Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, an event from back in the 1900s. For those unfamiliar with it, I commend the following excellent concise hour by hour summary
A 1960 essay First Wave at Omaha Beach in the Atlantic from historian S.L.A. Marshall provides details of a few personal stories that transpired. They are riveting accounts.
Quote of the Day:
In his essay, S.L.A. Marshall takes time to account for the various units and boats for which there is no first-person account -- they were simply annihilated. This is one of the inherent defects in the historical record -- survivor bias. We know the accounts of the survivors. But we'll never know the full extent of the sacrifice and heroism because of the lack of survivors to tell of it. As bad as Omaha Beach was, it was worse than we know.
Bonus Question of this seminal event of the20th century:
What does the “D” in D-Day stand for?