On this day, Allied commanders received the final weather forecast, confirming that D-Day would take place on June 6th. A few hours later, junior officers opened their sealed orders, revealing the location of the landings. The first Allied convoys began leaving England's south coast ports, marking the countdown to the Normandy landings.
General Eisenhower visited the US 101st Airborne Division near Newbury just hours before their departure. Around the same time, British and American airborne troops began taking off from bases in England. They would be the first to land in Normandy by glider and parachute in the early hours of the next morning.
[Photo from the National Park Service]