D-Day...Not in the News
Today is June 6. This is an historic date in our nation's history, indeed in all of modern history, yet I saw no mention of it in our local paper. For you imbeciles out there who rely on the print media for your information, June 6 is D-Day, the date in 1944 when U.S. and British troops landed at Normandy. The objective was to free France, and all of Europe, from German occupation. According to ddmuseum.org, over 3,300 Americans died on D-Day. Total Allied casualties are estimated at 10,000.
D-Day was America's military at its best. Sacrificing everything for the rest of us. I, for one, never forget D-Day. Because in 1987, just after I took the Bar Exam, I spent a few weeks in France, and one day I rented a little Peugeot because I wanted to see Normandy. What I saw there, 43 years after the fact, was an American cemetery, peaceful, serene, quiet, holy. Trees, emerald green grass, and white grave markers on top of a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach.
I walked along the rows, reading the words on the markers. Names of the dead, and the dates of death. June 6. June 6. June 6. June 7. June 6. June 6. June 7. June 7. June 6. June 6. June 6. Row upon row upon row. I looked at the dates of birth and did the math. This one was 18. This one was 19. This one was 19. This one was 18. This one was 20. This one was 19. I looked at the places of birth. Ohio. Indiana. New York. Mississippi. Virginia.
The grave markers were mostly white crosses, and occasionally there was a Jewish star. June 6. June 6. June 6. Looking over the cliffs into the water I could see remnants of ramparts appearing where the waves receded. It was hard to imagine what it must have been like for those young men, who faced long odds of survival on D-Day, so young, so far from home. But if you ever go there, at least you won't forget.
So I wonder today, why is there no mention of D-Day in the paper? I have theory. To recognize D-Day is to acknowledge the profound good the military can do, and the necessity of war, something today's media will never acknowledge.
The Iraq war is not WWII. One can draw parallels but that is not the point. The point is we should, we must, honor those who made freedom possible. To honor those who sacrificed themselved on D-Day says nothing about today's military, and does not serve as commentary on Iraq. To honor by remembering is simply the right thing, the just thing, the only thing we can do for those brave men.
Or I could be reading too much into it. Maybe the editors of the paper really are just imbeciles. They don't even know what they don't know. But I know. And I won't forget.
D-Day was America's military at its best. Sacrificing everything for the rest of us. I, for one, never forget D-Day. Because in 1987, just after I took the Bar Exam, I spent a few weeks in France, and one day I rented a little Peugeot because I wanted to see Normandy. What I saw there, 43 years after the fact, was an American cemetery, peaceful, serene, quiet, holy. Trees, emerald green grass, and white grave markers on top of a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach.
I walked along the rows, reading the words on the markers. Names of the dead, and the dates of death. June 6. June 6. June 6. June 7. June 6. June 6. June 7. June 7. June 6. June 6. June 6. Row upon row upon row. I looked at the dates of birth and did the math. This one was 18. This one was 19. This one was 19. This one was 18. This one was 20. This one was 19. I looked at the places of birth. Ohio. Indiana. New York. Mississippi. Virginia.
The grave markers were mostly white crosses, and occasionally there was a Jewish star. June 6. June 6. June 6. Looking over the cliffs into the water I could see remnants of ramparts appearing where the waves receded. It was hard to imagine what it must have been like for those young men, who faced long odds of survival on D-Day, so young, so far from home. But if you ever go there, at least you won't forget.
So I wonder today, why is there no mention of D-Day in the paper? I have theory. To recognize D-Day is to acknowledge the profound good the military can do, and the necessity of war, something today's media will never acknowledge.
The Iraq war is not WWII. One can draw parallels but that is not the point. The point is we should, we must, honor those who made freedom possible. To honor those who sacrificed themselved on D-Day says nothing about today's military, and does not serve as commentary on Iraq. To honor by remembering is simply the right thing, the just thing, the only thing we can do for those brave men.
Or I could be reading too much into it. Maybe the editors of the paper really are just imbeciles. They don't even know what they don't know. But I know. And I won't forget.
posted by calabresewoman | 6:16 PM
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