75 Years After WWII

Contents
1. The Summary of
World War II

2. D-Day (The 75th

Anniversary from
1944 to 2019)
 75 Years After VE and VJ Day (The Summary of
World War II)
Today, we remember not only
the heroic victory of the
Allied Powers during World
War II. World War II was the
most destructive, bloodiest
war in human history. World
War II existed as a product of
a struggle among major
capitalist powers for the
resources of the world. That
is why the ruling class of
Germany (who believe in
capitalist oligarchy) used
Hitler and his fascist
movement against means to
stop the socialists and the
working class to advance
progressive changes. That is
why many isolationists in
America never wanted to stop
Hitler’s Nazis until the Pearl
Harbor attack. War crimes
existed in that war and
unspeakable suffering. Over
30 million people lost their
lives in the war. The Nazis
also murdered 6 million
Jewish people too. The Soviet
Union lost millions of people.
The Nazis murdered
Communists, socialists, and a
wide spectrum of human
beings. The racist Hitler wrote
in hatred of socialists and
Communists explicitly. We
celebrate the heroes among
every color who made this
reality real. Even today, many
people don't know that black
people were involved in the
events of D-Day at Normandy,
France. Some folks don't
know that Native Americans
were some of the great code-
breakers who helped to defeat
Axis imperialists. Numerous
women were involved in the
World War II era as well.
Therefore, VE Day was the
first Allied victory. The Nazis
were being roundly defeated
as early as 1944 after the
Soviet victory at Stalingrad.
FDR, Churchill, and Stalin
debated on what a future
Europe would be after Nazism
would be gone forever. All
three leaders agreed that they
wanted Germany to be
divided into sectors that
would be run by the Allied
Powers. FDR and Churchill
disagreed with Stalin's actions
in Poland that they deemed
anti-democratic. Stalin wanted
an early entry of America into
France in order to ease the Crow oppression. Still, African bombings, Japan experienced
burden of them in the Americans fought for justice massive firebombings, even
European theater. Franklin abroad and at home. They harming innocent civilians.
Delano Roosevelt was more desired the Double V Japan surrendered by
receptive for the Axis Powers movement to be successful. September of 1945. Now, VJ
to target France for an Japan was losing by 1945, and Day or the Victory over Japan
invasion than Winston a debate existed on whether Day took place on August 15,
Churchill. After the Battle of there ought to be an atomic 1945.The end of war inspired
the Bulge (in 1945), the more people to fight
Allied forces started to fascism. Even after three
fully defeat Nazi quarters of a century
Germany. Hitler and his after World War II, we
girlfriend committed still have to fight fascism
suicide at Berlin. Colonel in our age. We face
General Alfred Jodl police brutality, a global
signed the unconditional COVID pandemic, white
capitulation of the Private Hunt-Martin was one of more than
nationalism, and we see
Wehrmacht in Rhimes, 800 members of the 6888th Central Postal Trump praising right
France on May 7, 1945. Directory Battalion in the Women's Army wing militias including
The war in Europe was Corps. The "six-triple-eight" was the only all- right wing dictators
women group to be deployed overseas
over by May 8, 1945. during WWII. Hunt-Martin says she joined
globally. Right wing
This was VE Day or the military after seeing an article in the extremist professor Jorg
Victory in Europe Day. newspaper. The source of the picture is: Baberowski lied and said
ASHLEY HIRTZEL / WBFO. that Hitler was “not
The War in the Pacific bombing in Japan or not. vicious” when the vast
took a much longer period of Recently, scholars and found majority of Germans reject
time. Allied forces in many that Japan could have fascism and militarism. The
cases had to travel from surrendered and an atomic U.S. government exposed the
island to island in order for attack was unnecessary. Yet, Nazis’ crimes via the
them to defeat Japanese Truman (who wanted to Nuremberg Trials, but many
forces. In America, racist prove his aggressive posture) in the government used some
sentiments inspired the evil allowed the wicked nuclear Nazis to aid in the Cold War.
internment camps against bombings in Hiroshima and Now, in 2020, we continue to
innocent Japanese American Nagasaki. The destruction of honor the heroism and
citizens, race riots against both blasts was so great that sacrifice of heroes who freed
people of color existed in the some of the survivors suffered multiple continents from the
United States (from Detroit to radiation poisoning for Holocaust, imperialism, and
Los Angeles), and African decades to come after the others forms of tyranny.
Americans experienced Jim attacks. Even before the
 D-Day (The 75th Anniversary from 1944 to 2019)

