Tag: Omaha Beach

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The Heroes From D-Day 1944 Had Fearful Moments When They parachuted in.

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Military news…

NATO fighter jets intercept Russian planes over Black and Baltic seas
NATO fighter jets positioned around the Baltic and Black seas scrambled multiple times over four days to track and intercept Russian aircraft flying near allied airspace, NATO said Friday.

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National Guard soldiers work again with Ukrainian troops they trained before Russian invasion

Florida National Guard soldiers who trained troops in Ukraine before Russia’s invasion are now training Ukrainian forces again outside the war-torn country, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday.

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Confronting Russia will deter China, says Japanese defense minister

A strong international response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is critical to deterring China from embarking on territorial conquests in Taiwan or the South China Sea, said Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.

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North Korea fires suspected submarine-launched ballistic missile, South’s military says
North Korea fired what is suspected to be a short-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast, according to a message sent to reporters from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday.

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Dozens feared dead in bombing of Ukrainian school

Scores of Ukrainians were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb flattened a school where about 90 people were taking shelter in the basement, while Ukrainian fighters held out inside Mariupol’s steel plant as Moscow’s forces apparently raced to capture the city ahead of Russia’s Victory Day holiday.

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Ukraine is rebuilding cities as fast as Russia destroyed them

The rebuilding effort is imbued with a sense of optimism that Ukraine will outlast Russia’s assault. Volunteers are mostly carrying it out, allowing government funds to remain focused on the war.

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Last Ukrainian fighters in Mariupol vow to fight ‘as long as we are alive’

Civilians in Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant have been evacuated, but fighters who remain there say there is no way out.

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What follows is some information about some Band of Brothers who lived right in my home town. These soldiers fought in WWII and parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day June of 1944. They were called Easy company. They are part of my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.

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Band of Brothers in my home town.

One of the honors I shared was right in my home town of Salem, Oregon. Three members of the Band of Brothers live close to me. Two of the three died before I started this book.

One name was Leo Boyle and high school teacher and then the special education director. He was the least known. He died in 1997. That was four years before the Emmy winning television series aired.

Only Bill Wingett was still living when I started this book. He was in a military assisted facility in Lebanon, Oregon. I was ready to go interview him and the pandemic hit. He died before I could get to him.

He is part of the ever shrinking Easy Company of the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne, which most Americans know as the Band of Brothers.

I also personally met another Band of Brothers in Minneapolis, Wisconsin.  I bought his book that shares many of the actual happenings in WWII that was done by this group.

A list shows that there are only 14 Brothers left, but it is outdated.

Easy company was involved of some of the most brutal on D-Day over 75 years ago. They also fought during Market Garden-the battle of Bastogne, and the Battle of the Bulge.

But the whole story about them got started on June 6th, 1944. They were assigned a night jump behind enemy lines several hours before the invasion.

Wingett said that one day was a “red-letter day.”

As important as that day was some details faded for him who just turned 97 during this interview for the Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon. The interviewer was Capi Lynn.

“I may not be able to dig up some of the stories, but I lived them,” Wingett said. He really didn’t want to tell his own stories.

Years ago he described D-Day like this, “We got in an airplane in England and we jumped out of the Damn thing in France, and the fight began. There’s not much more to say about that.”

His group jumped into darkness in the early morning hours.

The target was Utah Beach. The allies divided the 60-mile coastal stretch into five code-named sectors for the invasion. Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sward were the others.

Wingett landed where the Germans flooded the area as a defensive tactic. Many paratroopers were killed by gun-fire before they hit the ground. And many more drowned.

Wingett struggled in the water That day. He only survived because he was slowly able to shed much of the 150 pounds of gear he was carrying, including a main and reserve chutes, weapons, ammunition, and rations, between breaths of air above water.

Malarkey from Salem, jumped roughly in the same area and landed in a tree. He dangled in his chute until he got his bearings, then cut himself loose and fell to the ground.

He went on to serve more time on the front lines than any Easy Company soldiers. He received the Bronze Star for his bravery in the Battle of Brecourt Manor.

