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Tomorrow take a moment to remember those who made historic trip across the English Channel. D Day June 6 1944. America alone took over 6600 dead and wounded on that day our allies 4000. By Aug 30 1944 casualties were over 200,000, 37000 dead Those of us who have seen combat know the sights, sounds and smells of such a day but only those who were there know that scale of combat. Few of them are still with us. I salute them and all who are still there!!!

My dad was one of those. By the grace of God, he survived the war.

I remember every year!

For those interested, The Longest Day can be seen on Netflix.

My Brother and I spent the morning visiting the ND Veteran's Cemetery today. We were one day too early for D Day, but it was less crowded today.

My father fought in WWII. He was in the 10th Mountain Division. They were ski troops. That was a very elite unit back then and still is today. He fought in Italy and ended up in northern Italy in the Poe river valley when the war ended. I was fortunate to go TDY to that area to an Italian air base in the late 80's with the 388th FW when I was on active duty. It was pretty special knowing my father was there 40+ years before me.

The 10th Mountain Division was deactivated after the war. The returning 10th troops are credited with starting the ski industry in this country. The road from the interstate up to Park City, UT is named the 10th Mountain Division Memorial Highway.

The 10th was reactivated a number of years ago and their home base is Fort Drum, NY. East end of lake Erie close to Buffalo. Lots of snow.

From the division web site...

"The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division is the only one of its size in the US military to receive intense specialized training for fighting in mountainous and arctic conditions. "

Another quote from Wikipedia...

"Since 2001, the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) has been the most deployed unit in the US military.[4] Its combat brigades have seen over 20 deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom."

I have an original shoulder patch from WWII. It is absolutely original and has never been sewn on. I have the Mountain tab that was not issued until the troops arrived in Italy. The attached picture shows the current combat patch. The original I have is red, white and blue.