What does the D in D day stand for, specifically?

Question

Where did the 101st Airborne paratroopers land?

Answer 1

I'm not sure about the meaning of D, however, the 101st...

The objectives of the 101st. were to secure four designated exit causeway roads from the landing beach Utah, also to take intact the bridges over the river Vire and its tributary the Douve. Therefore securing the link between the Omaha and Utah beaches from German intrusion.
The pathfinders were dropped first, under heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire. The pilots of the aircraft, who were already disorientated with the wind and low cloud, came in too low and too fast. Out of 120 pathfinders only 38 were put down on target.

The men of the 101st. were very critical of the aircraft pilots. After some being dropped up to 20 miles off target it is understandable!
The first wave arrived over their drop zones at 1:30 a.m. Not one single aircraft carrying the 502nd. Parachute Infantry put them down on their intended drop zone, which was the two northern exits from Utah Beach.
One of the regiments three battalions was so badly scattered, it played no part in the day's fighting.
At least two sticks of men landed on the town of Ste-Mere-Eglise and were slaughtered by the Germans.
Under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Michaelis the remaining troops collected themselves together and after several firefights secured the two northern exits from Utah.

The 506th. parachute Infantry who were designated the securing of the two southern exit points from Utah were scattered all over the place with only nine aircraft putting their men down on the correct location. The aircraft came in very low and the paratroops were jumping at 300 ft. no sooner had the chute opened and they were on the ground. Many men broke limbs, some didn't survive the jump. A lot of men landed in the swamp areas flooded by the Germans, the sheer weight of their equipment dragged them down beneath the muddy water. Major-General Maxwell Taylor, the divisional commander, could only muster 85 men of all ranks but knowing the importance of their mission, proceeded to there objective, the villages covering the southern exit roads of Utah beach. They successfully secured these positions .
The final drop zone at the southern most point was a success as far as the accuracy was concerned, but unfortunately the Germans were waiting for them and the two battalions took tremendous casualties.
The third battalion 501st. Parachute Infantry landed almost intact, and along with the survivors of the first two battalions managed to secure their objective, the lock at La Barquette over the River Douve.

At 4:00 a.m. the first of the glider borne troops started to arrive.
This again was not without incident, only 6 out of the first 52 landed on the correct zone. Many men were killed on landing.
Throughout the day gliders landed and the men quickly got up to divisional strength, and successfully secured Utah Beach. tf

Answer 2

It doesn't actually mean anything. A lot of people think it means Dooms Day. But it just indicates the day a certain mission is supposed to take place. Basically the D just stands for Day. H Hour is used to designate the hour said operation will take place.

Answer 3

D (for day) + day; the same pattern as H-hour it is a generalized military terminology to describe a given day without naming the "d"ay.

It keeps it anonymous.

The 101st Airbournes landed all over the place on "D-Day" in France in 1944. That is why that invasion was such a clusterf@#k!
And why we lost so many men on the parachute drop...they didn't land where they were supposed too.

Haven't you seen Band of Brothers? It really is good and explains a lot!

Answer 4

There is a simple answer. During WWII the British custom was, when planning secret or covert operations, to keep the date and time of the attack secret. Thus the date was always known as 'D' and the hour 'H'. The Operation also had a code name. See the Wikipedia article below:-

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar terms. The initial D in D-Day has had various meanings in the past, while more recently it has obtained the connotation of "Day" itself, thereby creating the phrase "Day-Day."

By far, the best known D-Day is June 6, 1944 — the day on which the Battle of Normandy began — commencing the Western Allied effort to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi occupation during World War II. However, many other invasions and operations had a designated D-Day, both before and after Operation Overlord. The invasion of France was originally planned for June 5, 1944 but bad weather and heavy seas delayed that.

The terms D-Day and H-Hour are used for the day and hour on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. They designate the day and hour of the operation when the day and hour have not yet been determined, or where secrecy is essential. There is but one D-Day and one H-Hour for all units participating in a given operation.

When used in combination with figures, and plus or minus signs, these terms indicate the point of time preceding or following a specific action. Thus, H−3 means 3 hours before H-Hour, and D+3 means 3 days after D-Day. H+75 minutes means H-Hour plus 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Planning papers for large-scale operations are made up in detail long before specific dates are set. Thus, orders are issued for the various steps to be carried out on the D-Day or H-Hour minus or plus a certain number of days, hours, or minutes. At the appropriate time, a subsequent order is issued that states the actual day and times.

The earliest use of these terms by the U.S. Army that the Center of Military History has been able to find was during World War I. In Field Order Number 9, First Army, American Expeditionary Forces, dated 7 September 1918: "The First Army will attack at H hour on D day with the object of forcing the evacuation of the St. Mihiel Salient."

D-Day for the invasion of Normandy by the Allies was originally set for 5 June 1944, but bad weather caused Gen. Dwight. D Eisenhower to delay until 6 June and that date has been popularly referred to ever since by the short title "D-Day". (In French, it is called Le Jour J or, occasionally, Le Choc.) Because of this, planners of later military operations sometimes avoided the term. For example, Douglas MacArthur's invasion of Leyte began on "A-Day", and the invasion of Okinawa began on "L-Day". The Allies proposed invasions of Japan that would have begun on "X-Day" (Kyūshū, scheduled for November 1945) and "Y-Day" (Honshū, scheduled for March 1946).

Answer 5

D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar terms. The initial D in D-Day has had various meanings in the past, while more recently it has obtained the connotation of "Day" itself, thereby creating the phrase "Day-Day."

Answer 6

I don't know the answer to your question, friend, But I'd like to take a moment of silence in honor of the brave men who paid in blood for the liberties we still enjoy in the free world.

Answer 7

I had heard it actually meant Disembarkment Day - the soldiers had disembarked from the ships and landed at Normandy.

Answer 8

The D stands for day,to show the importantance of that day was to the war effort.DAY DAY

Answer 9

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Day here is the explanation for D-day.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/agency/army/101abn.htm and here is good information about the 101st.

Answer 10

The "D" has no real meaning. Some people may claim to have an answer but there isn't one.