SO THAT TYRANT GOVERNMENTS WOULD NOT PREVAIL

~Correction: The extra printed 6-6-44 was a MORNING extra. Missourian microfilm is NOT on file at Kent Library.

Through the stories of the men who were there, the cameras of war photographers and the recollections of Frenchmen who welcomed it, Americans today turn their attention to the most spectacular invasion in history: the storming of the beaches at Normandy.

It is appropriate today -- 50 years after the June 6, 1944, invasion -- that we pause to pay tribute to the 155,000 Allied troops who so valiantly carried out the attack known as D-Day, the single-most important operation against the Germans' relentless takeover of Europe. No German unit ever again got close to those beaches. It was the turning point of World War II that led to the eventual downfall of Adolph Hitler's Reich.

D-Day was unique in that it combined the element of surprise with coordinated precision-like attacks by U.S. forces on Utah and Omaha beaches and by British forces on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. A large-scale invasion of France had been considered since 1942, and planning for D-Day began in 1943. By 1944, almost 1 million GIs were assembled on England's southern coast in preparation for the task.

The Germans expected an invasion, but were not sure where it would occur. The Allies initiated a massive campaign of misinformation, trying to persuade the Germans that Calais was the target. The Germans didn't buy it, but did fall to another ruse -- a phantom 1st Army Group under Gen. George S. Patton, seemingly stationed at Kent, that would be the main invasion force. The Germans' best defenses, therefore, were centered some 200 miles north of Normandy when the Allies landed. It was Hitler's first mistake.

The Allies quickly wore down the German resistance. The Germans were outnumbered by some 95,000 men, and the Allied forces used 12,000 aircraft, 1,200 ships, 950 tanks and 4,100 landing craft to carry out the assault. The Germans had 890 aircraft, 21 ships and 127 tanks. Within a day, the Allied troops had a foothold on the beaches, having lost 3,000 Americans, Britons and Canadians to the German resistance. But the march to victory had begun. By the end of August the Allies took Paris; the following year the war had been won.

Unlike any other victory in all U.S. wars, the invasion of Normandy 50 Junes ago remains cause for placid celebration, a time to pay solemn homage to the men, both living and dead, who carried it out. The free world owes its very existence to those brave men who stormed the beaches in the downpour of German artillery and gunfire so that tyrant governments would not prevail.

50 YEARS AGO

Elsewhere in today's newspaper, we re-print several pages from the June 6, 1944, Southeast Missourian. In fact, there were two editions on that day 50 years ago -- a late afternoon "Extra" edition and the regular evening newspaper. Both were filled with news about the invasion, thanks to the Associated Press and the time difference between Europe and the United States.

To provide you with these copies of those 1944 newspapers, we electronically scanned microfilm of the originals into our computer system. Then, because the breadth of a page was wider in those days, we shrunk the size of each page slightly. This process makes some of the smaller text difficult to read. If you are interested in these or other historical editions of the Southeast Missourian, the Cape Girardeau Public Library and Kent Library on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University have complete microfilm copies of all editions dating back to 1904.

We hope you enjoy today's reproductions, and we thank the area businesses who helped bring them to you.