German Barbed Wire from Omaha Beach (D-Day)

Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, France during World War II by the Allied Nations, was undertaken to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation.  The invasion commenced on "D-Day", Tuesday, the 6th of June, 1944.  The invasion began with overnight parachute and glider landings, massive air attacks and naval bombardments.  The amphibious invasion started at 6:30am.  The amphibious assault covered about 50 miles of coastline in the Bay of Seine.  The overall battle coastline had been divided into five sectors, with forces from the United States assigned to the sectors designated as Utah and Omaha, and British and Canadian troops assigned to assault areas code named Gold, Juno and Sword.  The invasion involved over 5,000 ships, and over 160,000 soldiers were landed on the French coast.  The successful invasion has been referred to as the beginning of the end of the war in Europe.

An approximate 10 1/2" section of barbed wire that was part of the German defenses on Omaha Beach is owned.  The barbed wire is sand encrusted due to being buried in the beach sands for 20 years.  A notarized certificate accompanies the barbed wire attesting that the relic was recovered from Omaha Beach by Jay Howe in the 1960's.