to the high ground above the beach.
In this life or death struggle, the Americans at Omaha Beach were able to withstand the initial blows, regain a sense of organization, and, rather than being driven back into the sea, drive the Germans off the high ground and back into the French interior.
How did it happen?
How were the Americans able to overcome the most horrific fire and fury the Germans had to offer?
Noted World War II historian John C. McManus writes that, "The greatest motivation to fight and accomplish objectives for the American soldier in World War II was the man to his right and to his left, and this was true at Omaha Beach. At the basic human level, the soldiers at Omaha were willing to sacrifice themselves and risk death, not for pride or glory, but, in the end, for one another."
How else can one explain Colonel George Taylor, who found remnants of his unit exhausted and shell-shocked, pinned down along the seawall.
Using a walking stick, he prodded and roused his men to their feet and announced, "There are only two types of people on this beach, the dead and those about to die. Now get on your feet and let's get the hell out of here."
Or, Private Carlton Barrett, with blood pouring down his face, who waded ashore in neck-deep water, only to return to the water again and again to assist floundering comrades who were in danger of drowning, and bringing the wounded to evacuation boats off shore.
Or, 19-year- old Private Harold Baumgarten, who was hit by enemy fire five different times before he reached the seawall, once there being more concerned for the wounded around him than he was for his own serious wounds.
Thirty-four young men from Bedford, Va., a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains, were part of the leading units of the invasion.
Nineteen of them were killed on D-Day and four more died in the ensuing days.
No other community in America suffered such a devastating loss as Bedford did at Omaha. Certainly, there are hundreds of other examples of the personal self-sacrifice and courage displayed all along the Normandy coastline on June 6, 1944.
For the First Division, D-Day was the bloodiest day of a long and bloody war, and all paid a price in one fashion or another for gaining that valuable piece of Norman soil.
In the end, Omaha was one of the critical steps taken to rid Europe of Nazi tyranny and help hasten the end of World War II in Europe.
Today, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial sits on the bluff, high above Omaha Beach and the English Channel.
In a striking and solemn manner, simple white crosses and Stars of David mark the final resting place of 9,387 American soldiers, most of whom were killed in the invasion of Normandy.
The events of June 6, 1944, D-Day, must never be forgotten.
Never!
Mike Rendos is a former Keystone Central School District counselor, a current Central Mountain High School assistant athletic director, and a longtime PIAA sports official.