The Longest Day: 75 Things You Don't Need to Know 

After the war, and until he retired, "Piper Bill" Millin was a nurse at the psychiatric hospital that my Grandfather ran just outside Dawlish Devon (Langdon Hospital). My Grandfather was a psychiatrist and was also in the D-Day landings as a Major in the Royal Army Medical Corps. (He was a pioneer in the treatment of PTSD). Bill Millin played the pipes for our family at my Grandfather and Grandmother's 50th wedding anniversary in Dawlish.

Please understand, Eddie Albert did not “win” the Bronze Star medal. A military person does NOT win any medal, they RECEIVE that award.

My mother in law packed parachutes for Lancaster crews and was in London on Victory Day. She still had a wicked sense of humor and it was our pleasure to have her live with us in the last few years of her life. My parents were liberated in Holland in 1945 so it means something to me when I say "Thank you for your service".

I read THE LONGEST DAY by Cornelius Ryan in high school.(1961). By the time that I saw the movie in '62, I was already well acquainted with some of the characters. There was one D DAY paratroop survivor named (Robert??) Murphy. He was an Irish Boston lawyer. He wasn' t mentioned in this video. But he was one of the few paratroop survivors that Ryan could find at the time that he wrote the book. I see this as proof of the high casualty rate for the paratroops of the D Day invasion. God Bless them all.

Brilliant video. My dad landed on d day I’m proud to say, and we loved the film. He was a great man and died New Year’s Day 2013 aged 92. I’ll treasure his medals forever.

On 06/03/1965, the day before my high school graduation on 06/04/1965, I spent the day watching this movie, eight times. I was 17 year old girl totally unprepared to see it! I have three brothers who heard the stories from the old men, then they were taken off to Vietnam. I sat in the dark of that theater by myself and cried all day. The only time I cried so much was when my baby girl died in 1986. War is hell. Life is hell. But it doesn’t have to be! Scotland lost a generation in Europe. I am so proud of all those boys and girls who gave me a chance to be born!

My Grandfather served with The Black Watch and went ashore on D-Day in one of the later waves before fighting all the way across NW Europe up to VE Day. Like many who fought, he was reluctant to say too much about what he saw, never went to a Remembrance Day parade or reunion, but by the time this movie came out he quite enjoyed going to the cinema with my Dad to watch the odd war film. He liked this one in particular and it was after seeing these movies that he'd briefly talk about his experiences to my Dad on the way home. It's still a great movie that stands the test of time and is particularly brilliant in its even handed approach to telling the story from all sides.

This movie and 'Sink the Bismarck' are two of the biggest influences in my decision to enlist in the USN in 1984. That and they offered me nuclear power school training. I served 4 years on USS Dwight D Eisenhower CVN 69 in the forward engine room.

Funny thing about the pipers. I used to play in a Pipe Band (I’m a piper myself) back in the early 1980’s, where we had an older guy who I found out from the others in the band that he was a WW2 veteran. He never talked about the war, but rather concentrated on playing his pipes and enjoying his life. After a few beers (no idea how many but there were a lot of empties afterwards), he was telling us about carrying his pipes on Juno Beach on D Day. He said “carrying” his pipes because he said he was so scared (he was 18 at the time), he planned on playing but the return fire was so intense that he just tucked his pipes close to his chest and ran as fast as he could. Can’t say as I blame him. He then dropped his pipes, a prized possession bought by his parents, and picked up an Enfield from a dead Canadian and continued with his unit. He later returned to the beach that day, and to his surprise his pipes were still there. They were the same pipes he played in our band. Mind you, they were a little worse for wear, and looked like they “went through a war”, because they did. He had a brass plaque on his base drone stock with tiny engraved words. I really didn’t pay much attention to it, but I was told by one of our drummers that it was a list of the battles he carried those pipes in. Those were a few decades ago. I have lost touch with my fellow band members due to moving on with life. I have forgotten his name, and he has in all likelihood passed on. His pipes should belong either to a museum or in the hands of a current playing piper. It would be a shame if they’re sitting in a trunk in someone’s attic. He told us that The Longest Day made it look like they were all brave supermen who were not afraid to die. He said bullshit, that they were a bunch of scared teenagers and early twenty-somethings who had a hard job to do, and they did it. I for one think they were heroes, and the civilized world has a lot to thank them for. Unfortunately, most today have absolutely no idea what they did.

