OT: D-day hybrid before/after pics

[firerescuefin]

Saw this today…thought some would appreciate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/06/06/d-day-landing-sites-pictures_n_5458026.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

[93legendti]

Pretty cool. Thanks.

[malcolm]

very cool, great post

[gasman]

Thank you for the reminder of why we enjoy the many benefits of life.

[texbike]

Cool pictures.

70 years! Wow!!! Hat's off to those that served. Our family had two that made the landing. Fortunately both made it through.

Texbike

[thwart]

… that image of the girl in the bikini 'working on her tan' juxtaposed with the injured soldier being helped out of the water…

[pbarry]

The contrast of disparate moments is surreal. Here's a similar piece:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2014/jun/01/d-day-landings-scenes-in-1944-and-now-interactive

[Saint Vitus]

Thanks for posting this, for more images of this nature check out the "Ghosts of History" page on Facebook (if you do social media), an excellent job doing this very concept and in many other areas of the war. Also Shawn Clover began a great series of images in 2010 with the San Francisco quake, found here: http://shawnclover.com/fadeto1906.

His images were the first of this kind of concept I'd seen, he works diligently to match up angle and focal length to get as close to the original perspective as possible. Note on some of the HuffPo shots, the lens distortion and angle of incidence creates a distortion at the time/space interface....

[93legendti]

Thankfully, HBO ran all 10 episodes of Band of Brothers today. I've probably seen it 20x, but I enjoyed it once again.

[93legendti]

Good story:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dday-70th-anniversary-veteran-89-found-in-normandy-after-he-was-reported-missing-from-care-home-9501638.html

[tiretrax]

Thank you fo posting

[Louis]

Click-and-drag split images similar to those posted above:

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/visuel/2014/06/06/les-plages-du-debarquement-d-hier-a-aujourd-hui_4433146_3224.html

[ojingoh]

Me and Ms. O visited the American cemetery back in the fall of 2006, it's overwhelming, as it's so peaceful now, but the areas around there still have many 'monuments' to WWII still extant. Pillboxes, tank traps, remnants of Mulberry harbors, all kinds of cement wreckage. The cemetery itself overlooks Omaha and Utah beaches. If you're ever up there (Normandy/Brittany,) go.

[Dead Man]

We haven't fought a justifiable war since 1776, if then. I'm simply disgusted at the staggering loss of life in the name of money and power by fat bastards in high places.

But for the men who did the fighting... Explaining what things like D-Day are to my sons still chokes me up, thinking about the sacrifices that those men made for their countries, and reasons given to them at the time. Brave, brave men... and those who didn't come home were the lucky ones.

God bless 'em. Never forget 'em. They'll have my deepest respect, until the day I breath my last.

[Louis]

We haven't fought a justifiable war since 1776, if then. I'm simply disgusted at the staggering loss of life in the name of money and power by fat bastards in high places.

Yeah, we should have let the Brits and the Russians deal with the Germans on their own. And when attacked by the Japanese we could have ceded everything west of the Mississippi to them. I'm sure the world would have been a much better place with the Hirohito commanding China and the Pacific and Hitler Europe and the Atlantic. We would have been nice, comfy and safe at home.

[Dale Alan]

...the thread goes negative. Why ?

[Black Dog]

Yeah, we should have let the Brits and the Russians deal with the Germans on their own. And when attacked by the Japanese we could have ceded everything west of the Mississippi to them. I'm sure the world would have been a much better place with the Hirohito commanding China and the Pacific and Hitler Europe and the Atlantic. We would have been nice, comfy and safe at home.

With all due respect Louis I think you missed his point. All of the things you mentioned would not have happened if the political leaders did not send young men to war for their ambitions. If hitler et al did not start wars others would not have to send their young to die to free people. Let's keep this about the brave young men and women who sacrificed so much.

[93legendti]

We haven't fought a justifiable war since 1776, if then. I'm simply disgusted at the staggering loss of life in the name of money and power by fat bastards in high places.

But for the men who did the fighting... Explaining what things like D-Day are to my sons still chokes me up, thinking about the sacrifices that those men made for their countries, and reasons given to them at the time. Brave, brave men... and those who didn't come home were the lucky ones.

God bless 'em. Never forget 'em. They'll have my deepest respect, until the day I breath my last.

Thanks for ruining the day.

Who knew that when you are attacked and war is declared against you, you aren't justified in defending yourself?

My Father was born in Europe and then came here in the 30's...He fought at DDay and the Bulge, etc. and he thought it was justified - his opinion means 1000% more to me than your nonsense.

[Louis]

All of the things you mentioned would not have happened if the political leaders did not send young men to war for their ambitions. If hitler et al did not start wars others would not have to send their young to die to free people.

I hear what you're saying, but that's not what B said.

[malcolm]

We haven't fought a justifiable war since 1776, if then. I'm simply disgusted at the staggering loss of life in the name of money and power by fat bastards in high places.

But for the men who did the fighting... Explaining what things like D-Day are to my sons still chokes me up, thinking about the sacrifices that those men made for their countries, and reasons given to them at the time. Brave, brave men... and those who didn't come home were the lucky ones.

