78 years ago, the largest invasion armada was assembled off the French coast with the goal of invading the Normandy area. Weather was always risky in this area. If it were not almost perfect, the landing would not have succeeded.
The man commanding the whole operation
was a 4-star general named Dwight David Eisenhower. He was born in Kansas and
graduated from West Point in 1915. When the US got into World War I, 30 of his
fellow West Point graduates were killed in combat. Eisenhower never saw combat.
He was a staff officer staying far behind the lines and away from the brutal
combat. He stayed in the US Army after the end of World War I. When the US got
into World War II, he was a major. He rose rapidly to 4-star general.
How did a soldier with no combat
experience rise to such a high rank? He was a man of incredible intellect and
strong character. He was a natural communicator who won the respect and
confidence of political leaders all the way up to President Franklin D.
Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill.
Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, he
gave the order for the invasion to proceed. He had taken a giant risk. The
invasion was bloody but succeeded.
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