On June 6, 1944, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force General Dwight D. Eisenhower led more than 160,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen across the English Channel in an amphibious invasion of Normandy, France.
In this D-day photograph, troops disembark from a landing craft on the Normandy coast. Coast Guardsmen manned the landing craft, which debarked troops near shore and immediately returned to the assault transports to pick up more. This dangerous shuttle continued throughout the day under enemy fire.
The historic D-day invasion was a turning point in World War II. It was the initial assault in a massive operation that liberated Western Europe from the grip of Nazi Germany.