This film, despite a few inaccuracies, brilliantly portrays the motions of 'D-Day' or 'Operation Overlord' & depicts the biggest movement of troops ever. I've visited all the actual sites featured in that momentous invasion & is particularly poignant for me as my Dad landed on 'Gold' beach on that day. He was one of the fortunate ones who survived the war but many made the ultimate sacrifice.

My dad was a US Marine and a first day lander on Tarawa.....he thought “ The longest day “ and “ Saving private Ryan “ were very very good renditions of the landings.....but in his eyes and memory the action was times ten.....thank you to all the men and women involved.....

To think it was released just 18 years after the actual events is kind of eerie. The memories were still vivid and pains still felt. My respects to all who served and died on all sides, it shouldn't have happened but the many brave brought it to an end.

The longest day is a great classic. The speech of the French Admiral still sends shivers down my spine. The acting to so good there, so much emotion. As a European, visiting Normandy is still on my to-do list. A small thing to thank the soldiers that gave us the first hope of freedom after 4 years of war. The radio broadcast that told the resistance in Europe of the invasion rallied so many people to the resistance.

The scene with Richard Todd playing Major Howard, while standing right next to another actor who is playing the WWII era Richard Todd is one of my all time favorite movie scenes.

I saw this movie when it first came out in theaters in Canada with my Dad.He sat silently and rigidly through the whole movie and on the way home said nothing till we got home and then he only thanked me for going with him. Never talked about it. I was 10 and it,the movie and my Dad's reaction to it,made a strong vivid memory. The movie still does as it brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it especially around the anniversary.

My uncle Tony was one of the D-Day paratroopers. He didn't talk about it except to reveal that when he hit the ground a very young German soldier had him dead-to-rights as my uncle became tangled in his lines, helpless. The soldier lowered his rifle and ran away.

British actor Richard Todd was a British paratrooper who combat jumped into Normandy on D-Day. He later portrayed his actual wartime battalion commander (Colonel John Howard) in "The Longest Day". That has always been my favorite movie fact about "The Longest Day".

I was about 11 years old when that movie came out. I can tell you for sure the effect of that movie sold a lot of plastic army men.

I was lucky enough to live near where Elmo Williams retired in Brookings, Oregon. He did several talks on the filming of The Longest Day and among other things was in one of the Messerschmitts during the fly-overs during filming. He was an amazing person involved in multiple monumental films and always had a good story to tell. He did some fundraising for the local community center and as part of it sold off pages from the original storyboards from the movie. Among others I have the series of Private Steele on the church roof and the "Piper Bill" on Sword Beach framed over my desk.

I spent a week in Normandy for the 64th Anniversary with my retired Army buddies. I stood at Cafe Gondree, Pegasus Bridge on the evening of the 5th June and a wonderful elderly Gentleman offered me a glass of Champagne to toast the event. He was a member of the Ox and Bucks who landed at the Bridge at the start of D-DAY. I often think about him although I'm sure he has passed into history with his comrades.........I still have the Champagne flute (unwashed) to remind me.

I loved "The Longest Day"! I remember watching this over and over as a kid, not knowing the true history behind it. Well, make a long story short, I would salute the soldiers in the movie and my grandma would say things like that's what your grandpa did. I found out my grandpa served in the Pacific theatre and died six months after WW II of a heart attack. I carried out his legacy, serving both the US Army and the US Air Force. Thank you for making this old man reminisce😁

Thank you so much for this vid. I remember watching this film on TV with my Dad when I was a nipper. He was a WWII veteran (Bren Gun Carrier Driver /engineer) though he never spoke about the war, he was in tears every time this film was shown. As a kid I didn't understand why, today though I too always have a lump in my throat and something in my eye when I watch this great movie, one of my all time favourite films. I'll always remember Richard Burton saying what's wrong with the dead German soldier in the farmyard? His boots were on the wrong feet.......... Brilliant.

