...our forefathers stormed the beaches of Normandy. By day's end, the Allies lost roughly 9000 fighting men on those sands.

Take a moment to remember the freedoms they died for...

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

My father served during the Korean war on a tin can. That same tin can and her sister destroyer both fought in the D-Day invasion. Only dad's ship survived. Lot of good people died on land and at sea that day.
The kids today use a word (dating to 1948) that seems uniquely fitting to describe the scale of the effort to invade that day. It was truely a GINORMOUS undertaking. It must have felt like they were moving half of England across the channel.

We are also going to a beach today... though it is in Maine and we are not soldiers in a time of war . Also, we are approaching from the inland. Today actually is my parents' 32nd anniversary, hence the trip .

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Thanks for the reminder JP.

Those guys went onto those beaches knowing full well that there was a strong possibility that they would not be alive come nightfall. They did it anyway, as did the paratroopers and the ones that went in on gliders. We owe them a huge thank you.

They don't call it "The Greatest Generation" for nothing.

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2001 SLK 320 six speed manual
2014 Porsche Cayenne six speed manual

Annoy a Liberal, Read the Constitution

SALUTE TO THE MEN OF D DAY WHO STARTED THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE NAZI BASTARDS....

A man I used to know who was there, said that he discovered that his belt buckle could be quite an efficient trenching tool. (he was sufficiently motivated, to say the least!)

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Yup...they died so you could use your Freedom of Speech to post stupid crap on a thread dedicated to the lives lost in the defense of the United States.

It's nice to see you exercise that right...

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

I can only imagine. I'm watching Saving Private Ryan later today, on top of a number of historically accurate movies and documentaries about D-day. They claim that the opening scenes, where the soldiers were storming the beaches, were as historically accurate as they could get. They had many of the survivors of that day on hand to help re-create that day...What an amazingly scary even that must have been, running for cover under heavy enemy fire, on an open beach with very little cover.

My great uncle, who we recently buried, was a POW who survived. My grandfather on my mother's side escaped Nazi Germany...he was a German Jew. I've read his memoirs. What they had to go through just to hide from the Nazis was amazing.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles

My Dad and the rest of his crewmates dropped a bunch of bombs on the invasion coast in the days leading up to D-Day. They actually flew two missions on the 6th. He was a waist gunner on a B-24 Liberator.

Trying to imagine being a waist gunner. My guess is that it might be the best position; after all, you have a pretty good-sized opening to dive through of the plane is going down. If the G forces haven't nailed you, or enemy gunners shot you.
I think I would be a waste(d) gunner.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

Thank you for the reminder, jp

I have hung the large American flag outside my house as a gesture of respect and remembrance of the U.S. soldiers who fought and were captured, wounded, perished or survived this momentous event --- fighting to preserve our precious freedoms.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

I just removed my American flag from the front of the house for much the same reason. I noticed that it had a tear, and was beginning to fade.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I replaced mine two weeks ago. I sent the old one to the local VFW for proper treatment.

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1987 560SL
85,000 miles