06 June 2014

We Owe So Much

Today we pause to remember the 150,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who took part in the Normandy invasion of "Festung Europa" (Fortress Europe) on this day, 70 years ago.

23,000 Americans were buried in the cemetery there, after the fight. 14,000 of those remains were moved back to the U.S.A. at the request of relatives; 9,000 are still there, near where they fell in some of the most horrific fighting of World War II.

I wrote about my friend Charlie, who was part of that invasion force, and later drove an ambulance in the Battle of the Bulge, here.

We must never forget them all - and we are equally obligated to continue the fight for freedom, as the politics which caused the Second World War have moved, in large part, to our own shores. There will always be those who wish to control everyone else, so convinced of their own intellectual superiority that they can make the failed policies of the past work this time.

The socialists and fascists (no matter what they call themselves now) are just as wrong now as their predecessors were in the 1930s and 1940s.

It's up to us. It's a different kind of fight now, but the battle goes on.

Don't forget what our fathers, uncles and grandfathers accomplished in France, 70 years ago. We can do it, too.

16 comments:

ProudHillbilly said...

Amen!

Anonymous said...

PH beat me to it!
AMEN!

gfa

Rev. Paul said...

PH & Guffaw - thank you.

OldAFSarge said...

We can do it.

And we must!

Rev. Paul said...

Agreed, Sarge; the alternative is unthinkable.

Cathy said...

Dad led a gun crew onto bloody Omaha. One of my biggest regrets is that we never got him back there Your account of Charlie is still so moving.

Rev. Paul said...

Cathy, thank you. We honor your father for his service & sacrifice. He made a difference, for which we are grateful.

PioneerPreppy said...

Here here...

Rev. Paul said...

Thanks, Preppy.

Keads said...

Indeed Sir! The best I could do is go to class and build a big, heavy battle rifle in the honor of those that gave all. I am stunned at the resolve then and the feckless attitude now. I weep for the country yet revel in what it did.

Rev. Paul said...

Agreed, Keads. My M1 Garand is an ever-present reminder of what they accomplished - and how far we now have to go.

Old NFO said...

Well said Rev.

Rev. Paul said...

Thank you, sir.

Sandy Livesay said...

Rev. Paul,

We always remember and are extremely grateful for these men and women. God Bless Our Soldiers!!!

Home on the Range said...

Well said, my friend.

Rev. Paul said...

Agreed, Sandy, and amen!

Thank you, Brigid.