The character of John Steele (played by Red Buttons in the movie) had a best friend who jumped with him named David Bald Eagle...a full blood Lakota Indian from South Dakota. Dave was badly wounded before even landing and woke up days later in a hospital. Dave became an actor later in life and while in his 90's starred in a motion picture called "Neither Wolf, Nor Dog" which was released shortly after he died.

My step-father was a navigator on one of the first C47s to drop 101st airborne troops that night. Bill Adams told me sat on 3 flak jackets so his ball would not be blown off by German anti-aircraft guns. We never could go to the 4th of July fireworks display because it reminded him of the shell coming up and exploding around him on that night.

This film was released a month before my 9th birthday in October 1962. My dad (a WW2 vet of the 8th AF who flew over normandy three days in on bombing missions over France.) took us to see it. We had lunch at a favorite restaurant and then went to see it. It was a big deal and a major release at the time. I remember being really impressed by the movie and had never seen anything like it. Another major event that occurred that month that created a major nuclear war fear was the cuban missle crisis. I remember doing drills in school, hiding under our desks, in case of a nuclear bomb. I'm sure President Kennedy must have had a private screening of this at the White House (after the crisis of course). It's one of my favorite WW2 movies.

I had the privilege of providing pastoral care to WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf Wars 1,2 and Afghanistan Veterans as a Hospital Chaplain. The stories they would tell! I'm retired now but your videos bring many of them back. Thanks for your work!

The German actor erroneously identified as Hans Christian Blech was actually Til Kiwe (also known as Hans Schmidt-Schmeidelbach), another World War ll veteran. Kiwe portrayed Generalfeldmarschall Rommel's aide, Hauptmann (Captain) Hellmuth Lang, as well as a prison guard in "The Great Escape." He also appeared as himself in an episode of "The World At War" documentary series, recalling his combat experience on the Eastern Front. Hans Christian Blech portrayed Major Werner Pluskat of the 352nd Coastal Artillery Division, in "The Longest Day," and also appeared in such classic WW II films as, "Battle of the Bulge," and "The Bridge at Remagen." He received his distinctive facial scar in combat during the actual war, and even portrayed a German P.O.W. who volunteered to infiltrate German lines in assistance to advancing U.S. forces near the end of the war in the 1951 film, "Decision Before Dawn."

My husband is a great WW2 history buff and when our kids were younger we went on many family holidays to Normandy. I had a very superficial knowledge of the D-Day landings up till then but after many, many visits to the museums, notable towns, bridges and especially the beaches I really got into things as a powerful story, or collection of stories. We visited many of the notable assault routes on bikes and it was amazing to compare the old photos of events to the modern day area...in one case, a line of tanks progressing up into a town in an old photo is crossing what is now a children's playground. Where, btw, our Scottish children ended up playing with tourist children of many other nationalities, including German, while their tired parents had coffee in the adjoining cafe. Which to me really summed up what it was all about, no? We took The Longest Day on DVD for our then very new fangled in car DVD player, for these holidays and watched it every year to look at the locations.

My uncle went over the beach in the third wave, commanding a Sherman tank retriever, and went missing for six weeks during the Bulge. IIRC my grandma received a star for him and may or may not have given it back when he turned up alive and well.

I went to see Richard Todd on stage not long before he died and he got a rousing round of applause when he walked onto the stage, my dad didn't fight on d day but was evacuated at Dunkirk and always admired Richard Todd but like all veteran soldiers my dad didn't talk much about the war

