JF Ptak Science Books
I came across this image in the Illustrated London News for 8 Mar 1943--it is an extraordinary thing, both wrenching in the fantastic simplicity of the material used for training, and magnificent for these men behaving like the soldiers they were for training in a flimsy imitation landing craft for the invasion of Europe. I think it an amazing thing that so much could have been produced with so little material assistance.
The caption reads: "the Royal Marines are ready for anything; an invasion craft has been built on land so as to give them invasion practice". I think of these men with nothing but the highest respect and admiration--they certainly know that these bits of wood on dry land won't approximate anything, and yet they train. There was no alternative.
Patti Digh just said--while looking at this picture--"history makes me weep".
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