Veterans make emotional return to the beaches to mark D-Day

When I was a kid, I heard stories of D Day from dad's friends and relatives who'd been there.

An uncle was standing near a friend of his. They'd been at school together, grew up together and joined up together. As he looked round, there was a fountain of blood where his friend's head had been. He never got over this.

Why do we continue to do these things?

Those who blame "them" for the problem are causing or adding to the problem. It's never the fault of one party. The media is full of articles blaming the Chinese. And, whereas the Chinese have plenty to be blamed for, so do the Americans and so do the Japanese.

Pointing a finger doesn't solve the problem.

It certainly didn't solve it in the Middle East. All they do is point their finger back.

We have to sit down and work out (give and take) how to solve problems so that we can coexist peacefully.

It can be done.

It's going to be done, one day.

So, why not do it now, rather than sitting in the ruins of what used to be a quite lovely planet.

My uncle was in the 5th wave to Omaha Beach, when it was secured. His battalion was transported by a British LST & he was given a hunk of bacon by a sailor. Once hurried ashore, the troops just waited. (hurry up & wait is an old Army tradition) So he cooked the bacon in his helmet & had breakfast.

Needless to say, this got lots of coverage here on the U.S. news programs today, and will again tomorrow. Amazing that guys in their late 80's and 90's were jumping out of airplanes. Maybe that's why they are called the "greatest generation". My dad was a landing boat crewman in the Pacific, so was not involved with D-Day. But my mom's oldest brother was a bomber pilot, and he died over France. God bless all their souls.

My grandpa was there; presumably at Juno Beach. He never spoke about it.

@ taj- So many stories have gone to the grave untold.

@ jerseyboy- My uncle was a landing boat crewman also in the pacific.

@ zichi- World peace would be nice but you simply need to read political posts on this site to see many escalate opinions into hate and insults. As if their opinion is the correct one and al others are not.

At this moment 70 years ago the allied troops were landing on the beaches of France which turned the tide of Nazi Germany. A terrible day at also a celebrated historic day leading to the end of the Third Reich. Thank you gentlemen, I salute you!

My grandfather worked at the shipyard that made the amphibious boats.....

"But on the eve of the anniversary, the spotlight was firmly on those who risked their lives in launching the largest sea assault in military history to liberate Europe from Nazism, most of whom are now in their 90s and are marking the occasion for probably the last time.

One of them, Jock Hutton, celebrated in a unique way by parachuting to the same spot he landed on as an 19-year-old, this time with a member of the Red Devils strapped to his back for safety."

I salute Mr. Hutton and all those who risked and gave their lives in order to save others.

My English grandfather landed on Gold beach as part of this invasion 70 years ago. 

Before D-day he helped waterproof the tanks (sticking plastercine stuff into vents) so they wouldn't sink when they rolled off the LCTs, then fixed holes in RAF planes when they came back from sorties.

He only first spoke about the war in 1956, a decade after he had come back from Berlin and been demobbed.

My grandfather, who left this world just six months ago, was in England launching planes from that side.

We -- and by "we" I include the politicians running today's governments -- need to learn as much as possible from these veterans while they're still alive. Our planet cannot afford another war.

"It's never the fault of one party."

Good point, Bertie. The Nazis were victims, too. The German people needed their living space in the East, and the West was bull-headed for refusing to acknowledge this. The Jews had to be "dealt with," and the Slavs were in the way, weren't they. So it was their fault too for, um, existing.

Sadly, though, the Allies refused to appreciate the Nazi ambitions. and as such they also share the blame as well for not sitting down with Hitler and working this all out in a way agreeable to both sides. As you say: "It's never the fault of one party."