Imagine being in a boat, waiting to debark on a hostile beach, hearing the shells, the machine guns rattle, knowing that you were gonna be shot at, or have shells drop near you, you and your battle comrades expected to take heavy casualties.
Or being in a glider, having survived the takeoff and knowing you would be dropping in the dark into hostile territory, surrounded and on your own until you can link up with other units. Until then every other being out there will be an enemy except for the men in your glider.
Or in a DC-3 (R4D) hearing the engines drone as they pulled you ever closer to the point at which you will bail out and hope the parachute opens…and that you don’t get lost in the dark, and that you don’t break a leg (or worse) ,,,knowing that, again, every other soldier but those dropping with you will be hunting you, and that you only have the limited supplies until you can ling up with those folks from the beach landings for food, ammo and other supplies.
ETA: Old NFO points out in comments that I forgot the Navy. Lots of heroism those days.
That’s what those men had to think about on their journey to the invasion of France, near or on Normandy 80 years ago.
Big balls, they had.
And don’t forget the sailors that manned the DDs that came in close to shell the beaches. USS Correy was sunk by a shore battery. And the sailors that crewed the landing craft that brought the troops ashore (they had to stand and watch the approaches fully exposed to the gunfire.
…And believe it or not, MANY of those landing craft coxswains at Normandy and THROUGHOUT WW2 were COAST GUARDSMEN!
…Semper Paratus!…
…Balls of LIONS, indeed…