“You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.”
– Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
commander of Supreme Headquarters
Allied Expeditionary Force
On June 6, 1944, when the future U.S. president and Gettysburg College trustee sent this message to the thousands of soldiers preparing to sail across the English Channel to Normandy, he wasn’t sure Operation Neptune, the first phase of Operation Overlord and the campaign to retake Europe, was going to succeed. At the same time, he penned a letter taking full responsibility should those beaches on the coast of France not be taken by Allied forces.
The soldiers in the transports skidding across the waves and pilots flying high above weren’t sure either, as they headed toward a fortified and dangerous foe that had overrun and ravaged the continent for four years. Through dogged determination, they pushed the Nazi forces back from the beachheads, setting into motion the final victorious campaign to free the European continent.
As we look back on the 80th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in world history, we can share in those personal remembrances thanks to the impassioned work of Gettysburg College students, faculty, and staff, who have sought to preserve this consequential moment in history for future generations. Since its launch in 1991 as part of the Historical Methods class with History Prof. Michael Birkner ’72, P’10, the World War II oral history project has compiled first-person experiences from roughly 800 individuals representing the Greatest Generation.
Those audio recordings and transcriptions, safely stored in Special Collections in Musselman Library, have served as the foundation for several published works. These publications include the “Voices of D-Day,” a pamphlet of quotes and remembrances from the invasion of Normandy, and “Democracy’s Shield: Voices of World War II,” a full volume of war memories at home and abroad edited by Birkner with the assistance of Grace Gallagher ’22 and Rachel Main ’22.
“When reading through these oral histories, I often found myself laughing or crying,” said Main. “I could not fathom being able to sit and recount vivid horrors and brokenness with a stranger. In many cases, individuals could not bring themselves to either. Members of the World War II generation expressed conviction, character, and community; it is our job to make sure they are remembered with the same determination.”
“It was a struggle to get ashore, dodging the fire. The Germans had that beach zeroed in with artillery fire. Machine-gun fire was terrible. And I finally got ashore and on the sand and there were wounded everywhere.”
– Richard Dalrymple
interviewed by Andrew Douglas ’06
on Oct. 20, 2004
On April 20, 2024, Gettysburg College’s Eisenhower Institute and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society co-hosted a symposium commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of Normandy, France. This event featured distinguished experts on World War II and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, including David Eisenhower, Susan Eisenhower, Dr. Craig Symonds, and Dr. John C. McManus. This event was included in C-SPAN’s coverage of the June 6 anniversary.
by Corey Jewart
Posted: 07/17/24