It is interesting to note that as Montgomery drew up his plans for the Normandy campaign, the Canadians found themselves assigned to the toughest section of the Normandy front. Why was it the toughest? Because it was so wide open in so many places that it was regarded as by far the most favourable territory for tank warfare. So the very terrain of the Juno Beach regions was far and away recognised as the worst for infantry. Hedgerows were fewer or farther between, but the wide open access for the excellent German armoured divisions made it a terrible place to fight for the generally inferior Allied armour. In response to this, D-Day plans called for double the number of artillery pieces to be landed on Juno than on any other beach and immediately put into action, coordinated with the forward-most Canadian infantry units-the Regina Rifles and the Winnipeg Rifles-both of whom had previously stormed the beach early on June 6. It was in precisely this sector of the Canadian front that the Germans planned to mass their armoured divisions and try to push the Canadians back into the sea, and then spread left and right to attack Gold and Sword beaches. This is what Montgomery realised when he drew up the plans for the Normandy campaign. The terrain literally dictated the Nazi’s strategy. During the lynch-pin Battle for Bretteville (June 7-10, 1944) this artillery support was vital and broke up numerous German infantry and 12 SS Panzer attacks. That and the sheer guts and unbelievable determination of the two aforementioned infantry regiments saved the day. These were some tough Canadian kids from the Prairies who took on the German SS Panzer divisions and beat them. The commander of the 12 SS Panzer division, Kurt Meyer, had smugly concluded that his men would sweep the Canadians back into the English Channel like so many “little fishes.” Needless to say, Meyer and his 12 SS Panzers were the ones licking their wounds and howling in misery when they finally fled from Bretteville-minus 43 dead, 99 wounded, 10 missing and 29 panzers destroyed including a good number of Panther Mark Vs. And other than the 29 lost panzers, that was just on the first night! It was here and at nearby Abbey d’Ardenne that Kurt Meyer’s 12 SS and the Canadians began executing each other’s prisoners tit for tat, with no quarter given. The two sides really hated each other and this made for likely the bitterest fighting in Normandy. Here is a limited account of the terrible fighting at Bretteville: www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/northwesteurope/brettevillelorgueilleuse.htm And here is an excellent and much more detailed scholarly account of the Battle of Bretteville in .pdf format: scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol16/iss4/2/ [Be prepared to meet Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the original Star Trek series fame, as he was actually right in the area, being a Canadian artillery officer who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. I bet you didn’t know that! ;)] In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close. Indeed, three Sherman tanks of the Canadian 1 Hussars actually reached their assigned D-Day objective-the Caen-Bayeux highway next to Carpiquet airfield-before having to pull back when they could not make radio contact with army HQ and request reinforcements. (And it was hard fighting with the Canadians losing 359 men killed landing on the first day alone-second only to Omaha for men KIA.) Perhaps the great progress was because the Canadian army was the only Allied army in Normandy that was entirely volunteer. (Originally Juno beach was to be called Jelly, but Churchill forbade it noting it was a sorely inappropriate name for a place where so many men were going to die.) And yes, the two British and one Canadian beaches faced the bulk of the German armour-something like 70% of all German armoured divisions in Normandy faced us around Caen. Indeed, German armour was lined up virtually cheek by jowl. Historians have carefully investigated the numbers involved and the Germans, Canadians and British had more tanks per square mile all around Caen than the Russians and Germans had at Kursk! Around Caen and Carpiquet alone, the Germans had seven panzer divisions supplemented by an additional battalion of more than 100 Mark V Panthers! They were Panzer Lehr, 2 Panzer, 9 Panzer, 116 Panzer, 1 SS Panzer, 9 SS Panzer and 12 SS Panzer. Though few people understand this, these were the heaviest, most concentrated tank battles of WW2! In his analysis of the fighting against the Canadians of the Regina Rifles Regiment at Bretteville (which contained a number of Sherman and Firefly tanks, as did virtually every Canadian and British regiment), Hubert Meyer, the commanding general of the 12 SS Panzer division (after Kurt Meyer had been captured in September 1944) wrote later in “The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Volume 1” that: “The tactic of surprise, using mobile, fast infantry and Panzers even in small, numerically inferior Kampfgruppen, had often been practiced and proven in Russia. This tactic, however, had not resulted in the expected success here against a courageous and determined enemy, who was ready for defense and well equipped. Through good battle field observation, the enemy had recognized the outlines of the preparations for the attack and drawn his own conclusions. The deployment of D Company [of the Regina Rifles] to Cardonville had prevented a breakthrough by 2./26 [of the 12 SS] from the farm south of the rail line to Bretteville, only 1,000 meters away. The anti-tank defenses all around the village were strong enough to thwart all attempts by the Panzers to by-pass the town to the south and north. The surprising use of parachute flares with glaring magnesium light blinded the Panthers and clearly outlined them to the enemy Pak [anti-tank guns like 6 and 17 pounders]. This enemy was especially strong in the defense and could not be taken by surprise. He fought with determination and courage.” [pages 186-87] One is unlikely to find higher praise from the SS than 12 SS Panzer General Hubert Meyer had for the Regina Rifles Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army. And finally, let's look at the private sentiments of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a rarely noted statement from him, cited by historian Andrew Roberts in his “History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900,” 2007, on page 343, he points out a little-known quotation from Eisenhower that “man-for-man the Canadians were the best soldiers in his army.” In hindsight, it is something of a feather in Montgomery’s hat that he beat his own estimate of 90 days for capturing Caen and destroying the German armies-by two full weeks minus one day-but who is counting when numbers are so great and the opposition so terrible? And finally, Montgomery (and all the Allied generals) had insights into overall German strategy and counterattack plans through the Ultra intercepts at Bletchley Park, England. On many occasions he chose to withdraw his forces a short distance in order to preserve them, when informed that much superior German armoured divisions were being moved up to recapture territory lost. This was only sensible. You do not throw away large masses of men and armour to be ground up by superior numbers of enemy armour simply to display your bravado. No, you withdraw and rebuild your own forces until you can overcome what you positively 100% know is a much stronger force facing you only a short distance away. Many have questioned Montgomery’s leadership, perhaps with some reason. But how many know that he had to preserve his forces (as much as he could anyway) when Ultra intelligence revealed that not doing so would only be a futile gesture and the deliberate squandering of many men’s lives? Moreover, London had already told him that infantry reserves were virtually nil (though armour was abundant) and he had better save as many of his men as possible. So let’s try to be a little bit fairer in our criticisms of him. My hat comes off to the many, many brave and excellent fighting men from the US and Britain. They fought as hard as anyone else but it was a team effort between the three great English speaking nations of the world that defeated Nazi Germany in Normandy, as well as the many brave French, Polish and other freedom loving European soldiers who fought alongside us. Bravo to all involved! PS I am not trying to glorify war here, just so anyone who might think this to be so can understand that I do not approve of war-for all the good this will do.

