The battles of Okinawa and Normandy both have their similarities and differences. For one, fighting in both of the battles occurred on land, air and sea. Additionally, both involved the transportation of numerous Allied troops from sea to land. While the soldiers who fought in Normandy met with heavy resistance upon their landing, those who fought in Okinawa encountered barely any resistance along the coast of the island. Generally, soldiers who fought in Okinawa endured more psychological hardships than those in Normandy.
The Battle of Normandy, code-named "Operation Overlord", started with the amphibious Allied landings at Normandy, France, in the morning of June 6, 1944, and continued into the following weeks with a land campaign. The purpose of this invasion was to open a new path to Germany. By pushing through France and into Germany in conjunction with the Allied advancement on the African and Russian fronts, Germany would be sandwiched and forced into surrendering. Montgomery and Eisenhower were appointed to lead the operation. Although ultimately successful, Normandy saw the loss of a lot of men and material.
The American soldiers of Normandy experienced a lot of pain and stress. However, their morale was strong and they never gave up hope. As one soldier wrote: "The war news is good, but we"re fighting over optimism. I suppose people at home are elated; the boys up front are still in their fox-holes.".
And many letters from American G.I.s did contain such aforementioned optimism. The soldiers wanted to believe that the war would end soon, and they would be allowed to return with pride and confidence.
The soldiers of Normandy were very supportive of one another. Some put their lives at great risk for the sake of their comrades:.
".the gents that I speak of down here are usually known but to a few -- and ask no publicity. There are some of the officers and NCOs who live down there in hell -- just a few miles from here -- and they stay there days, weeks, and months, until they are killed.