75 Years Later, D-Day-- Part 3: This May Be the Last Commemoration for Significant Numbers of D-Day Veterans

The events of June 6, 1944, when more than 10,000 Allied servicemen were killed or wounded, still mark the lives of the men who fought that day.  The emotions are even more pronounced this year, as the dwindling group of aging World War II (the British call it the Second World War) D-Day veterans prepare to honor their lost comrades in what may be the last major commemoration that involves significant numbers of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who took part in the invasion.

But, in Dover, as the veterans prepared to set sail, there were bands and veterans from later conflicts  to see them off.  The Swing-Time Sweethearts -- a pair of singers who specialize in period standards such as "The White Cliffs of Dover" and "We'll Meet Again" set the mood.

I figured out that if a soldier at D-Day were 18 years old at the time, he'd be 93 today.

What's In a Name: WWI, WWII-- Part 3: What Do You Call It?

In 1942, FDR was not happy with the name Second World War and asked the public for new names.  The War department received 15,000 submissions ranging from "The War for Civilization" to "The War Against Enslavement."  FDR wanted "The Survival War."

None of these names stayed.  "World War II" and "Second World War" finally were the acceptable names.  As for the first one, it became "World War I" and the "First World War."

Usually, the British calls them the First World War and Second World War.  The United States goes with World War I and World War II.

--DaCootII

World War I? Back Then-- Part 2: Churchill and FDR

Still wondering about when it came to be called World War I, First World War.

Winston Churchill referred to World War I as "The World War" in a 1927 book.

The term World War II first appeared in print in February 1917 in the Manchester guardian in a piece about the future.

In 1941, FDR called the war going on at the time as the Second World War and that started the trend toward that name.  The British continued calling it "The War" until the late 1940s.

--CooterI

Were They Always Called World War I and World War II?-- Part 1

From Ask history.

World War II began 21 years after World War I.  It is hard to pinpoint when the terms World War I and World War II or First World War and Second World War came into large use.

Of course, during World War I, no one knew there would be a second World War.  As such, there was no need for a numerical designation.  U.S. newspapers originally referred to the 1914-1918 war as "The European War."  They adopted the "World War" name after the United States entered it in 1917.

Britons referred to it as "The Great War" into the 1940s.

--CooterFirst