Shortly before 0200 hours on June 6, 1944, the C-47 transport plane neared Normandy and the anti-aircraft fire started to stream up. “What was I doing here?” Sgt. Major Joseph Kissane of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division asked himself.
Kissane, 25, would go on to a life that some might say was the suburban idyll – wife and six kids, house in Greenlawn – but at that moment his prospects appeared uncertain. He hooked his static line, ran half the length of the plane and jumped. Kissane’s D-Day had begun.
The largest amphibious invasion in military history ---conducted 80 years ago on June 6 --established beachheads from which the Allies pushed inland, opening a western front in Europe and driving German Nazi forces from France. From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the issues that matter to you. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy .
"In company with our brace Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world," Dwight Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, wrote in a statement distributed to the troops the day of the invasion. In another message, written in the event of defeat but never distributed, he said: "I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time an.
