Normandy Lander On Ohio River

[Steve Valentine]

On Monday on this week, the 23rd, I was hunting for arrowheads on the banks of the Ohio River when I noticed this large ship coming up river. I could see it was pretty big and something you just don't see on the Ohio very often so as it got closer and passed I snapped a few pictures. I new it was military because of the gun towers on the front and back. There were 3 on the front and 2 on the back, but I didn't realize that a piece of American history had just went past until I read the paper today and there was a story about it. Evidently this ship was used on D-Day and landed on Utah Beach. It was an awesome experience to see a piece of Americana that helped us preserve our freedoms we enjoy today.

Here's a link to a story and the pictures I took.

D-Day Ship Attracts Viewers on Ohio River - State Journal - STATEJOURNAL.com

[DesertWalker]

That's pretty cool. Do you hunt those sandy shores there? What do you find?

[Kat]

That is awesome!! Thanks for sharing that. My grandfather fought in the Pacific (he was the radio man for an artillery unit) and two of my great-uncles were in Europe. My husband has a little collection of WWII memorabilia that we found in the houses on the farm and it's one of our interests.
Kat

[Steve Valentine]

Originally Posted by DesertWalker

That's pretty cool. Do you hunt those sandy shores there? What do you find?

Unfortunately nothing. That stretch of beach usually produces some nice pieces, but I didn't find but just few flakes of flint. I did find a couple of old bottles from a dump that washing out though.

[Steve Valentine]

Originally Posted by Kat

That is awesome!! Thanks for sharing that. My grandfather fought in the Pacific (he was the radio man for an artillery unit) and two of my great-uncles were in Europe. My husband has a little collection of WWII memorabilia that we found in the houses on the farm and it's one of our interests.
Kat

Kathy, my Grandpa and his brother were both in the Pacific Theatre. My Grandpa was on a ship and his brother was a tail gunner on a bomber. Both saw lots of action. My Grandpas brother was also one of the first to go into Nagasaki right after the bomb and he didn't talk much about it unless he was drinking. I remember one night he got to talking about it and told us what he saw in Nagasaki and it was pretty horible.

[Kat]

Steve, I've always thought of the men who fought in WWII as true heroes. They didn't want to be there, they didn't revel in what happened, they were husbands, fathers and farmers and many of them were not terribly young. My grandfather would tell me about his buddies, playing poker, how they wanted to be home, but he would never tell us about the things he saw or did beyond such mild anecdotes. I think he wanted to remember the good parts, the friendships and funny stories and let the bad die with the past. I went to one of his battalion reunions when I was about 12. I felt really honored to be among them. My great-aunt recently died and they read a letter my uncle had written to her from Europe. Her birthday was V-E day and he told her in the letter that he had heard a rumor that she would get for her birthday a gift that "all freedom loving people everywhere will enjoy". I have been to Dachau and can say without doubt that those men fought against a great and terrible evil and that we should not let complacency or ease fool us into thinking that battle will ever be over. Such horrors often seem to come about the guise of comfort and safety. Thanks again for the cool pictures and story
Kathy

[kirby]

Kat,

That was a very thoughtful post. Thank You.

[eddies]

hi, do you know where the ship was going???///

[rmartin]

What a sight that would have been! I would have had goose bumps, Ray