ROSS SIMPSON

The U.S. Army was founded on 14 June 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized enlistment of expert riflemen to serve the
United Colonies for one year.

Special Counsel for the U.S. Army Joseph N. Welch confronts
Sen. Joseph McCarthy

In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch (above), special 
counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph
McCarthy (below) during hearings on whether communism
has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces.

Welch’s verbal assault marked the end of McCarthy’s power 
during the anticommunist hysteria of the Red Scare in the
U.S.

On June 6, 1944, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower
gave the go-ahead for the largest amphibious military operation in history: Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northern France, commonly
known as D-Day. 

By daybreak, 18,000 British and American parachutists were already on
the ground. An additional 13,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover
and support for the invasion. At 6:30 a.m., American troops came ashore at
Utah and Omaha beaches. 

The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture Gold, Juno
and Sword beaches; so did the Americans at Utah. The task was much
tougher at Omaha beach, however, where the U.S. First Division battled high
seas, mist, mines, burning vehicles—and German coastal batteries, including
an elite infantry division, which spewed heavy fire. Many wounded Americans ultimately drowned in the high tide. British divisions, which landed at Gold,
Juno, and Sword beaches, and Canadian troops also met with heavy German
fire.

Allied forces Supreme Commander General Dwight D Eisenhower
(left) speaks with US Army paratroopers of Easy Company, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (Strike) of the 101st Airborne Division,
at Greenham Common Airfield in England June 5, 1944.