My Father was in the first wave on Gold, that was all I knew until he passed away and I found his diary, the accounts in there are frightening, he was one of the first into Belsen, it was only after reading his diary that I kenw what the nghtmares he had were about, the men who survived that war had to live with it for the rest of their lives, he never would watch this film or any other war film, he was my hero.

I read the book and watched the film before spending DDay week in Normandy this year. I met Tom Rice of the 101st Airborne in Carentan by chance. Truly humbling.

Great job here, loved the lines of connections you put together. Please note that military awards are not "won". Mr. Eddie Albert wasn't in a race to win his bronze star. He was awarded this honor to recognized his incredible bravery in the face of combat.

My granddad took me to see this in the theater in Towson Maryland in1962 when it was released., I was 6 years old and was totally blown away by it . Thank you granddad, Rest In Piece.

for its time, and what was willing to be shown on screen, this was a milestone movie, and still one of my all time war movie favorites.

At 22:40 you refer to the German troops defending at Normandy. Most of the support and construction troops were Osttruppen, in English, Eastern Troops. They were made up from former POW's, mostly Russian and Ukrainian, but they had other ethnic groups also. They were offered good food, clothes, and money to work as service troops and labor units. They had their own rank structure, awards, we're fairly well equipped, and some were given extremely important security positions, protecting supply depots, rail junctions, crossroads, patrolling for saboteurs behind the front, etc. Two that were captured at Omaha were Korean. They'd been drafted as labor troops into the Japanese Army and were captured by the Soviets during the Battles of Khalkhin Gol in 1939, weren't repatriated, drafted by the Soviets, then captured by the Germans. Talk about a wild ride

My dad was a paratrooper on D Day and he said at the time this was the best telling the event.

One of the pluses for Brit viewers of this movie is that the large UK contribution of their armed forces to the battle hasn't been erased. (UK)

The main thing I admired about this film is how it paid homage to the differing nations who took part. My Father-in-Law was on Gold and always said how much the Americans suffered on Omaha. Honour to all.

