Dwight D. Eisenhower
Thirty-Fourth President of the United States (1953-1961)
*Five-Star General of the Army - World War II
Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe
First Supreme Commander of NATO
*Five-Star General of the Army - World War II
Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe
First Supreme Commander of NATO
*Note:
Five-Star General of the Army (war time rank) is very rare and the U.S. has only had 5 generals awarded the rank: Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, George C. Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Omar N. Bradley, Henry H. Arnold.
Five-Star Fleet Admirals of the United States Navy: William D. Leahy, Ernest J. King, Chester W. Nimitz, William F. Halsey, Jr.
George Washington holds the highest rank in U.S. military history, "Five-Star General of the Armies of the United States," (note the plural use of "armies") which was awarded posthumously.
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He had previously been a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe; he had responsibility for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45 from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of NATO.Eisenhower was of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry and was reared in a large family in Kansas by parents with a robust work ethic and religious background. As one of six sons, he was conditioned by a competitive atmosphere which instilled self-reliance. He attended and graduated from West Point and later married and had two sons. After World War II, Eisenhower served as Army Chief of Staff under President Harry S. Truman, then assumed the post of President at Columbia University » Full Bio
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Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Speech 'Order of the Day'
Delivered this Day, June 6, 1944
This Day In History 69 Years Ago
June 6, 1944
D-Day: Allies Invade France
D-Day: Allies Invade France
World War II
The cemetery is located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach (one of the landing beaches of the Normandy Invasion) and the English Channel. It covers 70 ha (172 acres), and contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in World War II. Included are graves of Army Air Corps crews shot down over France as early as 1942.
On this day in 1944, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the go-ahead for the largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord, code named D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France.
By daybreak, 18,000 British and American parachutists were already on the ground. At 6:30 a.m., American troops came ashore at Utah and Omaha beaches. At Omaha, the U.S. First Division battled high seas, mist, mines, burning vehicles—and German coastal batteries, including an elite infantry division, which spewed heavy fire. Many wounded Americans ultimately drowned in the high tide. British divisions, which landed at Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, and Canadian troops also met with heavy German fire, but by the end of the day they were able to push inland.
[...]
The D-Day invasion has been the basis for several movies, from The Longest Day (1962), which boasted an all-star cast that included Richard Burton, Sean Connery, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, to Saving Private Ryan (1998), which includes some of the most grippingly realistic war scenes ever filmed, captured in the style of the famous Robert Capa still photos of the actual invasion. » Full Article
Live Footage: The Invasion Of Normandy, June 6, 1944
Significant Events This Day In History
» HistoryIron Maiden: The Longest Day
Scenes From 'Saving Private Ryan'
Lyrics
In the gloom the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide throw evil to its fate
All summers long the drills to build the machine
To turn men from flesh and blood to steel
From paper soldiers to bodies on the beach
From summer sands to Armageddon's reach
Overlord, your master not your God
The enemy coast dawning grey with scud
These wretched souls puking, shaking fear
To take a bullet for those who sent them here
The world's alight, the cliffs erupt in flame
No escape, remorseless shrapnel rains
Drowning men no chance for a warriors fate
A choking death, enter hell's gates
Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
All the water is red
With the blood of the dead
Although I'm still alive, pray to God I survive
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
The rising dead, faces bloated torn
They are relieved, the living wait their turn
Your number's up, the bullet's got your name
You still go on, to hell and back again
Valhalla waits, valkyries rise and fall
The warrior tombs lie open for us all
A ghostly hand reaches through the veil
Blood and sand, we will prevail
Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire
And we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red
With the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive, pray to God I survive
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through
How long on this longest day
'Til we finally make it through