"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944 ! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strengths in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned ! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory !

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory !

Good Luck ! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking" ----- Dwight Eisenhower

As we celebrate the 81st anniversary of the largest and likely the most important amphibious assault in history we can still marvel at the strategy, supplies and strength of will of the Allied forces to overcome an entrenched enemy.

We are fortunate and honored to have artifacts in our collections from participants in this operation named "Overlord".



Want to help Support Our Mission?

Sons of Liberty Museum - Secure Donation

Army Air Corps Museum - Secure Donation

Thank you for all of the great artifact donations!

We want to send out a special thank you to all of our volunteers who have been helping us on many projects. We could not have accomplished so much without your assistance!

Thank you for your support!

Artifacts help tell the stories, money makes the engine run, please

Donate Now!

We tell history! Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time.

Remember those that made the #ultimatesacrifice #mia #pow #kia #sonsofliberty. #patriots #army #navy #marines #aircorps #airforce #coastguard #spaceforce #merchantmarine; all those that have worn the cloth.

Join us on this journey.

In Their Memory,

Robert Coalter, Executive Director

Jason Weigler, Executive Director

Major Robert Weigler, Jr. US Army Ret. - Director

"Saving Military History One Soldier At A Time".^SM 

"Saving History One Soldier At A Time"^SM

We invite you to read a lot of D-Day related material on our websites at D-Day history and Army Air Forces on D-Day

Read journals, after action reports, combat interviews and unit histories along with official histories on our websites. Immerse yourself in these ever expanding sections dedicated to this historic event.

Want to create a permanent memorial for your veteran or family member? Instead of a brick that wears away from foot traffic, memorialize that special veteran on the side of the USH-Constitution.

Bronze

This is a 2 1/2" x 22" name placard. This is a 2 row display with the first line containing the name and the second a unit, conflict and branch. The top row is approx. 1" tall and the 2nd line 3/4".

2 1/2" x 22" - $750

Silver

This is a 2" x 36" name placard. This is a 1 row display with the line containing the name, unit, conflict and branch. The lettering is approximately 1 1/2" tall.

2" x 36" - $1375

Gold

This is a 5" x 36" name placard. This is a 2 row display with the first line containing the name and the second a unit, conflict and branch. The top row is approx. 2" tall and the 2nd line 1 1/2".

5" x 36" - $2000

COMBAT INTERVIEWS

2nd and 5th RANGER BATTALIONS Normandy Landings 6 - 8 June 1944

The correction made brought Col Rudder's column back toward Pointe du Hoe, but now on a course roughly paralleling the cliffs and only a few hundred yards out. They thus came under small arms, machine gun and antiaircraft fire from the German strongpoints scattered along the cliffs east of the Point. Despite very good visibility, enemy fire seemed to be poorly directed, and was scattered. 300 yards from landing one of the DUKWs was hit and sunk by 20mm fire (presumably from the AA position, just east of the Point, which was to cause trouble all morning) 5 of the 9 men aboard were casualties, some hit while in the water.* Only one * man was hit in the other craft.

(Statement of John Ahern, Pfc, Hq Co)

Read more Army Rangers, Combat Interviews of D-Day

Beachhead

Offical 4th Infantry Division D-Day Report

"After midnight the transports began to slow down until at last they were barely creeping along following the minesqeepers. About 2:00 AM the ships dropped anchor. We were across the channel. So far we had me no opposition from the Germans. But now we were anchored eight miles from an enemy coast line, where Hitler swore that any Allied troops who landed would not live to the end of the day. What plans did the Germans have for destroying us? Did they know yet that we had come? It was not long til the latter question was answered:; the wester sky blazed with searchlights and heavy flak which kept going up and grew in violence. That would be Jerry's greeting to our airborne landing. The fighting had started. 

The 4th Division's turn was next. But we had five hours yet to sweatout before the first waves hit the beach. These were tense hours. On the USS Dickman and _________ the 1st and 2nd Bns 8th Inf., the first two battalions to land, had an early breakfast and then, an hour and a half before dawn, began loading in landing boats." ....