God bless 'em. Never forget 'em. They'll have my deepest respect, until the day I breath my last.

Perspective.

How can any war between civilized peoples be justified? On some plane debate should prevail, no ? However in reality it seldom does.

I'm ashamed to say I'm far less knowledgeable about our own war of independence than WW2, but I have to strongly disagree if for no other reason than the number of peoples involved and the clear distinction between basic right and wrong.

I will offer that WW2 was/is the only war I'm aware of in human history with a more clear right and wrong or good vs evil if you will. If you dissect it you will find hints of money, resources and power as you always will, but right and wrong were clearly defined and an eagerness to participate on an individual level has been unmatched.

There was wanton destruction on all sides and even the good guys committed some heinous acts, but this conflict had a more defined atrocity committed across more geography against more humans than any I can recall. It was matched by a level of human coalescence and sacrifice for a common goal that had never been seen before or since. It was a stark contrast between the best and worst of us and that's why it shouldn't be forgotten.

It saddens me as the participants dwindle and these events of human history becomes just that for most of us, history and stories. I think for most people of that generation and the following generations that actually knew people that were there it was a unique event/conflict and the lessons need never be forgotten.

[93legendti]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sHcJtU9dr6I

[cookietom]

Wish that my Dad WWll veteran see this...survived the war but not cancer.

[Saint Vitus]

I think The B has taken the Smedley Butler view on war and I can respect that, and Malcom makes an excellent rebuttal to The B and takes the high road.

Both are valid points and worth discussing with reasoned responses.

With regards to the topic at hand, a friend's father passed last month. He came ashore with the 95 that day. After the war he studied history, wrote books and saved many historical places in San Diego. One of many of his generation that were imbued with a sense of urgency about life that war imparts on many.

[Louis]

I'm all for pacifism and disarmament, but pacifism in the face of massive aggression or unilateral disarmament vs overwhelming force are not recipes for a lasting civilization.

Yes, I'd like "peace for our time" but it usually takes more than wishing and hoping to make that come true.

[rab]

Thanks for posting, have seen a few of the "then and now" photo essays before and I am always amazed at how many of the buildings are still so unchanged.

Always good to remember, lest we forget how gruesome war can be.

[oldpotatoe]

We haven't fought a justifiable war since 1776, if then. I'm simply disgusted at the staggering loss of life in the name of money and power by fat bastards in high places.

But for the men who did the fighting... Explaining what things like D-Day are to my sons still chokes me up, thinking about the sacrifices that those men made for their countries, and reasons given to them at the time. Brave, brave men... and those who didn't come home were the lucky ones.


God bless 'em. Never forget 'em. They'll have my deepest respect, until the day I breath my last.

??

Spoken like a true civilian who enjoys his present, free lifestyle because of those who did the fighting.

Nobody hates war more than those who must fight it.

Neither Hitler nor Hirohito were fat nor interested in money..power yes.

[Dead Man]

??

Spoken like a true civilian who enjoys his present, free lifestyle because of those who did the fighting.

Nobody hates war more than those who must fight it.

Neither Hitler nor Hirohito were fat nor interested in money..power yes.

I'll show you my dd214 sometime, and my scars.

[firerescuefin]

I'll show you my dd214 sometime, and my scars.

Curious how you would have handled WWII from the Allied position....since you went there.

[cnighbor1]

DT
Little did Hitler know that the computer along with the internet would rule the world and beyond.
Interesting to see flocks of tourists in the towns and beaches of Normandy.
compared to fighting photos it is surreal.

[akelman]

I don't really feel like wading into the fever swamp, but the idea that the War of Independence was somehow more justifiable than the United States's participation in WWII seems odd to me. I'd like to hear more about that line of argument, but only if the usual keyboard commandos aren't going to jump up and down and claim that an internet discussion on an obscure cycling website somehow defiles the memories of those who served.

[akelman]

Also, the question of willingness to serve at an individual level is interesting, and I think it was almost certainly greater during the Civil War. Though it's hard to measure such things, individual Americans, Northerners and Southerners, have likely never been more committed to a war than that one.

[malcolm]

I don't really feel like wading into the fever swamp, but the idea that the War of Independence was somehow more justifiable than the United States's participation in WWII seems odd to me. I'd like to hear more about that line of argument, but only if the usual keyboard commandos aren't going to jump up and down and claim that an internet discussion on an obscure cycling website somehow defiles the memories of those who served.

I suspect the commitment may have been similar or even greater for the civil war, but WW2 was across peoples and cultures essentially world wide. People got it and thought it was worth sacrifice. Even non combatants, look what the population at home was willing to do or give up (in the US). I can't imagine what they would sacrifice like that for now.

[akelman]

I can't imagine what they would sacrifice like that for now.

I expect you'd be surprised. Europe between the wars was perhaps the most libertine place in the history of the modern world. And after the horrors of WWI, the majority of Americans were deeply committed to isolationism until the Roosevelt administration used a combination of thoughtful argument and propaganda to shift the culture. Yet despite Europe's decadence and the U.S.'s reluctance to fight, the willingness to serve and sacrifice during the war was extraordinary.

