HFOTD: 9 June 1942

On this day in 1942, a contingent of SS entered the town of Lidice. The executed all men of the town, as well as about 50 women. The rest of the women were transported to concentration camps and most of the children were sent to German families so they could be "Germanized". What was this town's crime? Directly, nothing. However, the Germans had intercepted a suspicious letter that was addressed to the Horak family in Lidice after Heydrich's death. In the end, they were really only retaliating against this small town because of Heydrich's death.

For more information click here.

Top 5 D-Day movies

So I put together a similar list for Memorial Day but here it is. The top 5 best D-Day movies. If there's one you think that should be on the list as well, feel free to comment!

1. BAND OF BROTHERS (2001)

This 10-part miniseries from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks shows the journey of the 101st airborne, E(asy) Company. It depicts men at their best and worst, and the relationships that formed on the battlefield.

For a synopsis click here.

2. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)

Another great film from Steven Spielberg. A group of men set out to find Private Ryan, who's brothers had all been killed in the weeks leading up to as well as on D-Day.

For a synopsis click here.

3. THE LONGEST DAY (1962)

Based on the 1959 book with the same name. The story is told from both the Allied perspective as well as the Germans. A masterpiece for it's time.

For a synopsis click here.

4. THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)

An army official is given twelve convicted murderers to train and ultimately lead into Normandy on D-Day in an attempt at a mass assassination of German officers.

For a synopsis click here.

5. IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAY (2004)

Explores the days leading up to D-Day. Gives a look at the orchestration of an invasion, that had it not been successful, would have altered the course of the war in favor of the Germans.

For a synopsis click here.

HFOTD: 6 June 1944

On this day in history in 1944, the world woke up to discover that the Allied forces had invaded the beaches of Normandy, France in an attempt to push back the German forces and to take the first step in defeating them. The fighting took place on 5 separate beaches (Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword) that the Allies had split up.

For those BAND OF BROTHERS buffs, you know that the Airborne was dropped the night before the invasion to secure the beach. The invasion started at 0630 and though they would secure the beach by the end of the day, the battle of Normandy would last the full month of June as they slowly advanced towards Berlin.


For a U.S. Government newsreel on D-Day, click here.

For a brief German perspective on D-Day, click here.

For a summary of D-Day, click here.

For current news articles about the anniversary, click here, here, here, or here.

Neo-Nazis attack protestors

Last Saturday, June 2nd, produced a flashback of the war when Neo-Nazis and Anti-Nazi protestors got into a fight in Hamburg, Germany. The skinheads were rallying "quietly" (give me a break--when has a skinhead ever rallied QUIETLY? Spewing hate without using profanity is not considered quietly in the real world!) They attempted to block the anti-Nazi protestors when a fight broke out. When the police were called in, both sides turned on them. By the end of the day nearly 1,000 police officers had been called into help remedy the situation. 700 protestors, skinheads and anti-nazis alike were taken into custody, and eight police vehicles had been set on fire by the skinheads. You'd think they would have better things to do when the world economy is in such despair. Perhaps go to work and be a productive member of German society? Is that too much to ask? Or better yet, stop hating everything that isn't similar to you and go be a peaceful person who's blood pressure is not so high from the stress of hating EVERYBODY.

Neo-Nazi protests have been on the rise this year in Germany. Just last month the neo-Nazis held a different rally in Hamburg. According to a 2011 DER SPIEGEL article, violent neo-Nazis were on the rise from just 500 or so in 2010 to 5,600.

Fun-filled fact? It is illegal to display the Swastika or deny the Holocaust ever happened, but people are free to form another NPD (Nazi Party) due to the wording of the German constitution and the ambitious goal of not letting the country's past digressions affect the future. I'm all for clean slates, but did no one pay attention the last time the NPD sort of slipped through the cracks and kind of, sort of took over the German government? We saw how well THAT worked out...

Okay, I'm starting to ramble..lol... If you would like to check out the original article about this story click here. Or if you'd like to read a little about the banning of Swastikas but the allowance of the NPD, click here.

HFOTD: 5 June 1944

On this day in history in 1944 was the original date of the invasion of Normandy (D-Day), but due to bad weather it was postponed until the 6th. However, in preparation for the invasion, nearly 1,000 RAF planes dropped about 5,000 tons of bombs on German locations throughout the intended assault area (which included Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold, and Sword beaches). While this was happening a good majority of the invasion force was sailing across the English Channel on their way to attack the beaches.

Amelia Earhart: One step closer solving the mystery?

It was announced a couple of days ago that they may e one step closer in figuring out what happened to Amelia Earhart on that fateful day in 1937. She was supposed to refuel on the barely visible and inhabitable, Howard Island on her journey to fly around the world. However, she never arrived and no one every heard from her again. What may have aided in helping figure out the truth? Dr.C.H. Berry's Freckle Cream. Yup, that's right...face cream. Anyone who makes fun of us ladies for packing nearly everything including face cream while traveling should be wise not to do that again! A jar that had been broken into five pieces was discovered on Nikumaroro Island. This island has been explored for many years as the possible final location of Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan. the discovery of various animal bones and even some possible human remains have been found. In addition to cosmetics, men and women's clothing and a various amount of other things that leads researchers to believe that Earhart and Noonan successfully landed the plane after they missed Howard Island and were running low on fuel. What happened after that is too sad to think about: dying on a deserted island with only the things that could be salvaged from the plan before it sank into the Pacific. It has not been 100% confirmed that it was in fact a Dr. C.H. Berry's Freckle Cream jar since the jars they came in during that time were white and the one that was discovered on the island was clear, though they had the same shape. Perhaps it would be safe to presume the elements of 70+ years had faded the color. Either way, a research team will be heading to Nikumaroro Island next month to do several dives as well as several submarine dives to see if they can locate Earhart's plane.

For more information on this news article click here, here, or here.


For information on Amelia Earhart click here.