Last year, it has been 75 years after D-Day. D- Day was one of the most important parts of World War
Two. It not only represented the beginning of the end of the Nazi menace. It showed the unity and
the strength of the Allied Powers. The Allies, from many nations came, together for one purpose.
That is to enact the liberation of humanity from the Nazi enemy. It took sophisticated planning,
military resources, determination, and courage to make D-Day a glorious victory. During this time of
2019, it is also important to remember the people who came upon the shores to defeat the enemy. It is
important to understand succinctly that fascism didn’t end in 1945. It continues today not only in
Europe, but worldwide. The murderer in New Zealand was a white racist fascist. Fascism is evil,
because it denies individual liberty, it is embraced by racists plus xenophobes, and it is antithetical to
the democratic freedoms that our ancestors fought for. The democratic freedoms of the freedom of
speech, the freedom of the press, the right to protest, the right to assemble, the right to religious
liberty, and the right to vote are human rights that we cherish.

Therefore, the aim of justice remains. By 1944, the Allied Powers were defeating the Axis Powers in
Europe and Asia. The Nazis and the Japanese imperial forces were on the run. After decades of time,
we have learned many lessons about World War II. One is that genocide is evil, and that international
collaborations for positive things must be advanced. D-Day was a team effort where multiple people
worked together in order to ultimately cause France to be liberated from tyranny. From the five Allied
beachheads formed in Normandy to the ultimate freedom of Paris including the rest of France, we
finally saw the conclusion of the Second World War. A new era was upon the globe. America, the
United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Czechoslovakia, France, Norway, and Poland all contributed to
the Allied effort. D-Day was the largest seaborne invasion of human history. The Western front
would never be the same. On this time, we express solemn gratitude to the heroes who freed the
French people.

The Planning
D-Day was a long time in the making. In 1943, Stalin wanted Churchill and Franklin Delano
Roosevelt to open a new front in France. America and the Soviets issued a joint announcement of
wanting a second front in Europe in late May 1942. The reason was the Soviet troops did most of the
fighting in Europe during 1943. Stalin wanted the Nazis to be defeated as soon as possible. Roosevelt
sympathized with this view, but Winston Churchill was hesitant. One reason was that Churchill just
didn’t trust Stalin, since Churchill hated Communism. Also, Churchill knew of the British soldiers
being slaughtered during World War I (via trench warfare, etc.). He didn’t want a repeat of that.
Churchill believed that the German U-Boats would make it difficult for Allied troops to execute an
invasion of Normandy. The Tehran Conference took place on November of 1943. Churchill at first
refused to have a new front. In Tehran, Iran, this was the first time when Churchill and Roosevelt met
with Stalin face to face. Roosevelt again agreed with Stalin to open up a new front in France. So,
Churchill reluctantly agreed with this plan. After the Tehran Conference, Stalin, Roosevelt, and
Churchill issued a joint statement to defeat Nazi Germany. Many plans for the invasion were worked
out at the Quebec Conference in August of 1943.

This plan to fight in France was called Operation Overload. Operation Overload involved some of the
most experienced generals of the war. American General Dwight D. Eisenhower served as Supreme
Commander (or the Supreme headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force leader, SHAEF), and Supreme
Commander British General Bernard Montgomery served as commander of the ground forces.
General Omar Bradley served as leader of the United States First Army. Operation Overload was a
large undertaking. Eisenhower and Montgomery agreed to have five major beach divisions to be
involved in the invasion. 21 American divisions, plus 26 British, Canadian, and Polish divisions landed
on a 50 mile stretch of beaches in Normandy. This fleet was the largest ever assembled. It was made up
of more than 4,400 ships and landing crafts. The Allied Forces used five beaches in Normandy to land
the forces. Their names were code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. It involved
deception too. The Allied forces formed a fake army under General Patton. The army existed on
paper, but the Allies made up a fake headquarters in southeast England across the English Channel
(the fake army was at France in Calais). It had wood and cardboard tanks, useless ships, and detectable
radio traffic. The Allied forces convinced the Nazis that Calais was would be where an Allied attack
would come from (this plan was called Operation Fortitude South). The Nazis sent its top tank
division to Calais. Other deception plans were called Operation Fortitude North and Operation
Bodyguard.

