D-Day + 75 years

Their feet hit the water in the cold dawn of  June 6, 1944.  They splashed ashore underneath a hail of German bullets and between explosions of German shells.

Many of them did not make it onto the beach.

Many of them did not make it off the beach.

Those that did, they possessed territory step by step, inch by inch.

We know them as "the boys of Pointe du Hoc" (thanks to Ronald Reagan), and by other names; those that landed at Omaha, Juno, and Utah Beaches.

History calls it "D-Day", and in most newspapers of the day, the word "invasion" was a prominent part of the headline.  The St. Petersburg Times, in their headline of June 6th, just had one word, in type as big as they could get it:  "INVASION".

Today, it's 75 years since these men splashed off the boats and onto land, since men parachuted from the sky and landed on French territory, the order of the day from General Dwight D. Eisenhower perhaps ringing in their ears:

"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Forces:

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944. Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned. The free men of the world are marching together to victory.

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory.

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

In Amsterdam, a young girl in hiding in an attic wrote in her diary, "This is *the* day.  The invasion has begun!"

Back on the home front, Americans like my maternal grandparents, my paternal grandmother, my parents (who would have been 11 and 6 at the time) and other relatives would have woken up to bulletins such as this from NBC radio or perhaps this from CBS radio.

One day later, Orson Welles would broadcast a magnificent portrait of what an ordinary American would have experienced on that June 6th through the eyes and voice of actress Agnes Moorehead.

Today, we know more about the human cost of war.  We've known since the beginning of war about the physical cost--the deaths, the injuries, the destruction of homes and other properties.  In the last 50 or so years, we've become more acquainted with the mental and psychological costs of war--post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor's guilt, nightmares, and in the case of Vietnam vets, active contempt for their service.

I hate war.  But I also understand that sometimes, war is necessary.  I wish it were not.

Today, we honor the men who fought at Normandy, these "boys of Pointe du Hoc", these men who parachuted and waded ashore because they believed in the cause of freedom.  They probably hated war as much as I do, and probably more so since they experienced it.  I never have.

Their numbers grow fewer every year.  My own congregation lost a D-Day veteran just a year or two ago.

Even though their numbers grow fewer, their story must not be forgotten.

I close with Charles Schultz's comic from D-Day a number of years ago:

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.