The Real D-Day

When Allied troops stormed the beaches at Normandy. It was a turning point of WWII, and not a day the world will soon forget. According to the National WWII Museum, June 6th, 1944 wasn’t the only “D-Day.” The term was used for any important operation. “D-Day” was the day of the operation itself, and the days leading up to and after the operation were indicated with “+” and “-”. So the “D” is a variable. If June 6th, 1944 was “D-Day” then June 1st, 1944 was “D-5″, and June 8th was “D+2.”

Since the variable references a specific day, “D” in “D-Day” essentially stands for “Day.”

The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins says the French meaning of the D is “disembarkation,” and it also quotes a letter from Eisenhower’s executive assistant, Brigadier General Robert Schultz, in 1964 who responded to a letter to Eisenhower asking to clarify the meaning of “D-Day.” Schultz wrote, “Be advised that any amphibious operation has a ‘departed date’; therefore the shortened term ‘D-Day’ is used.”

D-Day has become synonymous with June 6th, 1944 because of the significant impact that particular operation had on World War II and world history.

What's in a Name

US soldiers in World War 1 were called doughboys. The name is believed to have originated in reference to large round brass buttons worn by American infantrymen which looked like little round doughnuts called doughboys. The term was first used to describe the buttons and then became the common slang for the infantrymen themselves and was especially popular during World War I.

'Sieg Heil' means 'Hail to Victory.'

Also D-Day comes from 'Designated Day' for Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion of Northern France on June 6, 1944, during World War II.