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Saturday, 06 June 2009
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D-DAY.........................HOOAH!!
This is the 65th anniversary of one of the greatest joint land, sea and air operations in history. On June 6, 1944, Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the approval to launch. His decision was an agonizing one; weather was treacherous, but circumstances dictated a high tide and a short time span. Further delays would have given away the plan, known as Operation Overlord -- D-Day to everyone else.
The force contained 39 divisions, 20 of these were American. The Allies assembled a gargantuan naval armada, from battleships and destroyers to landing craft and coasters.
Late in the evening of June 5, thousands of ships made their way across the Channel. On that same night, a fleet of cargo planes, mainly C-47 Skytrains loaded with paratroopers, took off. In tow were American Waco and British Hamilcar gliders filled with soldiers or equipment. Fighters and bombers waited until dawn. One Air Force pilot wrote it looked like "an immense migration of birds."
The landings called for an assault on a five-divisional front. Three airborne divisions, including the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne, were dropped inland. They were to protect the sides of the main landing area, and close off the beaches. British and other allied troops were taking the northern beaches, code-named Juno, Gold and Sword. For the Americans, Utah and Omaha.
Overhead, specially marked black and white striped Allied Expeditionary Air Force aircraft owned the sky. Tactical bombers were hammering the whole northwest coast. The 8th AAF, commanded by Lt. Gen. James Doolittle, alone had 1,300 bombers over the area by daybreak. The 9th AAF's fighters, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs, roared and dived at German strong points unhindered by Luftwaffe [German Air Force] interference. The Germans had been driven from the sky. In the air, the troops were supported by no less than 10,521 combat aircraft. Over the troops, too, screamed a hail of naval gunfire from the supporting warships. Far inland, the airborne divisions were already down and fighting hastily rallied enemy garrisons.
During the day, Germans flew 319 sorties; Allies 12,015 (not one was interrupted by enemy air action). However, a snapshot of that day cannot explain the importance of airpower. The invasion's air operations cannot be isolated from the earlier offensives carried on by the Royal Air Force and U.S. Army Air Force. The Allied Expeditionary Air Force, comprising the British 2nd Tactical Group and the USAAF 9th AAF, was set up almost a year before the actual landing.
Allied air support contained the invasion area -- destroying communication lines, rail lines and bridges. There were 66,000 tons of bombs dropped on Normandy during the three months preceding D-Day, creating what was called a "railway desert" around the Germans. The Allies further strengthened their advance by an additional 14,000 tons dropped on radar installations on the eve of D-Day.
By the end of D-Day, the Allies had control of all five beaches, but much of the jigsaw remained to be put together. British and Canadian beaches had become a solid Allied grip on the left flank. On the right flank, Americans on Utah were ashore, but German guns were still firing at Omaha. The invasion effort was already being replenished with stores, ammunition, and men by a second armada of ships.
Normandy was not a victory for a single branch of the service, nor the victory of a single nation. Normandy was the classic example of modern combined arms, air-land, coalition warfare. It was a struggle in which the Allies were fortunate to have not merely air superiority, but air supremacy. Their task of winning on the ground was made easier. Where the Allies had won the critical battle for air supremacy was not over the beachhead. It was in the air war lasting several years preceding June 1944.HOOAH!
Sunday, 24 May 2009
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A mother gets the call she's dreaded since giving birth to him...
A mother gets the call she's dreaded since giving birth to him...
The phone rang...rang again. It was the middle of the night, 1:27 AM, to be exact. My fever was raging and the room was spinning from influenza. And that was before I picked up the phone to stop the ringing.
"Hello?"
"Is this Ruth ....? Mother of Stephen ....?"
(What? I now have a knot in the pit of my stomach. Is this a new flu symptom or what is he going to say next?)
"Yes," I answered.
"This is First Seargent stationed in Baghdad, Iraq...(a dull roar starts in my ears...WAIT, NO, am I dreaming? Don't go on. Why would you be calling me? That's where my boy is!!)...and your SON IS ALIVE."
(I stop breathing. This is THAT call. The one you hope you never get. Those three precious words would carry me through the oncoming months. Those are the most important words I've ever heard or will ever hear. It didn't matter what else the officer would tell me, because MY SON was ALIVE! It's amazing how fast our brains can roll through a child's lifetime within seconds. First, I was holding him after giving birth to the most beautiful baby boy ever born...then he was riding his tricycle waving at me...the memories flooded my brain. Wait! What is he saying?)
