Today in History

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Today In History If you were born on June 6, there is a lot that happened on this day in history. Below is a brief summary of what happened on this day. 1523 - Gustav became king of Sweden 1641 - Spain lost Portugal 1674 - Sivaji crowned himself king of India 1924 - The German Reichstag accepted the Dawes plan to pay war debts 1930 - Frozen food sold for the first time 1934 - President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Securities Exchange Act which established the Securities and Exchange Commission 1944 - D-Day: Operation Overlord - 400,000 Allied American, British, and Canadian troops land on beaches in Normandy in German occupied France. Though all of these events and many more are important events in world history, none is known more than the D-Day invasion. On this day General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, set in motion the go ahead for the invasion. As ordered, 6000 landing craft, ships and other vessels carrying 176,000 troops left England for France. 822 aircraft with parachutists also headed for specific drop zones, and an additional 13,000 aircraft provided air support. The invasion began at 6:30 AM taking Germany for the most part by surprise, as Hitler thought the invasion would happen elsewhere, so though there was opposition on the beaches, it could have been much worse. As a result, British and Canadians captured Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches, while the Americans took Utah, and found more opposition at Omaha Beach. It didn't go completely as planned as British Field Marshal Montgomery claimed, it was still a success and by the end of June the Allies had 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy and would continue to push their way across Europe. Several movies showed the heroism and valor of our fighting men. Most noteworthy is The Longest Day starring John Wayne - 1962 and Saving Private Ryan in 1998. HBO also did a mini series Band of Brothers in 2001. Today is the 72nd anniversary of the largest amphibious invasion of World War II. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/d-day