Omaha Beach: in peace nearly 70 years after war

The peaceful, windswept sands of Omaha Beach today are a stark contrast to the scenes witnessed 70 years ago when those sands were stained with the blood of so many brave young men killed or wounded fighting to breach Hitler’s Atlantic Wall on 6th June 1944 and so begin the liberation of the Continent from Nazi tyranny.

“Into the Jaws of Death – U.S. Troops wading through water and Nazi gunfire”, c. 06/06/1944, 08.30 – This is one of the most famous images from D-Day, and this description of the photograph is taken from Wikipedia:

Chief Photographer’s Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent

A LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase disembarks troops of Company E, 16th Infantry,1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) wading onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944. American soldiers encountered the newly formed German 352nd Division when landing. During the initial landing two-thirds of the Company E became casualties.