I imagine, for all of the complaints around here and elsewhere about how things are so much worse now than they used to be and how the spoiled kids these days are ruining everything with their hip-hop music and their fixed-gear bikes, that we're just as capable of rising to the occasion if need be as we once were. Let's just hope that there's no need, because war is best avoided.

[oldpotatoe]

I'll show you my dd214 sometime, and my scars.

Maybe your education in history too. Don't need to see your dd214, you don't need to see mine. Wars seldom make sense, but sometimes in the face of tyranny and domination by evil person(s), they do.

Thank you for your service if indeed you were in the military.

[Rada]

I suspect the commitment may have been similar or even greater for the civil war, but WW2 was across peoples and cultures essentially world wide. People got it and thought it was worth sacrifice. Even non combatants, look what the population at home was willing to do or give up (in the US). I can't imagine what they would sacrifice like that for now.

I think the support for wars past has been exaggerated by "history". In the Civil War for example desertion rates for both sides was high, draft riots in the North, unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, numerous wealthy men on both sides buying their way out of service, etc. Having said that, the staggering loses that both sides endured in combat is something that is today hard to comprehend. The bravery of those men to stand in the face of such slaughter is unimaginable.

[malcolm]

I expect you'd be surprised. Europe between the wars was perhaps the most libertine place in the history of the modern world. And after the horrors of WWI, the majority of Americans were deeply committed to isolationism until the Roosevelt administration used a combination of thoughtful argument and propaganda to shift the culture. Yet despite Europe's decadence and the U.S.'s reluctance to fight, the willingness to serve and sacrifice during the war was extraordinary.

I imagine, for all of the complaints around here and elsewhere about how things are so much worse now than they used to be and how the spoiled kids these days are ruining everything with their hip-hop music and their fixed-gear bikes, that we're just as capable of rising to the occasion if need be as we once were. Let's just hope that there's no need, because war is best avoided.

I hope you are right and I suspect given the right circumstance you are. Hitler provided the world an evil everyone could agree on. With the media and everything the way it is today I hope we would be galvanized across continents by something that wrong/evil.

[malcolm]

I think the support for wars past has been exaggerated by "history". In the Civil War for example desertion rates for both sides was high, draft riots in the North, unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, numerous wealthy men on both sides buying their way out of service, etc. Having said that, the staggering loses that both sides endured in combat is something that is today hard to comprehend. The bravery of those men to stand in the face of such slaughter is unimaginable.

I agree, but in modern times I don't recall anyone standing in line to enlist. There was certainly a push in the US for WW1 but we were quite late to that affair and it was nothing like WW2. Certainly there was political posturing and everyone tried to serve their best interests, but we worked together for a common goal in a remarkable way.

[Rada]

I agree, but in modern times I don't recall anyone standing in line to enlist. There was certainly a push in the US for WW1 but we were quite late to that affair and it was nothing like WW2. Certainly there was political posturing and everyone tried to serve their best interests, but we worked together for a common goal in a remarkable way.

I do agree that WWII was the moment that pulled America together more than any war in US history. I would say there was more than just political posturing for us to enter the war on the side of the Allies. We were not exactly neutral in Europe and we pretty much painted Japan into a corner. Not that I disagree with Roosevelt's policies, but US entry into the war was made inevitable.

[gasman]

June 6, 1944.

The day many young soldiers became men and many of them made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Thank you.

[makoti]

Thanks for posting this. I'd forgotten what day it was. Shame on me.

[roguedog]

yep.. thanks for the bump of this thread and the reminder.

[Jeff N.]

Visited Normandy/Omaha Beach in July, 2014. Took a train from Paris. It was an unforgettable experience. I'd like to go back, actually.

[firemanj92]

yep.. thanks for the bump of this thread and the reminder.

As stated, thanks again

[Buzz]

Thanks for posting this. Highly recommended to visit this area I did as a teenager in the 1970s and then again with my teenage daughters who actually enjoyed it and got a lot out of the history. It was a frequent discussion while we're were there if people 25 years from now would understand or appreciate what happened on that day. Time and history moves on. WW2 now accounts for all of about 18 pages in my daughters high school text book with the main themes being Nazi /fascism and social changes in wartime US.

Regarding the photos our French tour guide of the d-day sights remarked as we were at Omaha Beach that she always had a hard time seeing people using the beach for recreational purposes knowing the past carnage and present solemnity of the area. She then met a d-day veteran who said he thought it was good that people were using the beach in peace as nature had intended.

If you walk out on Omaha beach to the water and turn around you realize that when those guys were coming ashore there is zero cover for a good 200-300 yards. The only reason you weren't shot was that someone else was getting killed.

The other thing that was striking is the immense size of the "battlefield". This isn't like a civil war or revolutionary war battlefield confined to a few square miles but a box 35 plus miles long and then miles inland. Mind boggling.

The cemetery there is beautifully maintained by French workers paid for by the U.S. govt.