Boyle also parachuted into Normandy, where he was wounded and evacuated to England. Boyle was later promoted to Staff Sergeant, and served as commanding officer Richard Winters’ right hand man before being severely wounded during Operation Market Garden. He was discharged after nine months in various hospitals.

Wingett said he never had a close call even though he was wounded three times.

I wasn’t able to see all of his medals because of the Pandemic. He had a purple heart with two oak leaf clusters. This was along with the many medals, ribbons, badges, and patches displayed in a frame on the wall in the apartment where he lived at the Oregon Veteran’s Home in Lebanon, Oregon.

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There are more parts of the book dedicated to these heroes from WWII. Come back of ten to check them out. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on Subscribe. When you all future posts will come directly to your inbox.

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Checking in on you. How are you doing? Is everything going OK, or are you struggling?

FEAR NOT!

There are over 14,640 veterans on this site who have your back.

Here is what I am asking you to do…please share this site with as many other veterans as you can. It has helped so many.

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If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, GET HELP!!

Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highly qualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until they know you are OK.

1-800-273-8255…texting 838255.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!

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June 6th was the 75th Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy

It has been a very long time since I last posted. I can make up a bunch of excuses, but the bottom line is that I got burnt out and needed a break.

I am fresh and ready to write every day again.

Today’s post will be mostly about the invasion of Normandy 75 years ago. I have interesting stats pertained to the day:

156,000 troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and many other allies partook during this invasion.

5 beaches along the 50 mile stretch of Normandy coast were targeted for landing, with the allied code names of Utah, Omaha, Gold, and Sword.

6,000 landing ships and crafts. .

50,000 vehicles were used.

11,000 Planes were used.

12,004 total killed , wounded, or missing. (United States 8,230, United Kingdom, 2,700, and Canada 1,074)

326,000 who reached the beaches by June 11th.

496, 777 WWII veterans who are still alive as of 2018.

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This was a horrible day for lost soldiers, but in the end it was much needed and led to the victory for the allies later.

If you were one of the soldiers who fought on that day, God bless you and you are a bonafide hero. You truly are the “Great Generation.”

If for some reason you are struggling with PTSD, TBI, depression, war wounds, etc, Please get help. Here is a phone number you can call to get immediate help:

(877-247-4645)

In closing, I hope you like these type of posts. If you want to receive future posts without having to come back to this site, just go to the top of this page and subscribe. then you will receive every post in you inbox as they come.

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Tom Hanks is Making Another War Movie

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Doug Bolton, the founder of the blog, Signs of Hope, which is at www.dailysignsofhope.com, has written a new book, “Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.” It reaches out the many military and veterans who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, rejections, and the many other usual suspects. There are 22 military connected suicides every day. That is almost one every hour. Doug wants to help stop those statistics.  

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This is a new social network just for veterans. I joined it and made instant friendships with veterans who want to talk about what I want to talk about. Please check it out. You will be glad you did. 

https://www.rallypoint.com/join/spc-douglas-bolton

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Tom Hanks has been in many movies, but he has also been in military movies, that are outstanding. Tom Hanks discusses his new movie, No Better Place to Die. 

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Tom Hanks Is Teaming Up With Vet Filmmaker Dale Dye to Make A Veteran-Powered WWII Drama

Tom Hanks has signed on to both act in and executive-produce No Better Place To Die, an upcoming World War II drama about the airborne Normandy landings on D-Day, written and directed by Marine vet and seasoned technical adviser Dale Dye.

The news of Hanks’ addition is good for U.S. military veterans, and not just for World War II film buffs: Dye is looking to cast up 50 veterans as actors, including as many as 35 speaking roles, with department heads giving vets priority for support positions on set.

“When I say department heads, I’m talking about set design, costumes, props, armory, hair and makeup, and all the other support elements that will engineer making a movie,” Dye told Task & Purpose. “I’m going to tell all those department heads that veterans get priority, so folks who want to be technicians in the film industry.”

“I’m going to try to get them their shot on this film, also,” he added. ”I’m trying to help guys who really want to do this for a living.”

