On this the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Landings, which started the long process of recapturing Europe from Nazi domination, it is right that I put up something that at least nods to the great achievement and enormous sacrifice that commenced in earnest on 6th June 1944.
There are many people who are alive today because so many other brave men and women gave their lives for a future free of the murderous Hitler regime, that had squeezed the life out of much of Europe.
We should never forget what might have been, had the Nazis repulsed the landing, or of they had not been taken in by elaborate Allied misinformation projects, which kept a lot of Nazi armour away from Normandy, or even if they had not had to devote so many resources to the Russian front. It could have been slaughter on the beaches for no profit, if the dice had fallen in other ways.
Therefore tonight’s film will be one with a D-Day theme. It is Ike – Countdown to D-Day, made in 2007 and stars Tom Sellick as Dwight Eisenhower. It shows the preparations for the recapture of Europe and Eisenhower’s part in those preparations. It is, I will admit, not as good a movie as ‘The Longest Day’ made in 1962, which I would have liked to put up but that is not in the public domain, but Ike – Countdown to D-Day is still an acceptable dramatic representation of the 90 days that led up to Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord.
This film is in 9 ten minute chunks from YouTube that play sequentially and the film can be accessed by clicking on the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wsIx6FBbS8&list=PL98E35C9184BFF647&feature=share
I hope you enjoy the film, I saw it myself a few months back. I hope that people will remember those who died in these operations and also those who came back scarred in body and in mind. The right that we have in Europe to think for ourselves and have basic freedoms, was bought for us on Sword, Gold, Utah, Omaha and Juno beaches, by ordinary blokes, doing extraordinary things.
This freedom that we have been given is valuable, we must ensure in our turn that this freedom is not lost or surrendered.
