D-Day's 80th anniversary is tomorrow
Thought for the day
Eighty years ago today, U.S. and Allied forces were preparing to storm the beaches at Normandy. It's hard, no impossible, for me to imagine what all those young soldiers were thinking on June 5th. Some probably were remembering their days as boys playing baseball back home or hoping the girls they left behind still were waiting for them to return from war. My guess is many, if not most, were praying they'd be alive the following evening (June 6th).
D-Day was an important turning point in the war. All told, 2 million soldiers, sailors, pilots, medics and others were involved in Operation Overlord. Nearly 160,000 U.S., British, French and Canadian forces landed on Omaha, Utah and three other beaches that fateful day. They were supported by 11,000 Allied aircraft, and 7,000 ships and boats. When the German guns finally were silenced, 4,414 U.S. troops had been killed and 5,000 wounded. The full measure of the Battle of Normandy was enormous: 73,000 Allied forces were killed and 153,000 wounded.
Today, 100-year-old veterans are returning to Normandy. For many, this will be their last visit. At some point in the next several years, no one will be alive to tell us what they experienced on D-Day (unless, of course, their stories have been videotaped). But, just as we remember what Washington's foot soldiers, Grant's forces and Pershing's troops told reporters and audiences about their war time experiences, we must never forget the stories Eisenhower’s heroes lived to tell about June 6, 1944.
At some point tomorrow, I hope you will take a moment and silently thank all those who made the ultimate sacrifice eighty years ago on D-Day.
-DF
Correction: Hampton Sides!
Yes, I hadn’t gotten there yet.
I think that I probably told you a million times that I taught US History, even Honors’ level for many years and only got so far each year as WWII, mostly the European chapter. In fact, in college we never did seem to learn much about the Pacific theater in which my stepfather fought.
As penance for this huge failing, I am trying to learn more about that part of the war. I had heard of the Bataan Death March and decided I should learn more about it. And so I began, and am halfway through my third book by Hampton Shields ( whom I actually met at a book show at ASU) about 8 years ago. He is a compelling non- fiction writer who has recently had his latest novel about the exploits of Captain Cook on The NY Times Bestselling list. He is way overdue for a Pulitzer. Anyway,
I am now reading his Ghost Soldiers for which he received an award. Beware, small print! Lynn