June 6, 2014 will be 70 years since the Allied invasion of the
beaches at Normandy, France during World War II. Many of the members of the NOBC organization
(National Order of Battlefield Commissions) were there. One of those “Mustangs” (the descendents of
NOBC members – of which Ron is one) was there:
JT Vogt's father was on Omaha Beach that day over 69 years ago. JT, our friend from Wisconsin, wanted to see
the beach someday and planned that the 70th anniversary would be the
time. His friend, Dr. Bob Bivins,
promised that he would go with JT, no matter what! We decided to join them, that this would be a
good time to take the trip which Ron has wanted to for so long. Ron’s brother Merlyn and his wife are also
hoping to come. We invite whomever else would like to go to join us there. Now to plan!
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| Ron's dad in the MN National Guard, 1935 |
Before the
famous Normandy invasion, there were two notable Allied invasions of Europe. The
first was at Anzio, Italy. Its “D-Day”
was 22 Jan 1944 and lasted until 25 May 1944.
The 3rd and 45th Infantry Divisions hit the beaches first and
about mid-May, they were relieved to prepare for the invasion of southern
France. The 35th Infantry Division
relieved the 3rd. Division. Ron’s
father was in the 35th and was on the beach until the end of
May. On Memorial Day there is a memorial
observation led by a 3rd Division veteran of the invasion, Clyde
Easter. After talking with Clyde, we
decided to include Anzio in our trip plans, so we will be going there first.
Thus, the trip was born.
