June 6th marked the 76th Anniversary of the Allied Invasion in France that took place on the five beaches of Normandy in 1944. The largest sea and air military assault in the history of the world was a defining moment the battle on the European Front during the final years of World War II.

The long and arduous mission led to the eventual fall of Berlin and Nazi Germany in 1945. The amphibious assault featured 150,000 troops on land as well as paratroopers from above. The battle lasted months although most associate it taking place over a handful of days. More than 80,000 American troops took place in the battle with another 50,000 British Troops and 20,000 Canadian Troops.

The Invasion force attacked at Omaha, Utah, Black, Gold and Juneau Beaches. The most brutal attacks were at the hands of the American soldiers at Omaha Beach where those killed in action approached 5,000 with another 15,000-20,000 wounded. The Canadians at Utah Beach suffered the next most casualties.

Looking through the archives on hand of the Opinion from 1944-45, servicemen from Blaine County representing those who served in the United States Navy, Army and Marine forces were most heavily represented in the Pacific theatre at the Battle of Iwo Jima, Midway and Okinawa and were responsible for the surrender of the Japanese forces in 1945. Blaine County servicemen were on the ground in a smaller but just as important capacity in the European Theatre, most notably in Africa and Italy.

One of the biggest contributions from Blaine County took place back home as local citizens led the rally to raise War Bonds in the final years of the war, near the top of all counties in raising funds throughout the state.

The Chinook Opinion featured nearly a dozen ads running in each weekly edition leading the charge for sales of the war bonds.

The bond effort received a huge boost after the iconic image of the raising of the American Flag near the conclusion of the Battle at Iwo Jima. The image spearheaded the War Bond effort as the soldiers responsible for the flag raising, most notable of which was Ira Hayes a Navajo Indian from New Mexico. Hayes was the subject of the famous Johnny Cash song and was featured in the Clint Eastwood telling of the story. It was stated many times the Hayes didn't want to be traveling around the country while being celebrated and raising money for the war effort but that he longed for the chance to return to his unit to fight the enemy with his fellow soldiers.

Blaine County has a long, proud and storied history of service in the Armed Forces with citizens both home and abroad doing their part to serve the country whenever asked. Through community efforts by everyday citizens to those men and woman who took the oath to serve. Our local communities in Chinook, Harlem, Zurich, Turner, Hogeland, Fort Belknap Agency, Hays, Lodge Pole and the entire Fort Belknap Indian Reservation have been willing and ready to answer the call when ever needed.