Coral Gables, Florida (VIP WIRE). Yogi Berra was not only inventing famous phrases and being a notable hitter and catcher for the Yankees, he was also a soldier in World War II, when the Allies invaded France through Normandy, in “Operation Overlord.”
And that will be Thursday six, 80 years. It was the largest operation of its kind in the history of humanity.
Five thousand ships and 13 thousand planes participated, bringing 160 thousand soldiers to those coasts. Nine thousand of them died in less than five hours, the time of the operation.
Now, during all of World War II, 473 big leaguers and 4,076 minor league players were called to serve.
But in Nórmandie there was only one of the Majors, among those who by air, sea and land carried out such a feat, the left-handed knuckleball player, Larry French, who preferred war to climbing the stadium mounds to pitch.
French had played with the Pirates, Cubs and Dodgers in his 14 seasons in the Major Leagues. But, on August 3, 1944, he announced that he would not return to baseball because he would still be in a military uniform. He remained in the Navy for 27 years, until 1969, and died in 1989.
Also among the D-Day invaders was a minor league player named Larry Berra, later known as Yogi in the Major Leagues, and who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1972.
Berra, at 19 years old, was one of the thousands of young people who disembarked by jumping into the sea, to walk with more than half their body under water. Thus they advanced towards the beaches, holding the heavy military luggage on their shoulders to confront Adolf Hitler’s weapons.
One more player in that military operation was León Day, a pitcher from the Negro Leagues, elevated to the Hall of Fame in 1995.
That invasion is considered the beginning of the end of World War II, even though they were then 14 months away from the definitive victory over the antics of Adolf Hitler and his aspirations to be the dictator of the world.
Now we are distressed by the war activities Russia-Ukraine and Hamas-Israel, but in those June days, 80 years ago, everything was worse in Normandie.
In addition to D-Day being described by historians as “the largest amphibious military assault,” it is also considered “the most spectacular demonstration of military forces in history.”
Nobody has won a war. Everyone loses in wars.
Thanks to the life that has given me so much, even a reader like you.
@juanvene5
