On its 67th anniversary, D-Day stands as one of the great accomplishments in military history. An invasion of necessity, not of choice, dictated by the Nazi takeover of the continent of Europe, the invasion to liberate Europe remains startling in its impact on our world. It is equally awe inspiring in its story, its drama, and its magnitude.
Over two years in its preparation, I am always struck by how the allies pulled victory from the jaws of defeat and changed the face of the world. Despite years of careful planning, training, and mock invasions, before the first Higgins boat dropped its ramp, the D-Day invasion plans were in disarray. Pre-invasion paratroopers were scattered across Normandy, with few in the right DZ, sometimes miles from their objective. Separated from their equipment by a last minute decision to add a tethered equipment bag to the jump, soldiers were in the wrong place, ill-equipped, not ill-prepared, but in a tenuous situation to say the least.
On the beaches of Normandy, bombing raids the nights before D-Day intended to soften the German resistance completely missed their targets. Expected rag-tag German conscripts defending the beaches turned out to be well armed, well trained, highly motivated German units more than ready to repel an attack. Expected fox holes for cover on the beaches weren't there. Units uniformly missed their landing zones. Swimming tanks sunk. The weather was awful, the low tide created hundreds of yards of open killing fields for German defenders, waves of allied units were met with machine gun fire from well fortified German positions.
After years of training, the entire D-Day operation was in tatters minutes after H-Hour. Omaha Beach was particularly disastrous as entire platoons were wiped our before they hit the beach. The boys from Bedford Virginia took the highest casualty toll of any unit in the invasion force. In its early stages, D-Day was a recipe for disaster. Eisenhower had a public statement at the ready stating why the D-Day invasion had failed and restating the allied commitment to the liberation of Europe.
However, D-Day wasn't a disaster. It wasn't the greatest allied set back in WW II. D-Day was in fact our finest hour. Though thousands of slain brave soldiers will be forever young, storming the beaches of Normandy, fighting to liberate people they never knew and would never meet, the story of D-Day is one of "get it done". It is what made America great and what can keep America great. The American soldiers on Omaha beach found ways to traverse the beaches, scale the cliffs, take out German positions, and secure a toehold on the continent of Europe. It was gruesome. It was gutty. It was the shining example of American resolve and the ultimate example of American ingenuity. Lost soldiers regrouped into new platoons, NCOs devised new attack strategies while under fire on the beach, and the expeditionary force that should have been obliterated and shoved back into the sea carried the day and set in motion the ultimate destruction of the German atrocity.
On Monday, when we remember the events of D-Day, when we reflect on the thousands whose final resting spot is marked with a tiny white stone thousands of miles away, I hope we think of American resolve. I hope it inspires us to stand on our own two feet, to cut our own path, and to strive for greatest good. Every day the news paper obituaries read of the deaths of those who served in WW II. These were the ones fortunate enough to return home. They, along with their fallen brothers in arms left a large legacy for all of us to follow. I hope we are up to the task. I hope the leadership of our nation, stops on Monday to reflect upon the magnitude of this event, of the sacrifices made by those who got it done on D-Day. The problems we are facing today pale in comparison. I think a little reflection and perspective might be just what this country needs as we forge ahead. Let's storm the beach, let's climb the cliffs, let's take on the fight. I think we owe it to those who showed us how 67 years ago.
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