"Your son was hit by an IED. The bomb was detonated remotely as he stepped on the buried device with his left foot. Stephen was rushed to an Army MASH unit for stabilization and is now being MEDvaced to Landstuhl, Germany where we have a military hospital.
"Should I call his father or would you like to contact him?" he asked.
I responded that I would call his dad. I also called my daughter. She drove to her grandparents' house to tell them in person, hoping it would somehow make the news less horrific. I called my brother and sisters, then my best friends. Each person knowing that a ringing phone during the midnight hours never brings good news.
Stephen was a platoon leader of a Military Police unit stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. His unit had been there since the fall of Baghdad. Their mission was to rid Baghdad of the corrupt policeforce, train and institute an honest, trustworthy command.
Cut to January 2005...
Years of surgeries, too numerous to count, exterior cages holding his left leg together and finally fusion of his ankle resulted in constant pain. A man, no longer a boy, had a life-changing injury. Once active and athletic, he could no longer run or even walk without pain.
After the IED ripped through the left side of Stephen's body, he was airlifted to a military hospital in Germany. The medical team stabilized the organic puzzle that used to be his left leg; surgeries would have to wait until he reached Walter Reed in the United States. The surgeries these doctors performed were targeted at saving his life. Both lungs collapsed and an infection set in...one that grips every soldier injured in the Middle East. His lean body dropped forty pounds of muscle mass, leaving him waif-like. His brown hair now had the gray of stress and years of experience...even if the years were compressed into one.
Stephen spent 2004 working on his upper body strength. He wanted his former body and it's strength back. He talked to many veterans, therapists and doctors, all to prepare himself for the decision he would make.
On January 12, 2005, Stephen's left leg was amputated below the knee. By removing the limb, (once a beautiful, healthy part of his body...now just flesh coating metal rods and pins) he gained his life back. His future still held multiple surgeries, honing the stump for various medical reasons; but the useless limb was now replaced by technology. Stephen's life was just beginning.
Over the next couple years, he became active with DVA (Disabled Veterans of America) learning to ski, riding his bicycle through a portion of a cross country ride to raise awareness for disabled veterans, along with many more experiences. One of his legs (you see, he gave up one organic limb for multiple "bionic" limbs!) was designed for running. And run, he did. Stephen would go on to participate in many 5K runs in support of DVA.
Present day...
Stephen's life is full. He works for the Department of Defense after retiring from the Army. He found the woman of his dreams and is marrying her in October of this year. They are living a loving, active, happy life. Nicole doesn't "see" his bionic limb. A leg is a leg to her. That's right "daughter," that's right. She told me just yesterday how blessed she is to have found such a wonderful man to be her husband and the father of her children. And I know that Stephen feels the same.
My prayer, a mother's prayer, for my son has always been that he will grow up to be happy and healthy, a good, honest and kind man. I prayed that he would find a good woman to share his life and that her family would embrace and love him. That prayer is answered.
On this Memorial Day...
Thank you for listening to my story. As you can imagine, there is much more to it, but I wanted to share this part of my life on this Memorial Day blog.
Thank you to every VETERAN. These men and women do what needs to be done to keep us safe from harm. Stephen wanted to serve in the Army, and he isn't sorry that he did. In fact, he was upset that he couldn't return to be with his men for the remainder of their tour of duty. I didn't try to stop him from enlisting. Why should I try to quash his aspirations? In fact, he was the perfect dynamic: physically fit, intelligent, educated and skilled. At the time, he did not have a girlfriend, wife or family to lose. When I thought of what type of soldier I would want protecting me, he fit that image.
Stephen's story, and those of his military unit are told in a book written by Mark DePue, "Patrolling Baghdad, A Military Police Company and the War in Iraq." Stephen's chapter is chapter 13.
Please pray for our men and women in uniform.
I am proudly:
...MOTHER of a VETERAN
...WIFE of a VETERAN
...DAUGHTER of a VETERAN
...SISTER of a VETERAN
...AUNT of a VETERAN
...NIECE of a VETERAN
...DAUGHTER-IN-LAW of a VETERAN
...COUSIN of a VETERAN
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
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Please support Race for Hope - DC on May 3, 2009
The 5k run/walk will raise money for brain tumors and brain cancer cures.
My sweet daughter-in-law-to-be, Nicole, is running for the second year in support of her good friend, Jaime. Jaime suffered a brain tumor three years ago. Thankfully it was not malignant. Within a brief period of time, the tumor recurred...again, not malignant.
Thank you for your support.
For information, please click on the link below:
Race for Hope - DC on May 3, 2009
tatanana
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- Member Since: 5/25/2008
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