Every year June 6 is observed as D-Day to commemorate the Normandy landings in 1944. It was the first day of the Allied assault on Nazi positions on the beaches of Normandy in France. The attack – naval, air and land – laid the foundations of the allied victory . The mission was codenamed ‘Operation Neptune’. 

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“What does ‘D’ stand in D-Day?” Well, there is no perfect answer to this question. According to the US military, D-Day was an Army designation used to indicate the start date for specific field operations. Hence it does not stand for anything in particular. History.com suggests that the ‘D’ could stand for ‘departure’ to ‘decision’ to ‘doomsday’ or even ‘day’. 

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Operation Neptune was the largest seaborne invasion in history and was conducted under the command of Major General Dwight D Eisenhower. Franklin D Roosevelt was the US President then. 

D-Day customs and traditions

D-Day is not a federal holiday in the United States. People observe the day by visiting museums with D-Day displays. Memorials are arranged to pay tributes to the soldiers who fought for the Allied forces.