On the Eve of D-Day
On June 5th, 1944, as the sun set over southern England, the airfields came alive with quiet preparation.
At Upottery, the men of Easy Company gathered for what they believed would be their final briefing. They were handed silk escape maps, tiny brass compasses, and a few counterfeit French francs printed in Washington. Each man was given a small American flag to sew on his sleeve. One by one, they swallowed motion sickness pills. And then they were handed a slip of paper—General Eisenhower’s personal message:
“Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force… the eyes of the world are upon you.”
Nearby, others shaved their heads into mohawks. The Germans, it was said, had warned French civilians that the airborne would be full of American criminals and madmen. So Easy Company played along, leaning into the myth with smirks and razors.
At Greenham Common, Eisenhower arrived in person. He moved among the men of the 101st—laughing with them, encouraging them, reminding them they were ready. In his memoir, he remembered how they joked that he had nothing to worry about. “The 101st was on the job.”
By midnight, their planes were in the air. Eisenhower stood and watched until the last of them disappeared into the night.
What does it mean to walk into darkness, knowing what might come? Some of these men would not see another dawn. Others would carry the memory of this night forever: the smell of fuel, the rattle of gear, the silence between jokes, and the weight of knowing history was about to shift—and they were the ones who would shift it.
Today, Greenham Common Airfield is quiet. Much of the old base is gone, but if you visit, you can still walk the long perimeter where paratroopers waited in the dark. You can still stand where Eisenhower stood and look up into a midnight sky.
Further Reading:
For more, see Shifty’s War by Marcus Brotherton, Band of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose, and Eisenhower’s Crusade in Europe.
To explore the airfields and stories for yourself, the Band of Brothers Travel Guide offers detailed directions and historical insights.
Photos: U.S. Army Signal Corps, James Skeffington, Unsplash