The World's Largest Amphibian Landing
I'm blaming this on Elon Musk and all his merciless DOGE cuts
This is a scene you did not see in Saving Private Ryan.
Tens of thousands of frogs storming the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, to save Europe and the world from Hitler.
That’s because it wasn’t an amphibian landing. It was an amphibious landing. There is, of course, a difference.
D-Day was the largest invasion by sea in the history of warfare. This sort of storming the beaches is called “amphibious” because it is derived from the Greek words “amphi” meaning double and “bios” meaning life.
Animals such as frogs and toads that begin their lives as water creatures—tadpoles—and eventually migrate to land are amphibians.
Soldiers arriving by sea are, metaphorically, amphibians, too, but their landing is called amphibious.
You wouldn’t notice that distinction in my most recent newsletter, however, as careful reader Norm Olsen pointed out within minutes of my monthly missive hitting his inbox.
He wrote:
“…having coincidentally re-watched Saving Private Ryan on a never-ending flight less than 24 hours ago, I was extraordinarily fascinated to see the item on D-Day and learn that it was the largest “amphibian” assault ever. And I thought I knew a bit of history. I mean, it was like a slap to the side of the head revelation and explained so many previously haunting, unanswerable questions.”
Yep. I meant to describe D-Day as an amphibious landing but, for whatever reason, my fingers pecked out amphibian.
As soon as I realized the error, I immediately did two things:
I corrected the newsletter that’s posted on my website, jcbruce.com.
Then I figured out who I could blame.
I’m thinking Elon Musk.
I mean, what did he think would happen when DOGE operatives recklessly slashed all the proofreading and fact-checking budgets?
I notice he’s walking around with a black eye, so I’m guessing I’m not the only one irritated by his careless slashing and burning of editing resources.
But I do apologize for the typo.
I should also offer a note about my friend Norm Olsen whom I met a few years ago in Morocco. He’s a retired senior foreign service officer who spent years in the Middle East. He has deep contacts in Israel and Gaza and has been providing first-hand, eye-witness reports on the unfolding tragedy there as well as working tirelessly to raise funds for innocent Gazans seeking food and shelter.
You can check him out on his Substack page here:
J.C. Bruce is a journalist and author of The Strange Files series of mysterious novels (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, other online booksellers, and at selected libraries). He also writes this monthly newsletter and strives not to make mistakes like this, but, hey, nobody’s perfect.
TROPIC PRESS, publisher of The Strange Files series of mysterious adventures, is pleased to also be the official publisher of J.C. Bruce’s new novella, Scribbles From Space.
