Patience key when it came to D-Day info

Details were limited, even for those in command

“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.” — Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, on the eve of D-Day.

June 6 is the anniversary of Operation Overlord, better known to most as D-Day.

On this date in 1944, 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces successfully stormed five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast in France, History.com reports. The beaches were codenamed Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.

It was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history, and it was years in the making. The movement was monumental, marking the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe.

The day was shrouded in secrecy, the date determined by the weather. D-Day was originally planned for June 5, but the date was pushed back one day due to inclement weather — strong winds, high seas and low visibility, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Eisenhower’s meteorologists saw a break in the weather, and he seized the day.

It was a bold bid. America knew that something significant was in the works, yet it would be days before Americans knew the scope of what had happened.

Imagine that scenario today. In our connected world, the landscape would be much different, the communications almost constant.

For even President Franklin D. Roosevelt, initial information was limited.

To Gen. George C. Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff in Washington, D.C., Eisenhower’s initial progress report noted preliminary reports were “satisfactory,” but details were slim. In fact, Eisenhower wrote, “Communiqué will not be issued until we have word that leading ground troops are actually ashore.”

He ended the message on a positive note, indicating that the troops were ready: “The enthusiasm, toughness, and obvious fitness of every single man were high and the light of battle was in their eyes.”

Today, information would be flowing to the White House. In 1944, details were limited — even for the United States president and the Army chief of staff. It was a waiting game, and all they could do was be patient until information became clear.

Much has changed when it comes to communications from 1944 to today. And yet, despite that challenge, D-Day was a turning point for the Allied Forces.

Today, we remember their sacrifices, their dedication and the challenges they overcame as they changed the course of the war.