SELF-GUIDED TOUR FOR D-DAY
Context
National Museum of the United States Air Force, “OPERATION OVERLORD: D-Day.”
OPERATION OVERLORD: D-Day > National Museum of the United States Air Force™ > Display (af.mil)
- Highlights the museum’s exhibits on D-Day while explaining the events, terminology, and significance of the day.
U.S. Department of Defense, “D-Day: The Beaches.”
d-day-fact-sheet-the-beaches.pdf (defense.gov)
- Good spatial orientation to the battle area and by-the-numbers coverage of Allied contributions to the invasion.
Books
Ambrose, Stephen E. D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994.
- Very engaging description of the people, places, and events tied to D-Day.
Dolski, Michael. D-Day Remembered: The Normandy Landings in American Collective Memory. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2016.
D-Day Remembered | University of Tennessee Press (utpress.org)
- Covers D-Day both as a significant moment during the Second World War but also as an enduring part of the American collective remembrance.
Harrison, Gordon A. Cross Channel Attack. United States Army in World War II. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, 1951, 1993.
history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-4-1/CMH_Pub_7-4-1.pdf
- U.S. Army’s very readable official history of D-Day.
Hughes, Thomas A. Over Lord: General Pete Quesada and the Triumph of Tactical Air Power in World War II. New York: Free Press, 1995.
- Analysis of air power development during the Second World War with a close look at D-Day tactical air power from the viewpoint of General Quesada. General Quesada was Commander, Ninth Air Force, during the Normandy invasion.
Winters, Dick, with Cole Kingseed. Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters. New York: Penguin, 2006.
- Fans of the Band of Brothers series on HBO will appreciate learning more about the main figure of that series: Major Richard Winters. Maj Winters led an airborne platoon for the drop on D-Day and later that day assumed command of his company.
Other Documents
American Battle Monuments Commission, “Press Kit: Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day,” 2024.
ABMC-DDay80PressKit.pdf
- Discussion of the Normandy American Cemetery and its key role in D-Day remembrance. Includes stories of individuals linked to D-Day.
Edwards, Sam. “The 80th Anniversary of D-Day: An Opportunity to Seize.” War on the Rocks, 29 May 2024.
The 80th Anniversary of D-Day: An Opportunity to Seize - War on the Rocks
- Overview of D-Day ceremonies and their use in international diplomacy with an eye toward current affairs in Eastern Europe.
Eighth Air Force, “Tactical Operations in Support of Allied Landings in Normandy: 2nd June – 17th June 1944.”
report-of-the-eighth-air-force.pdf (eisenhowerlibrary.gov)
- Short After Action Report from the Eighth Air Force with details on its support for the D-Day invasion.
Movies, Podcasts & Other Media
Band of Brothers. Dirs. David Frankel, Mikael Salomon, Tom Hanks, David Leland, Richard Loncraine, David Nutter, Phil Alden Robinson, and Tony To. HBO in association with DreamWorks Pictures, 2001.
- High production quality mini-series that follows an American Airborne company from training, through its exposure to combat on D-Day, to the end of the war.
Free History Podcasts, “D-Day,” with Peter Caddick-Adams, 4 June 2023.
https://www.tttpodcast.com/season-1/peter-caddick-adams-operation-overlord-1944
History Extra Podcast, “A New View of D-Day,” with James Holland.
History Extra podcast: A new view of D-Day on Apple Podcasts
The National World War II Museum, “The Meaning of D-Day,” 6 June 2020.
Episode 6 – "The Meaning of D-Day" | The National WWII Museum | New Orleans (nationalww2museum.org)
Saving Private Ryan. Dir. Steven Spielberg. 169 min. DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures, 1998.
- Hollywood blockbuster film that launches quickly into very intense depiction of the D-Day landings.
WW2 Podcast, “D-Day Through German Eyes,” 15 October 2019.
102 - D-Day Through German Eyes (ww2podcast.com)
Library of Congress, Veterans History Project: D-Day focus
D-Day (June 6, 1944) | World War II (1941-1945) | Serving: Our Voices | Veterans History Project Collection | Digital Collections | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
- Exemplary collection of first-person accounts by those linked to D-Day in many different ways.