Not to take anything away from the Army and their heroic invasion of Normandy, but without Allied superiority of the air and sea, D-Day would not have been successful. This control of air and sea came at a heavy price, costing the Allies the lives of thousands of airmen and sailors during the five years leading up to D-Day, . With full support of the Allied Air Forces and Navies, D-Day was the Army's turn to take the fight to the enemy. And that they did!

An ancient Greek admiral once said, "He who rules the sea, rules the world." This proved to be true for thousands of years until the invention of the airplane. I guess one could now say, "He who rules the skies, rules the world." Or at least whatever is underneath. The Navy knows this, as the aircraft carrier has become our greatest weapon. Our carriers rule the skies which rule the seas and provides air support for our land forces.

The big events leading up to D-Day were the Battle of Britian, the Battle for the Atlantic and then, for lack of a name, the Battle for French Skies. During the years leading up to D-Day, the Allied Air Forces were able to drive the Luftwaffe hundreds of miles away from the Normandy beaches. They did this by constantly bombing their bases and potential bases. This was no easy task, as thousands of flyboys were killed. Come D-Day, only two Luftwaffe planes were able to attack the beachhead.

The Air Force did their part on D-Day, too. The bombing photos taken on D-Day clearly show the Normandy landscape looking much like the moon, riddle with thousands of craters. The Air Force didn't stop there. They came back many times throughout the day and bombed tactical positions as called for. The 492nd ran three missions on D-Day. However, the Air Force's bombings didn't achieve the desired results, as their bombs weren't able to penetrate the well-built German bunkers. Therefore, history hardly mentions them at all.

The Navy did their part too. Not only did they ferry the invasion force across the Channel, they helped them out with their big guns. When all was looking impossible for the men at Omaha beach, US destroyers came in at point blank range and opened up their guns on the German defenses. This was the turning point, but very little is said or remembered.

I guess little is said for the heroics displayed by the Air Force and Navy on D-Day because this day truly belongs to the Army. I agree. They had the hardest job, suffered many casualties and yet still accomplished their objectives. But they weren't alone and the sacrifices it took to make this day possible was huge. Please join me in remembering those guys too. For without them D-Day would've never have been successful.

Paul Arnett 492ndBombGroup.com historian