The Day
On June 6, 1944, the Allies hit German forces. More than 11,000 planes prepared the way. They
wanted to destroy German communication and transportation networks. They wanted to soften the
Nazi beach defenses first. On the morning of D-Day, General Eisenhower gave the following message
to Allied troops: “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward while wh ile we have
striven these many months…You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine,
the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in
a free world.” Nazi Germany had at its disposal fifty divisions in France and the Low Countries, with
another eighteen stationed in Denmark and Norway. Fifteen divisions were in the process of
formation in Germany. The bombing of Normandy started by midnight when more than 2,200
British, Canadian, and US bombers attacked targets along the coast and further inland. The coastal
bombing attack was largely ineffective at Omaha, because low cloud cover made the assigned targets
difficult to see. Concerned about inflicting casualties on their own troops, many bombers delayed
their attacks too long and failed to hit the beach defenses. The Germans had 570 aircraft stationed in
Normandy and the Low Countries on D-Day, and another 964 in Germany. At 6:30 am, after the
rough crossing on the English Channel, the first troops landed. On the four of the beaches, the
landings were only lightened opposed. Casualties were low. Yet, at Omaha, one of the two beaches,
assigned to American forces, the Nazis showed stiff resistance. On the cliffs overlooking the beach, the
Germans had dug trenches and built small concrete pillbox structures from which heavy artillery could
be fired. It was a warzone. The Nazis mined the beaches too. When the first American soldiers arrived,
they stepped out of their landing crafts into a rainstorm of bullets. Some were victims of shells and
died. Some crafts dumped their occupants too far from the beaches. Soldiers with heavy packs
sometimes drowned. Omaha, the most heavily defended beach, was assigned to the 1st Infantry
Division and 29th Infantry Division.

Pointe du Hoc, a prominent headland

situated between Utah and Omaha, was
assigned to two hundred men of 2nd Ranger
Battalion, commanded by Lieutenant
Colonel James Rudder. Their task was to
scale the 30m (100ft) cliffs with grappling
hooks, ropes, and ladders to destroy the
coastal gun battery located at the top. The
cliffs were defended by the German 352nd This picture showed This image above showed Parisians
Infantry Division and French collaborators US Rangers scaling line the Champs Élysées for a
firing from above. Allied destroyers Satterlee the wall at Pointe du parade conducted by the French
Hoc. 2nd Armored Division on August
and Talybont provided fire support. After 26, 1944.
scaling the cliffs, the Rangers discovered that
the guns had already been withdrawn. They located the weapons, unguarded but ready to use, in an
orchard some 550 meters (600 yd.) south of the point, and disabled them with explosives. The now-
isolated Rangers fended off numerous counter-attacks from the German 914th Grenadier Regiment.
The men at the point became isolated, and some were captured. By dawn on D+1, Rudder had only
90 men able to fight. Relief did not arrive until D+2, when members of the 743rd Tank Battalion and
others arrived. By then, Rudder's men had run out of ammunition and were using captured German
weapons. Several men were killed as a result, because the German weapons made a distinctive noise,
and the men were mistaken for the enemy. By the end of the battle, the Rangers casualties were 135
dead and wounded, while German casualties were 50 killed and 40 captured. An unknown number of
French collaborators were executed.
Notre cause de liberté est juste et nous croyons aussi à la valeur et à la dignité
des vies humaines noires. Notre amour pour la vérité est pour toujours.
Yes, many African Americans were involved in D-Day. There was an African American combat unit
at D-Day. They experienced brutal fire on June 6, 1944. They were part of 320th Barrage Balloon
Battalion. It had infantry troops abroad metal boats. They came on the Normandy coast. Some came
by 9 am. Some of the men’s names are George Davison, Wilson Monk, and others. They sent balloons
filled with bombs to attack the Nazis. Also, these black soldiers dug trenches, rounded up German
prisoners, and fought for their lives literally. Many of them prayed. Overall, more than one million
African Americans were in uniform during World War II. Black soldiers fought for freedom and
democracy not only overseas. They were fighting for these things in America too as America back then
was filled with Jim Crow, lynching, racism, discrimination, and other nefarious evils. This is why black
people advanced the Double V movement, which wanted freedom overseas and at home in America.
So, black men and black women were very active in the events of World War II. The Armed Forces
was segregated in the United States of America until after World War II.

