In the fall of 2000 I took a 3 week D Day tour sponsored by American Heritage magazine. This image was taken on Omaha Beach. It is not a current photo, but seemed appropriate.


I am an American historian by training (I used to teach high school history), and my interest in World War II dates back to my boyhood days observing the war as a child from Denver. By the time I got to high school I began devouring everything I could find to read about the conflict and I watched every war film. Thus I was thrilled to be able to take this D Day tour which included the Allied planning in London, the Channel crossing, a visit to all five invasion beaches, the breakthrough at St. Lo, and the drive through Paris to the Battle of the Bulge and finally reaching the Rhine.

This tribute to D Day is an obvious choice for today, and I honor and mourn the 56 million people who died during the conflict between 1939 and 1945.