June 6 is the 80th anniversary of World War II D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history.
The operation, given the codename “OVERLORD,” delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. The beaches were given the code names “Utah,” “Omaha,” Gold,” “Juno,” and “Sword.” The invasion force included 7,000 ships and landing craft manned by over 195,000 naval personnel from eight allied countries. Almost 133,000 troops from the United States, the British Commonwealth, and their allies, landed on D-Day. Casualties from these countries during the landing numbered 10,300. By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed on the Normandy shores. Fighting by the brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the allied forces western front, and Russian forces on the eastern front, led to the defeat of German Nazi forces. On May 7, 1945, German General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender at Reims, France.
Artifacts of the military operation can be seen at Lyon Air Museum in Santa Ana.
D-Day 80th Anniversary
Lyon Air Museum
19300 Ike Jones Road
Santa Ana, CA 92707
(714) 210-4585
LyonAirMuseum.org
“D-Day: The Greatest Victory”
June 6 at 7 p.m.
KTLA 5 News
KTLA.com
If you have questions, please feel free to contact Gayle Anderson at 323-460-5732, email Gayle at Gayle.Anderson@KTLA.com, Facebook: Gayle Anderson, Instagram: KTLAChannel5Gayle and Twitter: KTLA5Gayle.
Gayle Anderson reports for the KTLA 5 News on June 6, 2024.