Many of these African American soldiers involved in D-Day were trained at Wales, UK. By the end of
the day of June 6, 1944, about 2,000 black Americans landed in Normandy. They were gunners,
engineers, and stevedores. They saved lives. Waverly Bernard "Woody" Woodson, Jr. was of the 320th
(he was born in Philadelphia), and he saved dozens of lives. Waverly Woodson Jr. lived from 1922-
2005. General Dwight D. Eisenhower praised the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion for doing an
excellent job in their mission. The author Linda Hervieux wrote a recent book entitled, “Forgotten:
The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, at Home and at War” which documents the story of the
only African American combat unit to land on D-Day. This book shows the heroism of black
Americans and all freedom loving people. The battalion served 140 days in France. In late July 1944,
Battery A of the 320th moved from Omaha Beach to the port city of Cherbourg. The remaining three
batteries stayed on Omaha and Utah Beaches until early October, when deteriorating weather
prevented ships from landing. The battalion’s service in France came to an end on October 24, 1944,
when the men boarded ships bound for England. By the end of October 1944, the 320th VLA
Battalion was on its way back to Camp Stewart, Georgia, to train for service in the Pacific Theater.
They eventually made it as far as Hawaii before the war ended. Corporal William G. Dabney was one
of the last surviving members of this unit, and received the French Legion of Honor in 2009 for his
participation in the Invasion of Normandy. He passed away in December 2018.

Many Americans saw their last day on Earth during D-Day. Some survived. By the end of the day, the
Allies gained a foothold in France. By the end of the month, more than one million Allied troops had
landed in Normandy. The sacrifice of the Allied heroes who liberated many peoples is always
remembered by us. Victory was clear.

Aftermath
D-Day was one of the greatest Allied victories of World War II. D-Day resulted in almost 5,000
landing and assault craft, 289 escort vessels, and 277 minesweepers participating. Nearly 160,000
troops crossed the English Channel on D-Day with 875,000 people disembarking by the end of June
1944. Thousands of people died. The victory at Normandy existed because of numerous reasons. The
Nazis didn’t finish the Atlantic Wall. Deceptions existed via Operation Fortitude that worked to
confuse the German forces. The Allies created air supremacy in the battle. The Nazis couldn’t stop the
Allied bomber attacks either. Later, the Allied forces pursued all the way into Berlin to end the Nazi
enemy once and for all. The aftermath of D-Day also included the ultimate liberation of France.
Belgium was liberated as well. The Soviets was coming to Berlin from the east. The Soviets made the
Nazis retreat from Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. The Nazis lost battles regularly late in the
war. The Allied forces in the West liberated Paris on August of 1944. Hitler ordered his generals to
destroy Paris, but they refused in their retreat. The people of Paris celebrated the Allied victory. The
Americans defeated the Nazis again in the bloody Battle of the Budge. Ultimately, the Nazis
surrendered by May 7, 1945 in the VE Day event (or Victory in Europe). The end of World War II
existed by September 2, 1945 after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (by 2 atomic weapons. I
fundamental disagree with the bombings of those 2 cities in Japan). With World War II ending, the
world changed in having more technological developments and a fundamental international
transformation on how the world operated.

Reunions and Tributes

There are numerous war memorials and remembrances of what took place on D-Day. At Omaha
Beach, many parts of the Mulberry harbor are still visible. Some of the beach obstacles still remain. A
memorial to the U.S. National Guard is located at a former German strong point. Pointe du Hoc is
little changed from 1944, with the terrain covered with bomb craters and most of the concrete bunkers
still in place. The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial is nearby, in Colleville-sur-Mer. A
museum about the Utah landings is located at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, and there is one dedicated to
the activities of the US airmen at Sainte-Mère-Église. Pegasus Bridge, a target of the British 6th
Airborne, was the site of some of the earliest action of the Normandy landings. The bridge was
replaced in 1994 by one similar in appearance, and the original is now housed on the grounds of a
nearby museum complex. Sections of Mulberry Harbor B still sit in the sea at Arromanches, and the
well-preserved Longues-sur-Mer battery is nearby. The Juno Beach Center, opened in 2003, was
funded by the Canadian federal and provincial governments, France, and Canadian veterans.
President Ronald Reagan gave his famous speech about the sacrifice of Allied soldiers on the 40th
anniversary of D-Day. He spoke in front of an audience of D-Day veterans and world leaders. He was
at the site of the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc. Other heads of state and government
officials on that day in 1984 included: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Beatrix of
The Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of
Luxembourg, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada. This took place in 1984. The
speech was written by Peggy Noonan.

