80 anni fa , il D-Day
James C. Rutledge: io non so chi fosse, ma so che è venuto in Europa a fare qualche cosa che doveva fare ed è grazie a lui, e a tanti come lui se io son vissuto in un paese libero. Grazie amico, grazie a te e a tutti i tuoi compagni.
James C. Rutledge: I don’t know who he was, but I do know that he came to Europe to do some things that he had to do and it is thanks to him, and to many like him that I have lived in a free country. Thank you my friend, thank you and all your comrades.
Nel 1987 durante un viaggio in Olanda ho visitato il Cimitero Militare Americano di Maastrich dove ho scattato queste foto. Ricordo ancora oggi l’emozione, la commozione che mi ha preso pensando a tutti questi soldati che si sono sacrificati per noi, per la nostra libertà. Come semplice omaggio personale in questi giorni in cui si ricorda lo sbarco in Normandia ho cercato nel mio archivio queste foto e le ho appese alla mia libreria.
In 1987 during a trip to Holland I visited the American Military Cemetery in Maastrich where I took these photos. I still remember to this day the emotion, the emotion that gripped me thinking about all these soldiers who sacrificed for us, for our freedom. As a simple personal tribute in these days when we remember the Normandy landings, I searched my archives for these photos and hung them on my bookshelf.
Purtroppo nel paese dove vivo molti, troppi se ne sono dimenticati. Che tristezza.
Unfortunately, in the country where I live many, too many have forgotten about it. So sad.
Come sempre suggerisco di cliccare le foto per vederle ingrandite. Se avete commenti sono benvenuti, grazie. As always I suggest clicking the photos to see them enlarged. If you have comments they are welcome, thank you.
the quiet photographer 
Thank you for honoring the sacrifices of these young men. What is even more disturbing than the amnesia of your country, is the complete lack of understanding of Americans about what once made America great.
These are times in which people do not remember, do not study, do not think very much…they just repeat slogans…
It’s bad…
Thank you so much for remembering, and for offering us such a fine post. I recently have become more aware of the logistics involved in the operation, and those were as remarkable as the bravery of the personnel involved.
Each year, I also remember the election of General Eisenhower as President. I was six years old when he won election in 1952, and like most of my classmates, I wore little red, white, and blue “I Like Ike” buttons for months.
I think this was a special operation but also a special moment in history: a large part of the world joined together to fight a common enemy and defend freedom.
I am always a little embarassed to speak about WWII because my Dad although he escaped from Germany because of the nazis he was later forced to fight with the Germans, fortunately he was sent to a whole other part of the world and never involved in direct combat.
Nevertheless according to what my mom said from the war he came back much changed. This is also a story to think about, maybe I will tell it someday….
Thank you, Robert, for an excellent post on the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. It is a poignant remembrance and probably the last of the ten-year anniversaries with surviving veterans attending.
We can only hope that annual events in remembrance of D-Day and the end of World War II will continue.
Love your photographs!
Dave
Thanks Dave, much appreciated.
I watched a few days ago a well made docu about it and also very impressed by the logistic effort to coordinate such a huge operatoion.
Again, as European I can only say Thanks !