The movie, written and directed by Dye, follows a band of airborne soldiers scattered across Normandy during their drop ahead of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. A mishmash of troops from different units, they folded into a single rifle company to seize and hold La Fière bridge, a crucial causeway which connected the French countryside with the Normandy beachheads, against German reinforcements headed for Omaha and Utah beach. Had that company not held, the beach landings might have been a catastrophic failure.

“What I discovered, writ large, was that this was an example of what happens in our military when all the big plans, laid by all the generals and colonels, become victims of the exigency of war, that is, when they go right in the crapper,” Dye told Task & Purpose. “It’s the sergeants and the young lieutenants, and the PFCs and the corporals, who cobble together, knowing what has to be done, and just go out there and do it against all odds.”

Dye wrote the script in 2011, but has struggled to find backers for the film, until now. In addition to signing Hanks to produce and act, Creative Artists Agency and Gersh, are arranging financing for the film.  (No Better Place To Die should not be confused with Hanks’ other WWII film venture, Greyhound, which is looking to cast vets as extras.)

“The Hollywood procedure for putting a film together, especially an expensive film — and we’re a $30 million picture, that’s a lot like herding cats or trying to get snakes to follow a straight path — it’s a very difficult extended process,” Dye said. “But we’re right in the middle of it and gaining a lot of traction.”

 

Though casting hasn’t started yet, Dye hopes to begin filming this summer, with the goal of a 2019 release date, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In total, Dye said he hopes to get 40 to 50 veterans in front of the camera of which, 28 and 35 will be speaking roles. “Once I’m certain that we have the money we need, and we have the main actors that we need …. then we can start the process of auditioning the real veterans for the rest of the roles,” Dye said.

A decorated Marine combat veteran and a three-time Purple Heart recipient, whose career included tours in Vietnam as an infantryman and a combat correspondent, Dye retired from the Marines 1984. And in the years that followed he’s leveraged that experience as a military technical adviser through his company Warriors Inc., bringing authenticity and emotional realism to the projects he’s worked on, which include Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, and Platoon, among others.

In terms of realism, getting all the little details right — how to hold a weapon, wear a uniform, or knowing what ribbons go on what side of your service jacket — is important, sure, but it’s “ultimately superficial” Dye said.

While it differs by era, theater, or unit, there’s a way of carrying oneself, of talking, and behaving — an attitude among service members that’s timeless and universal. And that’s what makes the difference between a technically accurate war movie, and a realistic one — or, better yet, a relatable one.

“When I was first motivated to even start as a military adviser to movies and television, that’s part of what I was trying to do, to bring that understanding, that empathy, that intimate knowledge, to actors, who for the most part, especially these days, had absolutely no experience with it,” Dye told Task & Purpose. “I felt if I could do that, if I could make them walk a mile in our boots … their portrayals of who we are, what we are, how we act, how we relate to each other, how we think, how we feel, those things would come across.”

In addition to surrounding the film’s actors with scores of veterans, Dye said he plans to put stars through his standard training regimen: a three week boot camp in austere conditions meant to recreate the setting and environment the service members’ portrayed in the film had to endure

“We’ll do my standard evolution that I do for every film that I work on,” Dye said. “But I’m hoping that in addition to that, that we’ll have a process of osmosis that’s going on the whole time, where you get these real veterans next to the actors, and they can observe now, what they’ve been told, and what they’ve been forced to do in training.”

“They’ll see the reality of it, how these people think, how these people feel, how they talk and how they relate to one another,” he added. “I’m hoping for a big dose of osmosis in that regard.”

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I look forward to this movie because I think it will authentic, and it will help us understand what the soldiers went through.

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If you are a veterans and feel lost and battling PTSD, TBI, depression, anxiety, fear, hopelessness, or many other of the usual suspects, I feel your pain. I have been there. Just know that you are not alone. You are not worthless. You are important.

If you need immediate help call this help line:

 1-800-273-8255 

Don’t do another minute alone.

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Remember:

You are never alone.

You are never forsaken.

You are never unloved.

And above all…never, ever, give up!