Christopher Lee not looking like an Officer? That guy lived a life that Hollywood wishes they could make movies of, they should have been honored that he even auditioned for the movie at all.

Jeff, you did a fantastic job. I never tire of hearing documentaries about WWII and/or such a great movie. Well done!

The Longest Day is a masterpiece.

I visited Normandy a few years ago during my trip to Paris. Very sobering experience. The cemetery was surreal. So many Brave souls. Sacred ground. The French people in the Area , to this day , honor their sacrifice as Liberators. They maintain the Area beautifully.

Richard Todd was always one of my favourite actors.I knew many of those in the film served in the war but to find that detail about Todd's beret,rather than being a prop, was the one he actually wore in the battle was very poignant. Then to find out the actor playing the para next to him was actually playing him was brilliant. I bet he found that a little strange.The micky taking about his own unit being late was typical squaddie banter. So many little details that no one knew about & never thought about before. This video is truly amazing. Brilliant. Thank you

What an incredibly interesting video! Best thing I've seen on RU-vid this year. Great job.

Good narration style...clear and not hurried. Well done. Nice touch at the end, thanking our veterans.

In Sainte-Mère-Eglise there is an amazing atmosphere. The parachutes, the night, the sound of shots, the house which is burning. An Oscar for that scene.

I actually saw that film on release! I was just a boy, and it made such an impression on me. A very influential film, in my life anyway. Thanks for bringing some new perspectives.

Grew up in the 90s watching the longest day. Still a favorite

What a great video! Thank you so much for all the hard work you did researching and compiling this review! Favorite fact from your video: Two Bond villains were in the Longest Day! Didn't know that! Veterans of D Day have said that there are aspects of war which a movie just cannot replicate: The odors (the smell of death) and the noise (the concussive effete of explosions). Nonetheless, movies like the Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan help us remember the incredible sacrifice of these men and their families. Don't forget our neighbors up North- Canadians hit the shores too! To all veterans-THANK YOU!

Something that was not mentioned is the small role Vicor von Bülow had as a German intelligence soldier with one line ("we haven't been able to get it through Sir"). Descendant of an old prussian noble family and soldier during the war on the eastern front he later became under the name Loriot (a bird) the most famous german humorist and caricaturist in post war Germany with dozends of classic TV sketches and characters.

Hi Jeff, I don’t know how many young ladies love American and World history, especially WWI and WWII, but I am one, and my enjoyment and interest expands into many great fiction and nonfiction books and movies based on these wars. I’ve seen The Longest Day a few times and just recently bought it through iTunes. Now it’s time to get the book. Thank you for your very interesting video too.

This was very much worth watching! Well Done!! Very informative!

The story of Lovat and Piper Millin was part of a 1994 C-Span special by Steven Ambrose. He had both men and many others from Pegasus Bridge. Also present was the German commander. When asked why none of the German soldiers shot Millin, he said "He was obviously mad! We don't shoot madmen"! I remember it clearly as this was the only time my father, a WW2 vet from the Battle of the Bulge ever spoke of his combat experience.

When you go all-in to make an epic film and: - hire the US Navys 6th fleet, - rent 4 WWII planes in active service, - have the supplier of gliders to make some new ones, - have the actors speak the own respectfully language, - have actual WWI veterans among the cast, ..it will be a hit!

I have been to Normandie 23 times for the D-Day ceremonies. I knew the real Bill Millen, Major John Howard, and many others. Today, the remaining OX and BUCKS, their families, and friends still carryon on with John Howard's tradition of the Champaigne Toast begun in 1945. This event begins just after midnight and ends exactly at 0016 hours June 6th each years. For years now John's daughter Penny Bates, and her husband George carry on. In recent years a recording made by John Howard is played in English and then again with French translation. John always began when the gliders were released by the aircraft and it ends when #1 glider came to a hault at 0016 hours June 6,1944. I was also lucky to meet the pilot of #1 Glider one year, Jim Walwork. An incredible experience meeting the actual veterans of D-Day and the Battle of Normandie, and they still come back and as in all past years I have been there some were therre again this time for the very first time since WW-2. They are incredible to say the least, and the more I go back, the more in awe I am off them all. I spent 28+ years in Service myself in the US Army, as an Airborne Ranger, then Special Forces Alpha Team member, and later 13 years on the Black side and am now a 100% service connected disabled combat veteran. I tired in my career to be worthly of the WW-2 veterans. Finally all who have taken up arms since for our nation, are in my view an extension of past veterans going back to the French and Indian Wars. God Bless them all and especially those who today cannot make roll call and those who never came home.

