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U.S. soldiers wade ashore on Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944.
(Photo: Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The Daily Signal
On the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, Sacrifices at Normandy Must Not Be Forgotten
Emma Watkins, Alexandra Marotta
June 05, 2019
At 6:30 a.m., many people are brewing their morning coffee and getting
ready for the day ahead. At 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944, however, the
first wave of American, British, and Canadian troops landed on the
beaches of Normandy, France, in what would be the largest seaborne
invasion in history.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, a battle that was a
decisive blow to the Nazi regime in Europe during World War II and
expedited the liberation of Europe.
Operation Overlord, the Battle of Normandy, and Neptune are just a few
of the names that were initially used to refer to June 6, 1944.
However, the term D-Day became so widespread after Normandy that the
general public to this day uses it to refer to that battle.
“D-Day” was actually a term used by the military to indicate the
generic day on which an operation would begin. There have been many
designated “D-Days” throughout history, but the one that occurred on
June 6, 1944, stands out among from them all.
If the invasion of Normandy had been unsuccessful that day, Europe
might have remained under Nazi control, and our world might look much
different today. That battle was the tipping point needed to liberate
Europe.
The American troops who fought in D-Day were not fighting to liberate their own land. They fought to preserve the free world.
Most of those troops probably didn’t wake up that morning anticipating
that their sacrifice would change the world. They got up knowing only
that they had work to do.
That’s a valuable lesson for a generation that often sees going to work
as an obligation, rather than an opportunity to effect change.
Some 6,603 American troops were killed, wounded, or missing in action
in the Normandy invasion. They fought for a cause that was larger than
simply securing the beaches. That sacrifice is often taken for granted
today. It is essential that we do not let the significance of what was
achieved on D-Day be forgotten.
Unfortunately, many D-Day survivors express worry that the anniversary
will be less and less acknowledged every year. One 94-year-old D-Day
veteran, Eugene Deibler, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was not
optimistic about future generations.
“How many people remember the Civil War? How many people will remember
World War I? And now it’s the same with World War II,” he told the
Associated Press. “World War II will fade away also.”
We must not let his fears become reality.
Our generation bears the responsibility to preserve these narratives,
recognize those who served, and hold fast to the lessons learned from
D-Day.
We can honor the sacrifice of the troops who fought to defend the free
world by believing that each day’s work holds the potential for
securing freedom.
This morning, while the coffee is brewing, remember that.
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