# Was Omaha Beach in Normandy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503 "2004-05-28T13:23:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sat_on_Cookie)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/1 "2004-05-28T13:23:13Z")
Yes, I’ve been googling, but _I’m confused_. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/2 "2004-05-28T13:31:16Z")
Yes. Also known as “bloody Omaha” because of the high number of casualties the allies took, Omaha was one of the code names for the beaches along with Juno, Sword, Gold and Utah. The 60th anniversary of the invation has me thinking about the few remaining vets of that assault. Tucson fixture Johnny Gibson is known for his barber shop and his years as a bodybuilder served as a medic at the D-day invasion. Thanks to Johnny and all the others who risked and gave their lives to kick Hitler’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/3 "2004-05-28T14:05:02Z")
What’s confusing you? It falls within the historic (pre-1790) province of Normandie and since 1956 has been part of the Basse-Normandie region. Don’t be confused by the fact that it is/was in the Calvados department, as there isn’t a Normandie department. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/4 "2004-05-28T14:21:51Z")
Just remember that it’s a \*code name \* for an area of the beach. ---
**Author:** ![Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@Sat\_on\_Cookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sat_on_Cookie)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/5 "2004-05-28T14:54:54Z")
Thank you. To be completely candid, what’s confusing me is that my knowledge of history is beyond embarrassing, and most web pages assume at least an elementary level knowledge. Excuse me while I slink away, but thank you. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/6 "2004-05-28T15:10:07Z")
> [@Sat on Cookie](#): > > Thank you. > > To be completely candid, what’s confusing me is that my knowledge of history is beyond embarrassing, and most web pages assume at least an elementary level knowledge. > > Excuse me while I slink away, but thank you. Just remember that there are libraries with librarians to help you get a start on learning about things like this. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/7 "2004-05-28T19:17:43Z")
Omaha and Utah were the beaches where American troops landed. Gold, Juno and Sword are where Brithish Commonwealth troops landed. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/8 "2004-05-28T19:47:20Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Omaha and Utah were the beaches where American troops landed. Gold, Juno and Sword are where **Brithish** Commonwealth troops landed. (bolding mine) That was priceless! 😃 A friend of ours who parachuted in on D-Day has been in the hospital recovering from a stroke these last few weeks. Horrible timing. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/9 "2004-05-28T23:20:40Z")
Just to set the record even straighter… British troops landed at **Gold** and **Sword** beaches, and _Canadian_ troops landed at **Juno**. Although all Canadian troops were “Commonweath” troops, not all Commonwealth troops were Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/10 "2004-05-29T00:34:36Z")
[This will help visualize the scenario.](http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101040531/invasion/) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/11 "2004-05-29T03:41:03Z")
> [@Sat on Cookie](#): > > Thank you. > > To be completely candid, what’s confusing me is that my knowledge of history is beyond embarrassing, and most web pages assume at least an elementary level knowledge. > > Excuse me while I slink away, but thank you. You have nothing to be embarassed about if you’re asking questions. The only stupid question is the one that goes unasked. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/12 "2004-05-29T04:57:07Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > The only stupid question is the one that goes unasked. Well, that one and the “gry” one. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/13 "2004-05-29T17:40:01Z")
[Time magazine](http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101040531/invasion/index.html) has a good graphic showing the lineup of the beaches at Normandy, with their code names. (Click on “Map: The Invasion”.) Notice how the invasion came first by air (paratroopers) at night, and then by sea at dawn. Two good books about the Allied invasion of Normandy: _The Longest Day_ by Cornelius Ryan, and _D-Day: June 6, 1944_ by Stephen Ambrose. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/14 "2004-05-29T23:18:40Z")
You might also find _Six Armies in Normandy_ by John Keegan interesting. It’s about the Normandy campaign, not just D-Day, and looks at the from the perspective of the six main nationalities who fielded troops: Canadians, British, Americans, Free French, Polish, and German. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-omaha-beach-in-normandy/247503/15 "2004-05-29T23:20:30Z")
Here’s a link to the [Juno Beach Centre](http://www.junobeach.org/).