Welcome back to my blog. Here’s my recommendation of a movie to check out today and hope you punch your “Ticket to the Movies!” OK, today is Saturday, June 6, 2026, and we are at the 82nd anniversary of the invasion of western Europe on the beaches of Normandy in France in World War II by the Allies in 1944. It is called “D-Day” as well as “The Longest Day,” which is the title of a movie from the 1960s about the invasion.
I’m going to repurpose the majority of my post from 2025:
The sacrifice of the troops in the invasion force, primarily U.S., British and Canadian units, cannot ever be told in full, even with the particularly accurate portrayal of the violence and death on the French beaches of Normandy in the immediate classic “Saving Private Ryan” released in 1998.
“The Longest Day” offers a different view of D-Day, with its story showing the personal lives (as well as the military actions) of both Allied and German forces as well as members of the French Resistance (the coded messages broadcast to France by the Allies by the BBC included the iconic “John has a long mustache” as well as the famous “The long sobs of the violins… Fill my heart with a monotonous languor”).
As a campaign, more U.S. soldiers died in the Normandy landings and subsequent battles to break out from the invasion area (34,137 – June 6 to Sept. 14, 1944) than any other. Normandy was nearly 8,000 more fallen than from Meuse-Argonne offensive in World War I (26,277 – Sept. 26 to Nov. 11, 1918) or the Battle of the Bulge in WWII (19,276 – Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945). In the Pacific theater, the U.S. saw 20,195 die on Okinawa (April 1 to June 22, 1945).
So, on this incredibly solemn anniversary, check out some films about D-Day as a way to honor those who served and especially those who died so that democracy would mostly be maintained in Europe.
THE BEST:
“Band of Brothers” (2001; rated TV-MA; starring Damian Lewis, Scott Grimes and Ron Livingston)
“The Longest Day” (1962; rated G; starring John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton and Sean Connery) – click here for my review
“Saving Private Ryan” (1998; rated R; starring Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Barry Pepper) – click here for my review
GOOD TO GREAT:
“D-Day, the Sixth of June” (1956; this film is unrated, but consider it PG; starring Robert Taylor, Dana Wynter and Edmund O’Brien)
“The Dirty Dozen” (1967; rated NR; starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and John Cassevetes)
“Where Eagles Dare” (1968; rated M; starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure) – click here for my review
YOU’LL HAVE TO DECIDE:
“Ike – Countdown to D-Day” (2004; this is a TV movie; starring Tom Selleck and James Remar)
“The Red Ball Express” (1952; this film is unrated, but consider it PG; starring Jeff Chandler and Alex Nicol)
‘The Big Red One’
(1980; 113 minutes; rated R; directed by Samuel Fuller and starring Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill and Robert Carradine) – click here for my review
I included Eastwood in “Where Eagles Dare” because the heart of the Allied team’s mission is to rescue a U.S. general who was a key planner of the D-Day invasion (and it’s a great war film).
All-in-all, there’s quite a cinematic menu to choose from for today.
From a Google search: Today, on June 6, 2026, approximately 45,000 U.S. veterans of World War II are still alive, according to the National WWII Museum. As of January 2025, was estimated that about 66,000 were alive. Today’s total shows the annual significant drops (for example, more than 119,000 veterans estimated to be alive in 2023).
So and again … on this 82nd anniversary of D-Day, remember those who fell; those wounded; and those who served and survived.
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