This is Jockel Podcast number 311 with Echo Charles and me, Jockel Willing. Good evening, echo. Good evening.

June 6, 1944

D-Day.

The largest sea-borne invasion in history.

Almost 7,000 ships and landing vessels, almost 200,000 naval personnel and 150,000 ground troops.

Attacking the heavily fortified beaches of the Nazis, Atlantic Wall, in France.

In doing so, Allied forces suffered over 10,000 casualties, including 4,414 killed in action.

It was a brutal assault, but the beachhead was secured.

However, the fighting was not over, far from it. There was much fighting to be done.

The fight through the villas Boccage, the assault on the city of Cain in Sherborg.

The battle to seize the village of St. Lo, the fight to close the Phalayas gap, the liberation

of Paris, the advance to the Rhine, Operation Market Garden in the Battle of Arnhem,

battles at Morebridge, Overloon, the Hurtken Forest, and all the way to the Battle of the Bulge

in the Ardennes Forest. The Battle of the Bulge, the largest battle fought by Americans in World War

II, December 1944 through January 1945, included a million Allied troops, 500,000 Americans,

resulted in more than 47,000 wounded, over 23,000 missing, and 19,000 killed in action.

But in the Battle of the Bulge, once again, victory was achieved.

And eventually, victory in Europe was achieved, and then Japan, and that victory was achieved

by what is now known as the greatest generation. And it is an absolute honor for us tonight to have

one of those men here with us, a man that landed on D-Day, and fought all the way to the Battle of

the Bulge. His name is Mr. Jake Larson, also known as Papa Jake, and he is here with us, sir.

Thank you for coming. It is an honor to have you here. Well, it's a honor to be here.

...