for many of us of a certain age this was the definitive movie about D-day.....it shaped a whole generations perspective on how it happened and remains as a great film that was innovative and inspiring...and i'm sure that speilberg was equally influenced by it as well so that when he did saving private ryan he was able to inject modern film techniques (in color) that accounted for the incredible realism of that event...

Splendid production...well done. And even after 60 years, the film still holds up well.

A good complement to Cornelius Ryan's book is Joseph Balkoski's "Beyond the Beachhead", centered on the "other" US Army infantry division at Omaha Beach during the landing, the 29th, which took such losses in its first month fighting on the beach and through the Bocage that most of the Guardsmen who landed at Normandy died or were invalided out.- but the 29th fought on with fresh troops. It's a good in-depth look at the National Guard unit which with the Big Red One bore the brunt of the landing in Normandy. Stephen Ambrose wrote the foreword.

Great video! The Longest Day is one of my favorite movies. The French commando assault scene at 23:12 is one of my favorite filmed scenes of all time. That single camera take is brilliant.

This WW2 movie rank no. 1 for me. The BEST of the best classic WW2 movie. MABUHAY!!! & much love from the Philippines.

The film also ignored the Canadian role. They were the only force to fully secure their beach on the first day, and actually reached the outskirts of Caan. No other force came close to achieving their day one objectives.

That opening MUSIC still sends a shiver down my Spine

Man, me & my rat pack as little boys loved this movie back in the day. Thank you so much for your comprehensive coverage of the who's/how's/what's etc. I appreciate the many hours of research it took to make this video. Also, I can't say enough about the actors who really were there that fateful day...and who served gallantly in other theaters of action. Thank you for your service!

Some of the parachute drop scenes were actually filmed in Cyprus when the last Airborne drop was made by the 16 Para Brigade. We were rather surprised to see all those camera crews on the DZ! Years later I spoke to one of the cameramen and he told me that he was surprised how quiet it all was, that was because it was a British Para units doing the drop.

The assault on the Pegasus Bridge amazes me. Both the actual D-day assault and the movie depiction.

The man playing Richard Todd's part looked older than the real Richard Todd there considering he was only twenty five at the time, he said in his autobiography that everything seemed fine till they turn a corner and all hell came at them. Brave man they all were. I went to see him in a play in which he had to shoot at a picture right across the other side of the stage not a very big picture either he hit it squarely in the middle and the glass smashed hence to say we all jumped a mile WOW!

A great movie. I can't help but to feel sorry for all the combatants who suffered and lost their lives. I wish the Americans and our allied friends were ALL alive today to tell their stories. My father arrived in the European Theater(as they called it) late in the war and served during the battle of the bulge. He was a Combat Medical Aidman(medic) in the 580th Anti-Aircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion. After the war he served with the occupational forces and I was born in Germany during that time. He also served in the Korean conflict for two years, and Vietnam for 3 and a half years. He retired from the Army in 1967, and sadly, was killed by a drunk driver a few months later.

Just a technical detail: Joseph Priller, who strafed the beaches was flying a FW-190 at the time, not a Me-109. Also, the airplanes used in the movie were not Me-109 at all, but Me-108 which was a small 4-seat transport airplane that was indeed used by the Luftwaffe, but only for liaison and was never armed.

My father landed on gold beach two days after the landing. He also at Dunkirk and came off on a small tramp steamer, "he said the ship crew pushed all the rifles and kit into the sea to make room for more men" The unit made them pay for lost equipment (sad). My Father was in many areas of France he was British Signals.I have his Medals. He Could not watch war moves or military reenactments.He very rarely spoke of his days in France. I Spent 10 yrs in the Canadian military but luckily not were the bullets were flying. Good movie Longest Day.

