SUPREME HEADQUARTERS ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
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 the 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.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Such was the speech of Dwight Eisenhower the night before the Allied invasion of Normandy; of Hitler's "Fortress Europe." Never before had any nation been assaulted by such a force. Soldiers from primarily the USA, Great Britian, Canada, and the Free French Forces boarded ships, planes and gliders and embarked on what is probably the defining military event of our time.
The details of that day, the night before, and the months leading up June 6th 1944 would fill a book. I'll save all that for another time. However, on the 64th anniversary of that event, it is good to remember what transpired those many years ago. The courage, determination, bravery and conviction of those men was so great that is serves us still today. These were men, perhaps, not necessarily trying to do something great, noble, and heroic. They were men doing what was necessary, because it had to be done, and they were the more heroic for that fact.
It is one thing to go out and seek to do great things as an end in itself. For glory or recognition or whatnot. It is quite another to stare into the teeth of hell and know that someone has to go in there and push it back. That is what these men did. The saw the turrets, the guns, the barricades, the cliffs, the surf... and they ran towards it all. Someone had to it, and if not them, who? They were our grandfathers, our fathers, and for a remaining few, our husbands and brothers. Many of them never left those beaches, they are buried there still. A silent reminder of the cost of freedom and security; and the willingness of men to pay it.
~ Gabriel
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4 comments:
wow... indeed. does the blood and courage of this age of men still exist in the blood of men today? i look around me and my answer would be no (except for you, honey, of course), but maybe they're all in iraq. i just think about the idea of us using a "reasonable force" against those who attacked us... how political correctness has taken over in war! there is nothing correct about war. get it over with already; kick their umm... butts. :D God bless our troops-- those who served on the beaches and those who are serving in the desert.
I am so glad that my kids remember the sacrifices of past wars (and appreciate those serving now!). I'll never, ever forget the nights when we sat around the supper table and listened to Dad talk about his experiences in the South Pacific. Think of all those men who had never been far from home, with no world-wide communication like we have now, being placed onto Guadacanal, New Guinea, the Philippines and finally, Japan.
It changed their lives forever.
Nikki,
Think the men you're referring to do exist in the military. I would say the general culture has fallen victim to couple things in regards to this post: We've replaced the idea of "if I don't do it, who will?", with "not my job." and, of course, political correctness.
I think we have plenty of individuals willing to do the dirty work that others are unwilling to do (our soldiers that are trying to fight battles in the middle of marketplaces in Iraq for instance), but we the lack the leadership and political will to match.
Mom,
I regret more every year that either: he was done talking about it by the time we came along; or we never sat still enough to listen. Whichever was the case.
It's such a different world now, it's hard to imagine what everything would have looked like to someone his age.
I wonder what he would think of the various conflicts we are in now, of the attacks on 9/11 etc.
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