The year - 1944...the place - the beaches of Normandy, France.
It was on this day that allied forces stormed upon the French coast in an attempt to push back the nazi threat. Hours earlier, British and American paratroop forces were flown in to secure specified areas, disrupt German communication lines, and basically to wreak as much havoc as they could prior to the beach invasions at Omaha and Utah (along with British and Canadian forces at Gold, Sword and Juno beaches).
During just that day, the breakdown of US casualties was 1465 dead, 3184 wounded, 1928 missing and 26 captured. Of the total US figure, 2499 casualties were from the US airborne troops (238 of them being deaths). The casualties at Utah Beach were relatively light: 197, including 60 missing. The US 1st and 29th Divisions together suffered around 2000 casualties at Omaha Beach. And yes, I know that our war in Iraq has nowhere near those numbers (thankfully), but stop and think WHY we fight.
We fight to preserve democracy...to preserve freedom, and to allow those that do not enjoy such things the same accord. And we used to be able to accomplish it with a lot more help from our allies.
It's a whole other ballgame today. Many nations that we used to rely on to fight WITH us are suddenly against us. They claim it's not THEIR fight. Well, I suppose that fascism was OK back then, and we should have taken that NEUTRAL stance? Not likely. Modern day terrorism is just as insidious as nazism...and fascism, and communism. And it's just as willing to emcompass the globe. The problem today is that many folks don't "believe" it as such, or are not willing to admit to themselves that it is.
Hope they like learning Arabic.
And whether it's the radical Islamic terror cell, or even the gunman that holds up a local bank, terrorism IS terroism, plain and simple. We have to recognize it for what it really is...namely evil. We're not going to be able to erase evil from this world...that's a given. But we can make it a lot less profitable for them to operate. From the phone call to the local police for suspicious behavior up to and including heading in country to fight for what is right...it's all the same.
Every American owes it to themselves to step up and fight for what is right.It all becomes similar, whether it's on a neighborhood street, or on a beach in Normandy, France.
Take a few minutes today to reflect on what happened on those beaches 63 years ago.
Freedom is never without cost...yet the cause is always just.
2 comments:
While I wholeheartedly agree with you, I can't help but think perhaps we as a nation need to focus on our own country and borders and simply drop a nuke on anyone who attempts to disrupt our freedoms and way of life. Too many times I see these countries whom our military is defending slap us across the face. Perhaps we need to let them be taken over by their enemies, and wait for them to come crying to us.
As a parent I've tried to teach my children that it's best not to "go with flow" and stand against what you know is wrong. If you see a small child being beaten up by a few larger children, do you close your curtains and pretend not to see, or do you leave the safety of your home and help the small child?
Sadly we live in a time where right and wrong have vanished in the eyes of most, as a society we are sadly teaching our children tolerance is a solution..... what a joke. It's this way of thinking that let the homo's out of the closets and the same thinking that has allowed evil to prevail. No longer is having morals considered a good thing. If you stand up to the wrong and defend the right, you are labeled as a hater.
While *911* was the tipping point for OUR nation, we knew that something like this COULD (and most likely would) happen...as far back as the early '90s.
Today...this minute... we NEED to focus on OUR nation...preserving OUR way of life, our values, our freedoms and our liberties. That's not to say forget about those (of us) who serve to fight for liberty elsewhere in the world.
There IS evil in the world, and it's closer than we all realize. We're not "separated by an ocean" any longer (as we were in WW2). It's at our very doorsteps, and we (all) have to act to stem this tide. Along with our actions comes that level of risk.
But to do nothing is much worse.
And as you say, if standing up for what's RIGHT makes me some sort of "hater", then I will wear that badge proudly!
As should we all.
Very good observations, Jen!
B.G.
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