D-Day, the Invasion of Normandy

The Landings in Normandy, otherwise known as D-Day, was a tragic yet heroic military event that prompted the American involvement in WWII. Allied forces counted 73,000 American, 61,715 British, and 21,400 Canadian Troops. The attack was so secret, even deployed units were uninformed of their destination. 

General Dwight D. Eisenhower kept a scrap of paper in his pocket in case the landings failed. The paper said, "If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone."

 Codenamed "Operation Overlord", it remains the largest amphibious invasion to this day. The Allied Nations sent 195,700 naval troops into battle in over 5,000 ships. The beaches attacked in Normandy had code names according to guidelines set out by Winston Churchill. The names, such as Utah and Juno, still appear on various maps today. In fact, school teacher Leonard Dawe, creator of the crossword puzzles for The Times, was arrested after he gave away numerous D-Day codes as answers to clues. 

The Bayeux cemetery in France is the largest WWII cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers. In total, there are 4,144 Commonwealths buried there, 338 of which remain unidentified.