Photo of the Day

Today: a perspective on gifts.

It is Tuesday, June 6, 1944.

Norman Brown, a B-17 radio operator, is writing in his diary:

Norman's aircraft, the "Black Cat 13."

“Tuesday, 6^th

This is it.

D-day.

We were in the first wave of heavies [B-17s] over the coast.

US B-24s over the Normandy coast.

It was the greatest sight a person could see

and if I lived to be a thousand

I could never forget it.

The Normandy coast.

I went in with [P-]38s and P-47s flying cover for us

and P-51s and P-28s under us strafing the flak batteries

so we came in on the [cloud] deck

and laid our eggs

right down the barrels of the heavy coast defense guns.

Contemporary view of a German defensive gun on the Normandy coast.

The concussions of the 2,000 pounders

nearly threw us out of control at 10,000 feet.

The 38s and 51s had to keep away from them too.

Ships of the British Royal Navy gather off the Isle of Wight before sailing across the Channel.

Boats in the channel by the thousands.

Big boats, little boats,

fast boats, slow boats,

destroyers,

Sailing to Normandy.

cruisers, battle ships,

aircraft carriers, transports

and any other kind you could name.

The entire heavy bombardment group was out.

They claim over 15,000 heavies and mediums

of the USAAF and the RAF took part.

Paratroopers in the sky over Normandy.

I don’t know how many fighters were in it,

but there were thousands.

C-47 Skytrain aircraft deliver gliders.

There were so many planes in the air

that we had to go in on one route

and come out on another.

The planes went out, came back,

were fueled, reloaded

and went out again.

Aerial view of landing craft at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Some made five trips.

We only got in one.

It seems that for some reason

they don’t want us to finish up.

We still got the one to go.

They must have a tough one lined up

and are saving us for it.

Every time they get one that no one else wants

they give it to crew 17.

Lt. Edward P. Noordyk, pilot of Norman’s crew.

Let Noordyk’s crew do it.

We can’t say anything

so we have to take it.

B-17 from Norman's 100th Bomb Group under attack. Enemy aircraft in pursuit.

I guess we can

for one more.”

***

Could there be a finer gift than what these young men did for us?

******************************

I’ll see you tomorrow.

— Brenda

Diary of Norman L. Brown, US Eighth Air Force, 100th Bomb Group, 350th SQD, Tech Sgt, Position: Radio Operator/Gunner; from Cleveland, Ohio. The 100th made its home at Thorpe Abbotts field in East Anglia, located 90 miles northeast of London.