On June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces made up of American, British, and Canadian troops invaded the beaches of Normandy, France in order to fight the Nazi forces during World War II. This day is known in America as D-Day, which is the day on which a military operation takes place.
In the West, D-Day is remembered as a turning point in WWII. Then, Allied Expeditionary Forces began to defeat the Germans who had already conquered France and most of Northern Europe.
The invasion was carried out in two ways: an amphibious landing and an airborne assault. In an amphibious landing, soldiers ride on boats with wheels, like a car or tank. The amphibious vehicles land on shore, the soldiers get out, attack, and try to win the beach. In an airborne assault, soldiers fly in airplanes and then jump out using parachutes and hopefully land safely on the ground before beginning their attack.
The Allies had to successfully overcome many obstacles to ensure a successful invasion. Perhaps the most fundamental was the weather. To allow for the amphibious assault on the beaches, the timing of the tides had to be correct. To ensure this, the Allies had to wait for a full moon so they could land without worrying about anti-landing obstacles put in place by the Germans. The Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower who was later elected to be the 34th President of the United States.
In his radio address to the troops before the invasion, he tasked them with destroying the German war machine, ending Nazi oppression of the peoples of Europe, and securing the freedom of people all over the world. His tone in the radio address is surprisingly calm considering the difficulty of the mission that was in front of him.
Today, many Americans remember with pride the courageous efforts of the soldiers who fought, many dying, in order to protect the world from Nazi expansion.
As a boy, on June 6th, veterans from my community would come to my school and talk about their experience in the war. The main message they communicated was one I have learned well during my year in Kinmen, where invasion was a constant threat for decades. This message was that we often forget the sacrifices that have been made to secure our freedoms. Every year they said, freedom is not free.