The 70th anniversary of D Day is June 6, but the commemorations have already begun. There's a certain poignancy this year, because it's unlikely any veterans from the landing will be on hand for the 80th. But while the old soldiers are fading away, the tools that helped them win are still around and we can at least see and hear a small part of what they experienced while they still capable of taking to the air. Fighters and bombers may have gotten the headlines, but the workhorses of the air were indispensable, none more so than the C-47. Call it a Dakota, call it a Skytrain, the military version of the DC-3 is back once more in numbers over the beaches of Normandy.
More below the Orange Omnilepticon.
I've posted previously about Whiskey 7, the C-47 based in Geneseo, NY that recrossed the Atlantic and made a stop in Germany (with videos) to visit its descendants before heading to France, where 70 years ago it was one of the lead planes. It's not alone in the skies.
While U.S. media attention will probably focus mainly on President Obama's visit, the BBC for one has been running a number of reports in the days and weeks running up to the anniversary on the efforts being made to honor those who sacrificed so much. There are small things, like the plaque honoring a single pilot, as a representative of so many others. There are larger events, like the Drumhead Ceremony in Portsmouth, an amphibious assault landing, and an aerial display by the Red Arrows. (Photos and video at the link, along with links to many related stories. Also, a Lancaster and Spitfire fly over, and a C-47 drops parachutists.)
The C-47 is getting its share of the attention, 8 of them gathering at an airfield in England to fly on to France. It's an international effort, with planes coming from several European countries as well as Whiskey 7 from the U.S. Video here at this BBC story shows the gathering, interviews a veteran with fond memories of the Dakota, and shows the preparations to parachute into France again.
The paratroopers who jumped from C-47s and the glider troops who got towed into France by them seized strategic points inland from the landing beaches, points vital to keep the Germans from counter-attacking and vital for the invasion to progress. Without that ability to deliver men and arms from the air, the invasion might not have succeeded, or even been attempted. This video from the BBC pays special tribute to the planes that made it possible. Here's one more news item about Whisky 7, from the Air Force about her visit to Germany where the 37th Airlift squadron is now based. There's a beautiful wallpaper picture available at the link, of the old veteran flying in formation with C-130J Hercules.
ADDENDUM
In the U.S. there's some good news about the history of the war; a small but important piece of it was in danger of being lost forever. The good news is that it looks like the campaign to save Willow Run has succeeded - now they just need the money to stabilize it and turn it into a functional museum.
The story of the Willow Run Bomber plant and the Ford family's history that revolves around it is a gripping tale. I hope to review it here soon. In an odd coincidence, the good news for Willow Run and the Yankee Air Museum comes as a historic era in Wichita, Kansas is coming to an end. A facility that once built B-29s is being closed down by Boeing as operations move elsewhere. Like Willow Run, it was once the scene of heroic efforts on the home front, as detailed in The B-29's Battle of Kansas.
Meanwhile, if you want a fuller appreciation of what it took for the D Day invasion, NOVA on PBS has a two hour look at the sunken secrets of the battle. It is an amazing story. If you can't or don't want to watch it at the link, your local PBS station may well be rebroadcasting it for the anniversary.
UPDATE: The BBC continues to give D Day great coverage. Here's Live Coverage. News and video of the ceremonies. President Obama at the American cemetery. Here's photos from today's observations. Here's memories from one of the embarkation points, and recollections from veterans and their families. Here's photos of WW II re-enactors, recreating the scenes of the times. Here's more photos of the start of the observations.