About this section

In May 1944, the Western Allies were finally prepared to deliver their greatest blow of the war, the long-delayed, cross-channel invasion of northern France, code-named Overlord. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was supreme commander of the operation that ultimately involved the coordinated efforts of 12 nations.

After much deliberation, it was decided that the landings would take place on the long, sloping beaches of Normandy. There, the Allies would have the element of surprise. The German high command expected the attack to come in the Pas de Calais region, north of the river Seine where the English Channel is narrowest. It was here that Adolf Hitler had put the bulk of his panzer divisions after being tipped off by Allied undercover agents posing as German sympathizers that the invasion would take place in the Pas de Calais.

The following are photos and descriptions of D-Day, as it came to be known, from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

eEdition

Flip through the pages of the special printed edition that published on June 5 as we commemorate and honor the story of D-Day told in the words of those who lived to tell about it and through the things they carried with them - all from the collection of The National WWII Museum.

THOMAS: D-Day's 'forgotten' woman

Observances of the 75th anniversary of D-Day are properly focusing on the troops and the architect of Operation Overlord, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who freed Europe from Hitler and his Nazi hordes.

A 97-year-old vet jumped out of a plane to recreate his D-Day parachute drop

For most people, a summer trip to France is a chance to relax in beautiful surroundings and to savor the country's fine food. For Tom Rice of San Diego, it's an opportunity to relive the time he nearly died jumping from a C-47 Douglas airplane, then was shot at, again and again.

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As D-Day veterans dwindle, stories they passed on keep memory of service alive

As D-Day veterans dwindle, stories they passed on keep memory of service alive

As the number of D-Day veterans dwindles, it's the stories they passed on to their families and others about what they did on that day that are helping keep the memory of their service alive and insuring those veterans are not forgotten anytime soon.

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PHOTOS: Gwinnett residents recall fathers' D-Day stories

PHOTOS: Gwinnett residents recall fathers' D-Day stories

ISAKSON: D-Day is Greatest Generation's finest hour

More than 6,000 Americans gave their lives that day, but their sacrifice and heroism marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

World War II veteran Bill York giving D-Day presentation in Dacula

Gwinnett residents will have a chance to learn about what happened on D-Day during a presentation in Dacula Thursday night.

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Sugar Hill marking D-Day anniversary with veteran's memorial groundbreaking

Seventy-five years after allied soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy as part of the D-Day invasion of northern France, Sugar Hill officials will gather to break ground on a memorial to veterans of all wars.

D-DAY: A timeline of the attack

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, 156,000 servicemen from the Allied nations boarded more than 5,000 ships and landing craft that ferried them across English harbors to the beaches of France toward a hail of German gunfire and into history. At the same time, paratroopers and gliders descended into the pitch-black Normandy country- side with the objective of clearing the way for troops on the beaches to head inland.

D-DAY: Heroes share memories of the Battle that Won the War

D-DAY: Heroes share memories of the Battle that Won the War

Six veterans who fought in the invasion of Normandy share their memories of that fateful battle.

D-DAY: What it taught my grandpa

My grandfather, Larry Merkamp, died in 1998, aged 82. For the last few years of his life, he had kept an unopened bottle of champagne on top of the refrigerator in the basement of his house in his working-class neighborhood in Pittsburgh where he and my grandmother raised my mom and her youn…

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PHOTOS: Historic images from D-Day

As we look back at D-Day, 75 years ago, the following images are from the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

D-DAY: A survivor's words

The National WWII Museum’s oral history collection is currently at more than 10,000 and rising. These are taped interviews with WWII veterans. Once, in the “olden times” 30 years ago, they were exclusively audio cassettes, but not they exist on high-definition digital video.

D-DAY: What if the invasion had failed?

Since the D-Day invasion 75 years ago, it has become an epic of our history, bathed in hues of heroism and valor. The invasion marked a crucial milestone on the path to victory in Europe, placing powerful armies in Western Europe and forcing the German Wehrmacht into the impossible task of fighting on two fronts. For Americans, winning World War II in Europe is unthinkable without Operation Overlord.

D-DAY: About the National WWII Museum

The inspiration for creating The National WWII Museum — originally known as The National D-Day Museum — can be traced to a comment made to a young Net Orleans historian by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the mid-1960s, when memories of the fierce world struggle were still fresh.