halle1@houxz.UUCP (J.HALLE) (06/06/84)
On this 40th anniversary of the landing at Normandy, it is fitting that we remember the individuals who took part. Does anyone know who was the first one out of the landing craft and into the water? Answer (rot13):Wnzrf Nearff, jub yngre cynlrq Zngg Qvyyba ba Thafzbxr.
wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (06/08/84)
Well, contrary to popular notion, the letter D in D-Day stands for nothing more than the word day, just like in H-Hour. The French popularly used the D to mean Deliverence, for obvious reasons. Others have tacked meanings to the letter, however, according to Allied High Command records, the D had no specific meaning other than to mean THE DAY. Now I am sure we will be seeing at least 10 more opinions, however, the source for this bit of information comes from an interview with an author who just published a tome on the subject of D-Day. I didn't get his name, nor the name of his book as I was listening to the interview on WMCA (NY) while driving home on June 5th. The question of the D meaning came up specifically and the author said that he researched that one quite thoroughly. T. C. Wheeler
sct@lanl-a.UUCP (06/08/84)
Not only did they have "D" Day but also "H" Hour for the time the invasion to start. It should be obvious what the "D" and "H" stand for.
jpg@sdchema.UUCP (Jerry Greenberg) (06/09/84)
was designated "H-Hour"
jpg@sdchema.UUCP (Jerry Greenberg) (06/09/84)
My response seems to have been garbaged, so I'll repeat it. The 'D' in D-Day simply stands for 'D'. Similarly the hour of the invasion was designated H-Hour.
max@bunker.UUCP (Max Hyre) (06/10/84)
[ B-Bug ]
> Well, speaking of D-Day, what does the "D" stand for?
Nothing! It's just a duplication of the initial letter to emphasize
this is *the* day, as opposed to some other, mundane, day. The landing
time was H-Hour, on M-Minute, using the same system.
Now, does anyone know who *invented* (or first used, if invention is
impossible to pinpoint) this locution?
Max Hyre
(Somewhere in the vicinity of decvax!ittvax!bunker!max)tam@mi-cec.UUCP (06/12/84)
I had heard the story about James Arness (sp?). I understand that he was selected because he was the tallest guy in the boat. However, I had heard that it was at Anzio, not D-Day, that he hit the drink.