Before daylight assault troops of B, C, E and F companies had descended the rope ladders and loaded onto their LCVPs and were circling near the transports until the step-off time. It took 20 boats to hold these assault companies. 

Before 9:00 the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 8th Infantry had destroyed all resistance of a two mile long beach. Reinforcements started coming ashore closely behind. 

Read more and view a copy of the complete 4th Infantry Division D-Day Report

1st Infantry Division

D-Day After Action Reports

Section on the left, the 5th on the right, and the 3rd to the front center, moved up a hill on the left flank. Three of an enemy MG crew were captured, one German was killed, and the remainder of the enemy withdrew to safety of surrounding hedge rows.

On the 1st objective Lt Giles, Company M joined Company K and assumed command. The 3rd Section, under Lt Silver, was given a mission of clearing a path through a minefield, and contacting, via patrol, Companies I or L. About midway across open terrain through which they were advancing they came under enemy MG and sniper fire and were pinned down.

Lts Giles, Silver, Buck and 3 riflemen advanced to the head of the company and 500 yards ahead contacted elements of Company L. The remainder joined and advanced with Company L to LE and HAMEAU where the Battalion was reorganized.

In setting up defensive positions for the night, Lt Silver and the 3rd Section established two road blocks on the main road leading into LE Gd HAMEAU; Lt Stumbaugh and the 2nd Section rounded up inhabitants of the village and placed them under guard; the 1st, 4th, and 5th Sections sent out patrols to LA VALLEE during the night but no enemy was contacted.

Company K suffered 51 casualties at the end of D-day, most of them on the beach.

Read more D-Day After Action Reports of the 1st Infantry Division.

1st Med Bn, Company A on D-Day

A Report of the Initial Landing of U.S.C.G., LCT 85 with 90 members of the First Medical Battalion, Company A, 6 June 1944

On the morning of June the Sixth, 1944 the assault landing craft of which Company A, 1st Medical Battalion was aboard, approached the beach at the appointed hour. Eighty six men and four officers of Company A were aboard.  At 8:30 AM our craft, LCT 85, headed in for the shore with no enemy opposition encountered so far. As the boat slid in over the pilings just stuck up here in front of us, we could see soldiers lined up all along the rocky beach ahead of us. Suddenly we could hear the metallic staccato of machine gun fire and then the report of shell fire.

Read more of the Normandy Landing of Company A, 1st Medical Batallion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division on Omaha Beach.

Bruce Silcott

HQ, Company

506th PIR

101st Airborne

LT Jackson Byers

316th Troop Carrier Group

From their base in Cottesmore, England the 44th Troop Carrier Squadron would deliver paratroops of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the the 82nd Airborne Division on D-Day.

Enjoy a number of photos surrounding D-Day and within days of the initial landings.

Members of the Filthy 13, Special Demolition Platoon, 101st Airborne on 5 June as they prepare for early morning jump into Normandy on D-Day.

C-47 of the 95th Troop Carrier Squadron, 440th Troop Carrier Group based in Exeter, England. The 440th delivered paratroops of the 3rd Battalion 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Men of the 82nd Airborne load a motorcycle into a Waco glider ahead of their early morning D-Day mission.

A WACO glider awaits its crew for a D-Day mission.

Naval bombardment off Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Assault troops on the Normandy beachhead on D-Day.

Dropping down the ropes on to the LCI. 1st Infantry Division.

1st Infantry wades ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day.

1st Infantry on Omaha Beach on D-Day

Injured 1st Infantry Soldier on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Scenes of Omaha Beach from landing craft on D-Day.

Men of the 1st Infantry Division on Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Utah Beach

D-Day

6 June 1944

Armada of ships crossing the English Channel

Troop ships cross the English Channel and offload the young infantrymen onto landing craft for their beach assault.

Coast Guard and Navy ships in the English Channel.

A Coast Guard patrol craft in the English Channel.

Engineers and a 9th Air Force radioman in a Landing Craft.

Army Rangers in a Landing Craft on D-Day.

Navy Coxswains work overtime; driving the landing craft. Here they take soldiers from the docks in southern England to the troop transport ships to cross the English Channel.

A view of Omaha Beach from an LCI.

