Sunday, June 06, 2010

June 6, 1944...



So many years now, and so many with the memories of that day now gone. We look back on D-Day and the other horrific set-piece battles of World War 2 with an air of unreality, through goggles of the omnipresent media...perhaps the epic celluloid battles against the Sith or the dinosaurs of Jurrasic Park are more "real" to us than our fathers', or our grandfathers, great sacrifices. As Americans, I believe we cannot look back at D-Day, at the Second World War, without a sense of utmost reverence, a profound sense of the power of good to triumph over evil even in the face of unimaginable pain, suffering and death.

As those Allied soldiers and Marines fought their way east, they found the remains of an equally unimaginable evil, the living vestiges of human beings' capacity for creating a hell on earth. As we pause to honor the greatest generation we do so with a sense of rising unease, that as we watch the events unfolding on the world's stage we do so with a nagging sense we've seen it, or at least heard about it, all before...

...the rising tide of anti-Semitism...the call for worldwide jihad...the acquiescence of the major powers... and once again the assurance of peace in our time...

Sometimes in my most depressing dreams I hear the rattling sounds of boxcars headed east, and I pray that the courage, the resolve, the faith, the essential goodness of those men who rode the landing crafts to beaches whose names we could once recite from the heart still flows in America's veins.

To all who serve, our undying thanks. God bless America.

13 comments:

Tim/GA said...

Nicely put!

Worries me when so few can answer the question "What important event happened in history on this date? To few have a clue.

I just rewatched the Impossible Shots show (sorry, I know it is not one of yours but it is on the Outdoor Channel!) with the sniper from WWII coming to Benning and all. Makes you remember what we are losing daily from that generation.

Anonymous said...

Never again!

We hope.

But things change.

The Warrior said...

One of the best posts I've seen in an age. Crossposted!

Not Available said...

reads like a passage from the book you should write titled "America, from the 30's to 60's, When We All Believed"

Mickey3Gun said...

Today reminds us of a debt many of our older Americans gladly paid. All to many with their lives and futures. In our schools, students, if their lucky, get a paragraph or two about "D'Day". Least we learn from our history we are domed to repeat it. (No matter how enlightened and arrogant we believe ourselves to be.) Self deception is a very treacherous beast. To all who served, God bless you one and all. To all who currently serve, you are always in our hearts and prayers.

Bill Lester said...

Let's not forget those who fought and fell two years to the day earlier in the Pacific at the Battle of Midway. It too was a turning point. After June 6, 1942, Japan was totally on the defensive.

Anonymous said...

One of your best written posts.

Ratcatcher55

nj_larry said...

Back when a President could ask the Good Lord for help. FDR's D-Day prayer. Worth a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-weBUzQleo

Kansas Scout said...

Now this is a post to remember Michael. Well done.
I noticed that Obama did not take the time to comment on the Normandy assault this year.
Thanks for doing so.
Like you I can hear the rail cars rolling in the distance. We know what that means.
Last saturday we had a local parade and my Lodge had three young Marines ride and walk with us on our float and the response of the crowds was inspiring. America still lives.

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