Reagan introduced his speech in the following words: “...We're here to mark that day in history when
the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe
had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried
out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the
rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in
human history…” Other Presidents gave tribute to the heroic sacrifices of Allies troops at D-Day as
well.

One of the most surprising things that I have learned is that one of my late distant cousins was
involved in the Normandy invasions during World War II. His name was Reverend Dr. Delaware
Floyd Harris. He lived from December 15, 1921 to April 25, 2010. He was the fifth of nine children of
Emma Jane Mason Harris and Andrew Harris. All of the nine children of Emma Jane Mason Harris
and Andrew Harris were: Marian Harris Nottingham (whose daughter is Gloria E. Nottingham),
Bessie H. Johnson, Robert Harris, Andrew Harris, James Hurley Harris, Delaware Harris, Henry
Harris, Mildred H. Jenkins, and Evelyn H. Price. Rev. Delaware Floyd Harris and I share the common
ancestor of Sarah Claud, who was the daughter of the heroic Zilphy Claud. Sarah Claud was my 4th
great grandmother, her son was the Rev. James Thompson Claud, Rev. James Thompson Claud's son
was Arthur Boss Claud, Arthur Claud's daughter was Ella Mae Claud, Ella's son was Robert (or my
later grandfather), Robert's daughter was my mother, and then I came about. Sarah Claud's daughter
was Susanna Sarah M. Hill (b. 1868). My 4th great aunt Susanna Hill, whose father was Tom Hill,
married a man named Nelson Harris (b. 1861) on December 22, 1886 at Southampton County,
Virginia. The couple had many children. One of their children was Andrew Harris (1892-1984) or my
1st cousin. Andrew Harris married a woman named Emma Jean Mason Harris (1893-1908). They had
nine children. One of their children was my 2nd cousin Rev. Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris (1921-2010).
So, I am related to many people in Southampton County, Virginia.
 Remembering the Past and Honoring Heroes

The top image on the left showed Tuskegee Airmen. These African
American soldiers sacrificed their lives to defeat the Nazi enemy.
They fought against racism and oppression during the war plus after
the war too. The image on the top right side showed troops
preparing to fight during the Normandy invasion of 1944. The image
on the bottom left showed heroic Soviet soldiers fighting the Nazis
during the Battle of Stalingrad, which was one of the bloodiest
battles in human history costing over 2 million lives. The image on
the bottom right showed the picture of Sister Josephine Baker. She
was an Allied agent in France who fought to defeat the Nazi Vichy
movement. Josephine Baker was also an entertainer and a heroic
civil rights activist.

Rev. Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris was born in Courtland, Virginia which is next to Suffolk, Virginia.
He lived in Southampton County, Virginia during his childhood where my maternal ancestors came
from. He joined the United States Navy during World War II on the ship LST 520. He was a religious
man and became a chaplain to the soldiers overseas. According to the published log of the captain of
this warship, Delaware Harris and his shipmates participated in the Normandy invasion. He was
awarded 2 medals of valor and distinguished service (i.e. The Victory World War II Medal and the
European/African Theater Medal with 1 Star). He received a Letter of Commendation from President
Harry S. Truman for his "fortitude, resourcefulness, and clam judgement" during his service to his
country. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Virginia Union University at Richmond,
Virginia and a Doctor of Divinity Degree from Virginia Theological Seminary and College in
Lynchburg, Virginia. He dedicated his life to the ministry. He worked in carpenter, insurance, and
other churches like the Wilson Chapel Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Virginia and the First
Nottoway Baptist Church in Crew, Virginia. Rev. Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris married Selena M.
Ridley on July 17, 1943 at Norfolk, Virginia. They had one child named Dr. Delaware Floyd Harris II
(b. 1946). Dr. Delaware Harris II lives in California, and he was born on April 21, 1946 at Norfolk,
Virginia. He married Mary Frances Robinson (b. 1952) on June 24, 1972 at Prince George County,
Virginia. Dr. Delaware F. Harris II and Mary Frances Robinson as a couple both live in the Los
Angeles, California area. Therefore, this news is certainly very interesting.

Now, we remember the sacrifice of heroes in order to be further inspired to

advocate for freedom in our generation.

By Timothy