Landing Ship Tank (LST) disgorges their vehicle cargo. Many would get unloaded onto large barges that would get closer to shore and then vehicles would drive though shallow water to shore.

Transported vehicles offload to barges.

Utah Beach activity.

Men of the 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division land on Utah Beach.

Across a berm by the 4th Infantry Division on Utah Beach.

82nd Airborne aboard Glider.

Carentan. The primary objective location to link-up the Omaha and Utah beaches.

A Landing Zone (LZ) for Gliders behind Utah Beach.

A-20 Havoc of the 9th Air Force with painted invasion stripes over the Normandy beaches.

Captain H.A. Ogden of the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group destroys a vehicle on D-Day.

Field hospitals gather the wounded. Many would return to England by boat, then C-47s began air transport.

Reinforcements prepare to leave England in the days following D-Day.

MM-1776 Launches

Our grand opening (Oct 21, 2023) of our new mobile museum, MM-1776.. Thank you to American Legion Post 453 for hosting this event and dinner.

Veteran Memorials

With the launch of our new mobile-museum trailer we have a place for a visual honorarium and memorial for your veteran. Honor your veteran family member with a permanent marker on our new mobile-museum.

Like bricks or pavers, this permanent memorial will be seen by many at schools, veteran and civic events. Get your Veteran Memorial Today!

Read more about Sons of Liberty Memorials

Read More About Army Air Corps Memorials

If you are looking to volunteer with a non-profit we would welcome your assistance. We have a need to transcribe over 150,000 of these index cards. Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, Soldiers Medal, Bronze Stars and Purple Heart. Getting this information into our database will allow us to make this data searchable. Contact us to get started!

We are also looking for General Orders of World War II, digital copies are welcome; volunteers to transcribe this data.

Transcription of monthly unit histories and other documents are projects to help us recover and preserve history and are fantastic accounts written close to the actual events rather than decades later as memories may fade.

There are still thousands classified as Missing in Action or as Buried Unknowns. In our partnership with the MIA Recovery Network we have established data on our websites regarding MIAs.

The quest to account for those of our nation's Missing in Action is one of the most noble of endeavors. There are also a large number of recovered remains that are buried in ABMC cemeteries where the identity is unknown. These are known as X-Files.

The recovery of MIAs pose a number of challenges. For example, Navy or Merchant Marine ships that were sunk are unrecoverable and thus ship manifests are the primary and often only source of names for those that have perished but are still accounted.

Each conflict has had its own challenges. At the end of World War II the military had established more than 360 temporary cemeteries, but the dead were being found continually in farm fields, forests, small church cemeteries, isolated graves and the shores of combat zones. These dead were collected and the remains consolidated into the fourteen permanent European, Mediterranean, and North African Cemeteries maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission along with two permanent cemeteries in the Philippines and Hawaii.

Monetary donations are needed and very welcomed to support these efforts to create case files.

Please consider a DONATION today. Thank You.

#neverforget #bringthemallhome

Sons of Liberty Museum

The Sons of Liberty has hundreds of uniforms and thousands of other artifacts in our collection from the U.S. Revolutionary War to Present day. Our web presence now numbers in excess of 500,000 pages. We continue to accept new material for education and research programs.

Our collection includes memorabilia from the front line soldier to the rear echelon clerk. Drivers, infantrymen, pilots, tankers, seaman, medical, artillery, armorers, engineers, quartermasters and much more. Those that were drafted or volunteered; those that did a single tour or made it a career. Those that returned with all types of injuries and those that gave their full measure; killed in action (KIA). All MOS are welcome from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Marines.

Monetary donations help us preserve and display these pieces of American History. Thank you for your support.

We are Saving Military History One Soldier At A Time. We are honoring the service of the Citizen Soldier.

#sonsofliberty

Volunteers

We need volunteers to transcribe award and roster documents. You will place the material into a spreadsheet where it will be added to our database and website. We welcome new dedicated volunteers to work from home and help us with this project!

