US soldiers, part of the troop build-up, arrive on the Normandy beaches; France, June 1944. 

Came off the landing ships

Members of the first wave of beach battalion Ducks lay low under the fire of Nazi guns on the beach of Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. One soldier (on the left) operates a walkie talkie radio directing other landing craft to the safest spots for unloading their parties of fighting men. (AP Photo)

Advance party gives guidance

A Frenchman offers a glass of wine to an American machine gunner in Coutances, north-western France; July 1944. 