My Grandfather took his boat over to bring soldiers back from Dunkirk. He bought 12 back 😊

The small boats were British people (who weren't able to fight)  using their own boats.

It's amazing how little americans actually know about WW2 vs. how much they think they do.

I'm from Sweden. I had an English mother and a Swedish father. My mother told me about it. She was just a young girl living in a small seaside town in England. She saw the beaten up men stepping from the boats onto English land. She saw the relief and the exhaustion in their faces

Dunkirk was a monument to British patriotism, courage, and resourcefulness. May it never be forgotten

Maybe now you understand why  Brits are annoyed when US tourists come over and proudly proclaim how they won the war for us.

To be honest Tyler surprised the Americans didn't try to take credit for this like they do for a lot of things in WW 2.

as an Canadien it blows me away you have never heard of this !!  Having said that it was before the US joined WWII

😢 Dunkirk always make me cry, because it's people working together ❤

This was immediately followed by the Battle of Britain air war over the UK , another close run moment in history . This was a year and a half before America entered the war  .
I'm glad that you have an enquiring mind and want to find out about things like this .

My dad was there. They were trapped on the beach but told to queue in lines in the sea till one of the boats came near but the Germans were just gunning the soldiers down from the sky.  Surrounded by dead and dying comrades, Dad disobeyed orders and swam out over a mile (he was a good swimmer) and was picked up by one of the British ships. They gave him a blanket and a cup of tea, but none of them were safe till they got back to England.

"how have i never heard this before?" the american education system teaches you nothing

My Grandfather was evacuated from Dunkirk,later went on to fight in North Africa,Italy, Normandy and Northern Germany, he was in Army Service Corps now known as Royal Logistics Corps.

My Great-Uncle also was at Dunkirk and fought in the rear-guard action and became a P.O.W for the rest of the war.

The real heroes of Dunkirk were  the British civilians who sailed across the English Channel to rescue the British and the France Armies.

It wasn't a miracle it was the result of the bravery and professionalism of the Royal Navy and the sheer bloody mindiness and courage of individual small boat owners.

For a while I knew the wife of the youngest person to go with a `little ship' over to Dunkirk .
This was Gerry Ashcroft, who was 17 at the time and went over in `Sundowner' with Commander Lightoller and his son ,Gerry`s friend .
They got away just before the Royal Navy took over the ship ,came back with 75 men crammed into the cabin and 55 on deck, 130 in that one voyage .On return the `Sundowner'was classed as too small to go again .
I only met Gerry Ashcroft a couple of times ,but as he was associated with Commander Lightoller, who was a survivor of the Titanic sinking ,he is my connection ,albeit remote to the both the 1912 disaster as well as Dunkirk.

Watch Dunkirk (1958) it was a British film not a later Hollywood mash-up.

One of my Uncles was in the rearguard fighting to prevent German land forces reaching the beaches.  He never got to the beaches himself and was sacrificed to get as many off the beaches as possible.  He was captured and spent the entire war as a pow.  At the end of the war he was called to appell (roll call) in the early hours a cold winter night.  This happened a lot so he put his wooden clogs on, pulled a blanket around him and went as he thought for a short head count.  He was forced to march  700 miles through deep snow.  Many didn't make it.  He did, but lost toes to frostbite.  After the war he went into a Cheshire hospital and never came out.  He died in the 1990s.
This side of the Dunkirk story is rarely told.
Rest in peace, Leonard Moore.

Ya see Tyler this is what happens when "allies turn up late for wars"! The US education system is FUBAR btw

Considering America was the very last country to enter WW1 and also the very last country to enter WW2 (years after it started), it's of little to no surprise to the rest of the world that Americans know so little about them.

My late father was on the beaches for 3 days before being lifted to a larger ship. All he said was Stukas and no bloody RAF. Visited dunkirk with him, stood looking down onto the beach pointed out spot where friends were killed. Also visited memorials and cemetery. Very nostalgic for him, experience for me.