Interesting Links & Resources

Researching History: https://www.sonsoflibertymuseum.org/military-history-records.cfm

Honor Roll: https://www.sonsoflibertymuseum.org/honor.cfm

Donations

We welcome donations of monies for operational costs. Artifact donations are sought in the form of papers, books, photos, gear, uniforms, jackets, medals, ribbons, weapons, equipment, scrapbooks, biographies, diaries and more. Please Contact Us

Revolutionary War, War if 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Cold War, Gulf War and current conflict donations accepted. From small to large multi-item donations, they all tell a story.

We need you ! We need your help to further our mission of preserving and bringing this history to the public. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit your qualifying donations are tax deductible.

Army Air Corps Museum

The Air Corps Museum online presence encompasses over 500,000 web pages with thousands of photos and other materials. Our artifact collection contains hundreds of uniforms, albums, logs, medals and more from the Army Air Service, Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force.

World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, Cold War, Gulf War and current conflict donations welcome!

Volunteers

We need volunteers to transcribe documents, placing the material into a spreadsheet. We welcome new dedicated volunteers to help us with this project! Work from home.

Interesting Links & Resources

Trace a Family Members Military Service: https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/veteran-research.cfm

Honor Roll: https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/honor_roll.cfm

Donations

We welcome donations of papers, books, photos, gear, uniforms, jackets, medals, ribbons, weapons, equipment, scrapbooks, biographies, diaries, letters and more. Please Contact Us

Monetary donations help us preserve and display these pieces of American History. Thank you for your support. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit your qualifying donations are tax deductible.

As a non-profit it's important to let our patrons know where some of their money is going.

This riker-mount display box is one of the most important pieces that we use. They contain ribbons, medals, patches, pictures and other small memorabilia items. They are great to help reserve items as well.

Each year we purchased 500 of these items. We will fill them all with great artifacts in less than 12 months.

$5000.

Constant Contact charges us $1200 annually to create, store and send this newsletter.

Our web servers, domains and hosting cost $8200 / year. Our hosting requirement of storage will only increase over the coming years as we continue to add to our online material.

The annual total for just these three components is $14,400. Naturally, we have other expenditures, but 100% of monetary donations go to operations. All staff and directors are volunteers.

Monetary donations are needed and very welcomed to support these efforts.

Please consider a DONATION today. Thank You.



We rescue a lot of military artifacts; items destined for the trash heap. From torn papers and faded ribbons to moth damaged uniforms decades pass and the condition of items deteriorate. These artifacts still have a story to tell.

Many museums only want items in pristine condition, we say differently. Some so called museums only want materials from a well known commander written up in history books or the fighter ace or a man who would fly to the moon or a Medal of Honor recipient.

While we have artifacts such as these we also have the items of the draftee who answered their nation's call and served their tour and then went home. Some were not so fortunate, special place in our hearts for the KIAs. In our mission of "Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time" it is about all who have worn the cloth of our nation's military. Artifacts help us bring stories to life no matter their condition.

We accept donations of artifacts in ALL CONDITIONS.

---- What is Liberty ? ----

"definition. the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views." 

Merriam-Webster defines it as " the power to do as one pleases, the freedom from physical restraint and freedom from arbitrary or despotic control.

---- So what is a Son of Liberty? ----

In our context and beginning these were the men and women in America who wanted their liberty and freedom from the King of England. They desired a right of self-determination for their lives.  They fought for this liberty and codified it in the Constitution of a new country.  To keep this liberty they created a military to ward off the any would-be belligerent. Since the War of Independence until and including the present day the men and women who have worn the cloth of our nation's military are its Sons of Liberty.  They have fought enemies in other nations, they have fought each other and they have stood as sentinels of the watch.

We celebrate the service of these individuals, we tell the historical story of these selfless patriots.

---- The Sons of Liberty Museum ----

Over 15 years ago we chose a name for this organization and our sister the Army Air Corps Library and Museum. We believe these names accurately describe these men and women who serve. We will not change any name to satisfy a radical viewpoint or computer algorithm. We don't allow for any revisionist history, we tell the factual stories.

We are Saving Military History One Soldier at a Time.

Need a Good Book, DVD?

Check out these titles.

We would like to send a shout out to our website design partner, InterNet Partners, who has helped us with a variety of database programming and web design over the years.