Each century leaves behind its most significant day. July 4, 1776, and the birth of a free nation. July 3, 1863, the Union Army’s successful defense of Gettysburg and the turning point of the bloodiest war in American history. June 6, 1944, rises above any other in the 20^th century.

Hundreds of thousands of boys as young as 18 were sent to Britain in the months leading up to the Allied invasion. Anxious to join the fight against Hitler’s Reich, these boys were sent in advance of what would come to be the largest invasion in history.

In the early hours of June 6, the 101^st Airborne Division led the initial assault. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had warned the 101^st Airborne Division that there would be extensive casualties. On this night of nights, airmen faced minutes of anti-aircraft fire. Roughly 60 aircraft did not make it back to England, and many airmen never landed.

In the English Channel, troops loaded into landing craft in complete darkness. It was a cool summer night, with the moon disappearing and reappearing behind the clouds. No soldier could predict how bad the fighting would be, despite being warned many would not come back.

At 4:30 in the morning, Allied ships began their barrage on the Normandy beaches. Bullets tapped the side of the loaded transports as soldiers approached the beaches.

Omaha Beach faced the strongest resistance. Over 12,000 German soldiers from the 352^nd Infantry Division awaited the approaching U.S. assault. More than half of these German soldiers had previous combat experience. Organization was quickly replaced by survival.

A-Company nicknamed “suicide company,” was the first to land at Omaha Beach. Fifteen minutes after A-Company landed they still had not fired a shot or received any orders. Almost all the commanding officers in the company were killed, and survivors were pinned down by a rain of German machine-gun bullets. A-Company experienced 120 casualties, more than any other company.

Back home Americans woke to the long-awaited news that the allied invasion had begun. In the tense hours of that morning, Americans remained close to their radios, holding their breath as each update trickled in. The New York Stock Exchange observed two minutes of silent prayer and thousands of others gathered for rallies in the city. At 9:30 a.m., U.S. radio stations reported that invasion efforts were now 10 miles inside of Europe. British, Canadian and American forces had permanently broken through Hitler’s “impenetrable” Atlantic Wall.

The D-Day landings saw over 10,000 casualties. 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel that day, and by the end of June, 875,000 Allied soldiers entered the European theatre through Normandy.

Fighting continued for 11 months before Hitler was cornered in Berlin. Without the actions and sacrifice of the brave men on June 6, the Nazi genocide and dictatorship would have raged on. One can say these boys saved the world. After discovering a German death camp months later, Eisenhower wrote in his notes, “We are told the American Soldier does not know what he is fighting for. Now, at least, he will know what he is fighting against.”