A stick of paratroops prepares to board the plane in England, June 5, 1945, for the Normandy flight
On this day in history seventy-four year ago today, D-Day, 1944, American and Allied forces came ashore in France on several beachheads in Normandy Province commencing what is often called the "Longest Day." First ashore were the Airborne troops, dropped behind enemy lines to soften up defenses, including the German big guns and then in the early hours of the morning, thousands of American, British and smaller Allied contingents came ashore from the English Channel. Many never made it to the beach, many others died on the beach, but others, braved well-entrenched German troops with powerful weaponry and pushed them back.
It was a calculated gamble at best, but it worked, although there were many questions in the initial twenty-four hours of fighting as to whether or not it would. General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander and later President of the United States, the man who made the call, knew that it would take something gutsy with very courageous men to do the job. After they had been postponed and delayed, he was concerned that their morale would plummet as the weather had repeatedly been unacceptable. When he made the call, they answered with blood, courage and strength with the result being successful establishment of a beachhead.
Within days, tons of supplies and thousands of vehicles came ashore with thousands of more soldiers and the push to Germany began. Many more men would die on the way and many tears would be shed, but the American fighting man and his Allied counterparts would prevail, freeing the world from the tyranny of Hitler just under a year later and the world would be better for it. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who fought, bled, suffered and died in accomplishing an almost impossible mission. And we must remember the example it gives us.
It came after a period of pacifism, with America cutting back its military forces and equipment to the bone and we should vow never to let that happen again. The world is always a better place when America leads from strength, because weakness breeds contempt and dictators.
The sad part about this day as we look back is that so many Americans, especially the younger generation, know nothing about this epic struggle. Why? Because we no longer teach about it. We get caught up in the falsehood of political correctness while the world continues to lose sight of the evil that abounds. So, on this day, remember what they did, remind your friends and children about what happened on this day and pray that we will always remember those things which help us not to repeat the past. History is important and we need it, not the way we might want it to be , but the way it actually took place. If we don't remember what actually happened and why, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.
It was a calculated gamble at best, but it worked, although there were many questions in the initial twenty-four hours of fighting as to whether or not it would. General Dwight Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander and later President of the United States, the man who made the call, knew that it would take something gutsy with very courageous men to do the job. After they had been postponed and delayed, he was concerned that their morale would plummet as the weather had repeatedly been unacceptable. When he made the call, they answered with blood, courage and strength with the result being successful establishment of a beachhead.
Within days, tons of supplies and thousands of vehicles came ashore with thousands of more soldiers and the push to Germany began. Many more men would die on the way and many tears would be shed, but the American fighting man and his Allied counterparts would prevail, freeing the world from the tyranny of Hitler just under a year later and the world would be better for it. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to those who fought, bled, suffered and died in accomplishing an almost impossible mission. And we must remember the example it gives us.
It came after a period of pacifism, with America cutting back its military forces and equipment to the bone and we should vow never to let that happen again. The world is always a better place when America leads from strength, because weakness breeds contempt and dictators.
The sad part about this day as we look back is that so many Americans, especially the younger generation, know nothing about this epic struggle. Why? Because we no longer teach about it. We get caught up in the falsehood of political correctness while the world continues to lose sight of the evil that abounds. So, on this day, remember what they did, remind your friends and children about what happened on this day and pray that we will always remember those things which help us not to repeat the past. History is important and we need it, not the way we might want it to be , but the way it actually took place. If we don't remember what actually happened and why, we are doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over.
The American cemetery in Normandy
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