![]() ![]() “They must not be demobilized into an environment of inflation and unemployment, to a place on a bread line, or on a corner selling apples,” said the president. After Roosevelt spoke to the American people about the progress being made in Europe-where “the criminal, corrupt Fascist regime in Italy is going to pieces”-he told listeners that he and his advisers had been “laying plans for the return to civilian life of our gallant men and women in the armed services.” He made a distinction between the sacrifices made by those on the home front and those in uniform, arguing that veterans would be “entitled to definite action to help take care of their special problems.” Roosevelt broached the subject of how veterans would be compensated during one of his fireside chats on July 28, 1943. What did the nation owe its veterans? Not Another Bonus Army Some would not return, but the majority would survive their service and look to reclaim their lives as civilians. They had put their lives, jobs, and families on hold to serve their country at home and in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. Bill of Rights.īy the time of the D-Day invasion, more than 11.6 million men and women were in uniform. At issue was the Serviceman’s Readjustment Act, better known as the G.I. For the previous six months, a battle had been waged in Congress and in the press over what kind of compensation the men and women who served in World War II should receive. The not-so-lucky ones bled into the sand and sea.Īs OVERLORD-or D-Day as it is more commonly known-got underway on that overcast Tuesday morning, another offensive was drawing to a close in Washington, D.C. The lucky ones found shelter under cliffs or behind the seawalls. As shells flew overhead, generating a deafening cloud of sound, American troops emerged from their transport carriers, forcing stiff legs down the ramps, into the water, and right into the Wehrmacht’s line of fire. Fifteen minutes later, as scheduled, the Allied fleet unleashed a wall of fire, bombarding German positions. Just after 5:30 a.m., the Germans, realizing that something was afoot, started firing their coastal batteries. The Americans were responsible for “Utah” and “Omaha,” the stretch closest to Cherbourg, while Britain tackled “Gold” and “Sword,” and Canada wrestled “Juno.” ![]() The five landing spots on the beach had been given fanciful names during the planning process. ![]() Slicing through choppy waters, the assault convoys approached the fifty-mile stretch of coast between Cherbourg and Le Havre. British and Canadian paratroopers were also on hand, preparing the way for 83,000 of their compatriots.Īs the paratroopers moved through the night, billy-goating rocky formations and cutting through hedgerows in search of German defensive positions, the initial Allied invasion force made its way across the English Channel. Once on the ground, the paratroopers used toy “crickets” to signal each other in the darkness and reassemble into units. The 15,600 American paratroopers had one assignment: secure the beachhead between Sainte-Mère-Église and Carentan in advance of the 57,400 American troops scheduled to storm France’s beaches in a matter of hours. Eisenhower’s ambitious and risky plan for the Allies to take France back from Nazi Germany. The dangerous night jump behind enemy lines represented the first phase of Operation OVERLORD, General Dwight D. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the men of the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions dropped from the sky along the coast of Normandy. ![]()
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