The Night Before D-Day: Eisenhower Talks to the Screaming Eagles

June 9, 2025 - Reading time: 3 minutes

General Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks with paratroopers of the 502nd PIR, 101st Airborne Division, on the eve of D-Day.

Newbury, England — June 5, 1944.
The tension in the air was thick enough to slice with a bayonet. Just hours before takeoff, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, walked among the men of the 101st Airborne Division — the legendary Screaming Eagles — offering final words and a human connection before hell broke loose over France.

These young paratroopers, members of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, stood armed and ready beside their transport planes. Faces painted, gear strapped, hearts pounding. Many were barely out of high school. Some would never see another sunrise.

In this iconic photo, Ike chats with the men like an old friend — not a five-star general. He points, he smiles, they laugh. But everyone knows what’s coming. Within hours, they’ll be dropping into the dark skies over Normandy, into gunfire, chaos, and history.

The photograph captures not just a military moment, but a deeply human one. The calm before the storm. The man who would become president, sharing a sliver of peace with the boys about to face war.

By dawn, they’d be on French soil. And the world would never be the same.

📷 Technical photo data:
📸 Photographer: Moore
🌐 Source: U.S. Army archives
📅 Date: June 5, 1944
📍 Location: Newbury, England