Friday Smiles 384: Back to the Eisenhower Museum

As of 6 p.m. Thursday, I still have no internet, but my phone is back on.  I nearly jumped out of my skin when the phone rang and AT&T let me know my phone was back, but my internet still had problems.  Apparently the grid that feeds the neighborhood has been sabotaged.  The repairman (not sexist, simply the caller's word) had repaired what he thought was the problem only to learn that several parts had been removed, including a crucial board that was needed to connect to the main server.  Now we wait longer, apparently.  Hopefully, I will be back online this weekend sometime.  I've asked three people to link me, so I'm hoping one of them will do so.  I want to thank Sally for loaning me her iPad device, which I HATE.  Now for the normally scheduled post.

It's Friday and time to join Annie (at A Stitch in Time) along with the wonderful ladies at Friday Smiles.

D-Day has arrived.

As I mentioned last week, this is the first of three short films and this one documents D-Day, including its planning.

The first film, D-Day: Leading to Victory, explains the challenges of organizing the Invasion of Normandy and the impact of the successful invasion on turning the tide of the war.

D-Day, also known as Operation Overlord, is often considered synonymous with the Normandy invasion.

As I mentioned last week, Ike called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.”  More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by end of the day, the Allies gained a foot-hold on the beaches.  The cost in lives on D-Day was high. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded, but their sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 Soldiers to begin the slow, hard journey across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler’s troops. Note the various boats, ships, and what appears to be a bridge in the photo above.

What looked like a bridge, was actually one of the Mulberry Harbors, a feat of engineering that was so outlandish, many felt it would not be possible. Manufacturing of the components was completed in just 6 months, by hundreds of contractors, in dozens of locations, under wartime conditions, and a serious shortage of skilled labor.

The Mulberry Harbors (shown in the lower left photo) were two artificial harbors designed and constructed by the British in World War II to facilitate the unloading of supply ships off the coast of Normandy immediately following the invasion on D-Day.  One harbor, known as Mulberry A, was constructed at Omaha Beach in the American sector, and the other, Mulberry B, was built at Gold Beach in the British sector.  Each harbor, when fully operational, had the capacity to move 7,000 tons of vehicles and supplies per day from ship to shore.  Each Mulberry harbor consisted of roughly 6 miles (10 km) of flexible steel roadways that floated on steel or concrete pontoons.

Although it's hard to read, Operation PLUTO was vital to the war effort.  Napoleon is  credited with saying an army marches on its stomach, but in both World War I and World War II, an army runs on its gas and oil.  Ike realized they had to get oil and gas to the beaches as quickly as possible.  PLUTO was the code-name/acronym for “Pipeline Under-water Transport Of Oil."

Once the beaches and beachheads were secured, moving inland was slow and difficult.  Finally there was a gap and Patton broke through it with his troops.

About a week after the beachheads were secured, Chiefs of Staff toured the hard won Normandy beachheads.

You can better read about it above.

Ike visited the beachheads and the troops, much like he did before the invasion.  His presence was always a boost to the troops' morale.

Ike talked to the soldiers before they worked their way toward Paris.

Between Patton and Omar Bradley, Paris was soon liberated.  I read somewhere that Hitler had ordered Paris defended to the last man, and demanded that the city not fall into Allied hands except as “a field of ruins.” von Choltitz dutifully began laying explosives under Paris’ bridges and many of its landmarks, but disobeyed an order to complete the destruction. He did not want to go down in history as the man who had destroyed the “City of Light,” Europe’s most beloved city.

I hope you can read this, because the spotlights overhead were dreadful and blinding.

Ike used a number of staff cars including a Packard and this Cadillac that’s on display.

This was his favorite staff car, though.  It's a 1942 Cadillac Fleetwood made by Chrysler.

Now that Paris was liberated, Generals Patton and Montgomery persuaded Ike to take Berlin.

Ike has often been called the peacemaker.  

We could use his wisdom now.

Here are a few more "politically correct" school funnies.

You’re not shy…
You’re “conversationally selective.”

You don’t talk a lot…
You’re “abundantly verbal.”

It’s not called “gossip” anymore…
It’s “the speedy transmission of near-factual information.”

The food at the school cafeteria isn’t awful…
It’s “digestively challenged.”

You’re not being sent to the principal’s office…
You’re “going on a mandatory field trip to the administrative building.”

Thanks so much for your visit.  I realize some of you wish I'd move away from this museum, while others are learning something new each week about this great leader.  

Now let's head over to Annie's because she knows how to put a smile on everyone's faces.  And whatever you do, please don't forget to start your weekend off right with a few Friday Smiles of your own.  And remember, if you would like to play along, Annie would love to have you join us.