We must never forget...

[ColesCountyDem]

Eighty years ago today, June 6th, 1944, the largest amphibious invasion in recorded history began, signaling the Allied invasion to free Europe from the jackboot of fascism. Army, naval, and air forces from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada all took part in the amphibious assault, while the air forces of Great Britain and the United States dropped airborne troops behind German lines for the purpose of securing and/or destroying roads, bridges, and railroads.

Despite heavy losses, the Allied forces would not be driven back into the sea by the Germans, who attempted desperately to do so. In the eleven months to follow, the Allies would liberate France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, before finally defeating the Germans.

I know that these facts seem like ancient history to almost everyone under the age of 50, but to us "Boomers", they were the recent past, rather than ancient history. Our fathers, our uncles, our aunts, cousins, and even, occasionally, older siblings were the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and defense workers, were the people who fought and sometimes died in the war. We heard firsthand accounts of their lives and battles and, for the most part, we could ask them questions and get answers.

What they did must never be forgotten, and neither should the reasons that they did so. Freedom is a priceless gift, and we must remember and honor those who willingly paid the price to secure it.

--CCD

[cyclonefence]

1. I have told this story before

but I don't want it to die.

The night before the invasion, the Allies dropped paratroopers behind the beaches to prepare the way for the big invasions. The men were given clickers, little frog-shaped toys that those of us of a certain age will remember, to locate one another once they were on land.

One of the paratroopers was a young man--a kid, really; his nickname was "Monk" because he did look kind of like a monkey--from Hinton WV named Howard Weigel. He dropped into the forest and all around him he heard clicking. Some of the noises were his companions; some were insects; some were birds or other forest animals. Howard panicked and froze; he stood by a tree crying until a comrade found him. Howard received a medical discharge.

I always think of him on D-Day, that poor kid, terrified to start with, then hearing clicks coming from all around him--left, right, up, down--and freezing in fear. But he was a hero, too. He was willing to risk his life for our country. He jumped out of that plane, and that's what counts in my book.

[republianmushroom]

2. So many owe so few.