No Canadians shown, though a few made it into the book. One Canadian war correspondent was rewritten as a Brit. 14,000 went ashore. A battalion jumped into Normandy all for nought in Zanuck's view.

Thanks for the trivia. The Longest Day is one of my favorite films and I watch it every time it's shown.

I once saw Richard Todd on film location and asked him for his autograph. He declined my request and I was a bit miffed at the time. Later on when I learned of his impressive military service, my attitude changed to respect for him. Great film and enjoyed your highly detailed information on it. Thank you.

I agree with you. It's been my favorite since I was a kid.

A young James Doohan was on the Normandy beaches during D-Day he would go on to be famous as an actor playing the character Montgomery Scott aka "Scotty" in Star Trek.

I might not have needed to know these facts, but I am glad I do know, thanks for making and sharing this video, great information and well made. Thanks, a definite 👍.

Great job Jeff. I'm 66 , my father & mother both fought in WW2 Longest Day was for years my favourite film

Older, ‘name’ actors portraying characters that would’ve in actuality been far younger and women sporting contemporary 60’s hairstyles rather than 1940’s styles are probably the two most consistent inaccuracies/anachronisms found in war films from this period I find. The former is arguably understandable from a _commercial_ perspective at least but I’ve always wondered about the latter - perhaps 60’s ‘bob’s’ et al were simply considered more stylish or photogenic than 40’s styles!

I recently "discovered" your channel and hope you'll continue your fascinating work. Thank You.

Thank you very much! Still one of my favorite movies of all time. Your information will must make watching it the next time even better!

Thanks Jeff! Excellent video! I love movies about WW2 and your handling of this subject is spot on! Thanks for posting it!

Really enjoyed this, one of my favourite movies of all time. Well edited and narrated, great job. Lots of interesting little nuggets here...

Absolutely vital fact about this film: "John has a long moustache."

Richard Todd and some other British actors in the film helped with the script of the film because they actually took part in the invasion. Very glad this was acknowledged in this video.

Great film. My Grandfather was Colin Maud's signaler on Juno beach borrowed from HMS Icarus.

At 7:00 ; "Up the Ox and Bucks". I always thought he was saying, "Up the action, mates! Up the action, mates!" Oh well, it only took me 50 years....

Very interesting and well put together video. There were so many "wow" moments in this that I didn't want it to end. Well done. I reckon I could watch this again.

Wow! What awesome research. Thank you for this! Subscribed. :)

It’s Lord Lovat as in “covet” and it’s British regulations! My great grand parents rented a house from Lovat in the Highlands when they worked for him. A great presentation however! Thankyou!

The actor who played General Eisenhower had a son who also became an actor...Wayne Grace. Wayne played the US Cavalry Major who was tracking down Kevin Costner's Lt. Dunbar character at the end of "Dances With Wolves".

I am (for some reason surprisingly, my apologies) impressed with the excellent work you have produced. Looking forward to more.

The overhead tracking shot as the French troops storm through the town and over the little foot bridge is one of my favourite scenes in any movie.

The best war movie ever, nothing touches it! After nagging our parents to take us to Normandy, my father got into it more than us lol. Nice to see it all in the early 70’s, weird to walk the beaches thinking only 30 years earlier back then it all happened. Went back decades later with my kids and loved it all just as much.

Thanks for some details I would've never known without watching your video. Nice work!

My father went over to Normandy on a landing craft illegally and was arrested on his return two days later. He was interrogated by the security services then prosecuted for leaving the country during wartime. He was fined ten shillings by a London court which his barrister paid when afterwards they went down the pub to celebrate. The skipper of the landing craft who was a friend was promoted. I still have the national newspaper cutting reporting the court appearance.

This was much more interesting than I thought it would be. Good show.

Richard Todd’s cap badge is the Ox and Bucks “Bugle Horn” .

My dad's cousin was an advisor on the film. He was at D Day. My mother's friend was a fighter pilot on D Day.

Thank you for the video. Not only interesting; but, brings me back to my childhood. Can't tell you the number of times I saw this movie as a kid after school. That's when they use to show movies on regular TV and not countless talk shows.