Gilliatt Gurgle
06-06-2010, 06:51 AM
"Lest we Forget"
You may call me a sentimental fool, but such moments in history have always stirred me emotionally.
Here is a moving video I found accompanied by the score from “Band of Brothers”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg9pa0zwezI&feature=related
A small D-Day contribution from Texas:
Battleship “Texas” BB-35
A photo I took on the way home from a graduation ceremony in Galveston a few weeks ago:
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/tabuka1/KPH%20and%20Texas/BattleshipTexas.jpg
Navy Hymn – “Eternal Father Strong to Save”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iu8y2pvuRg&feature=related
The following excerpt is from Wikipedia regarding the battleship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35) :
“…D-Day
At 03:00 on 6 June 1944, Texas and the British cruiser Glasgow entered the Omaha Western fire support lane and into her initial firing position 12,000 yd (11,000 m) offshore near Pointe du Hoc at 04:41, as part of a combined total US-British flotilla of 702 ships, including seven battleships and five heavy cruisers.
The initial bombardment commenced at 05:50, against the site of six 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, atop Pointe du Hoc. When Texas ceased firing at the Pointe at 0624, 255 14 in (360 mm) shells had been fired in 34 minutes — an average rate of fire of 7.5 shells per minute, which was the longest sustained period of firing for Texas in World War II. While shells from the main guns were hitting Pointe du Hoc, the 5 in (130 mm) guns were firing on the area leading up to Exit D-1, the route to get inland from western Omaha. At 06:26, Texas shifted her main battery gunfire to the western edge of Omaha Beach, around the town of Vierville. Meanwhile, her secondary battery went to work on another target on the western end of "Omaha" beach, a ravine laced with strong points to defend an exit road. Later, under control of airborne spotters, she moved her major-caliber fire inland to interdict enemy reinforcement activities and to destroy batteries and other strong points farther inland.
By noon, the assault on Omaha Beach was in danger of collapsing due to stronger than anticipated German resistance and the inability of the Allies to get needed armor and artillery units on the beach. In an effort to help the infantry fighting to take Omaha, some of the destroyers providing gunfire support closed near the shoreline, almost grounding themselves to fire on the Germans. Texas also closed to the shoreline; at 12:23, Texas closed to only 3,000 yd (2,700 m) from the water's edge, firing her main guns with very little elevation to clear the western exit D-1, in front of Vierville. Among other things, she fired upon snipers and machine gun nests hidden in a defile just off the beach.…“
Gilliatt
You may call me a sentimental fool, but such moments in history have always stirred me emotionally.
Here is a moving video I found accompanied by the score from “Band of Brothers”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg9pa0zwezI&feature=related
A small D-Day contribution from Texas:
Battleship “Texas” BB-35
A photo I took on the way home from a graduation ceremony in Galveston a few weeks ago:
http://i963.photobucket.com/albums/ae114/tabuka1/KPH%20and%20Texas/BattleshipTexas.jpg
Navy Hymn – “Eternal Father Strong to Save”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iu8y2pvuRg&feature=related
The following excerpt is from Wikipedia regarding the battleship: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35) :
“…D-Day
At 03:00 on 6 June 1944, Texas and the British cruiser Glasgow entered the Omaha Western fire support lane and into her initial firing position 12,000 yd (11,000 m) offshore near Pointe du Hoc at 04:41, as part of a combined total US-British flotilla of 702 ships, including seven battleships and five heavy cruisers.
The initial bombardment commenced at 05:50, against the site of six 15 cm (5.9 in) guns, atop Pointe du Hoc. When Texas ceased firing at the Pointe at 0624, 255 14 in (360 mm) shells had been fired in 34 minutes — an average rate of fire of 7.5 shells per minute, which was the longest sustained period of firing for Texas in World War II. While shells from the main guns were hitting Pointe du Hoc, the 5 in (130 mm) guns were firing on the area leading up to Exit D-1, the route to get inland from western Omaha. At 06:26, Texas shifted her main battery gunfire to the western edge of Omaha Beach, around the town of Vierville. Meanwhile, her secondary battery went to work on another target on the western end of "Omaha" beach, a ravine laced with strong points to defend an exit road. Later, under control of airborne spotters, she moved her major-caliber fire inland to interdict enemy reinforcement activities and to destroy batteries and other strong points farther inland.
By noon, the assault on Omaha Beach was in danger of collapsing due to stronger than anticipated German resistance and the inability of the Allies to get needed armor and artillery units on the beach. In an effort to help the infantry fighting to take Omaha, some of the destroyers providing gunfire support closed near the shoreline, almost grounding themselves to fire on the Germans. Texas also closed to the shoreline; at 12:23, Texas closed to only 3,000 yd (2,700 m) from the water's edge, firing her main guns with very little elevation to clear the western exit D-1, in front of Vierville. Among other things, she fired upon snipers and machine gun nests hidden in a defile just off the beach.…“
Gilliatt