CEvery soldier was a hero. This phrase is said about the troops who disembarked on the beaches of Normandy, in the early hours of June 6, 1944. On D-Day, the term by which the date became known, 150 thousand young men from five different armies (two American, two British and one Canadian) faced heavy German fire, and more than 10,000 lost their lives. The survivors began the liberation of western Europe, which would be a long effort. Even Paris would only fall on August 24th. Operation Overlord – the official name of the invasion – was directed by North American General Dwight Eisenhower, in conjunction with the commanders of the armies involved. British historian Giles Milton, author of the recent book “D-Day — The Soldiers’ Story†(Vowels), speaks of a personal victory for British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in more than one sense. “From the beginning, Churchill realized that it would be absolutely essential for the Western allies to liberate the European continent,†he tells Expresso. “All your efforts were focused on this. From 1941, when the Lend Lease program came into force, men and weapons arrived in the United Kingdom, and he saw that it was necessary to launch the so-called second front for the liberation of France and the rest of Europe. â€
