A couple of questions here for military buffs:

* Since Omaha Beach was known to be so heavily fortified- mined, barb wired, with bunkers in place - why was it necessary for the Allies to take it at all? The other beach landings went quite smoothly- would it not have been possible to bypass Omaha and come at it from the back or sides?

* When and how did the soldiers and marines eat and sleep? One gets the impression that it was 24-hour daylight for all those weeks they were going through those hedgerows of France.

* It struck me how much lighter they 'traveled' than they are doing in today's military. They wore helmets but that seems to be about the extent of it. Today's military are packing something like 100 pounds of gear and weaponry.