Where in France does the American flag still proudly fly? Where is there a sacred stretch of American soil?
In Normandy of course where America landed to deliver the crushing blow that would vanquish the Nazi evil and save France, then the western world.
Yes, in Normandy, the tiny villages still remember the American, British, and Canadian heroes with charming posters of the locals embracing the soldiers and even American paratroopers immortalized in stained glass in an ancient church.
Nothing can steal your breath and stop your heart like the thousands of perfectly aligned white crosses above the beach at the American Cemetery at Colleville. One can feel the infinite cost of freedom.
A handful of veterans remain, but many of us carry the legacy of our fathers who were on those beaches. To us, as the poem goes, they throw the torch. If we break faith with those who died, they shall not sleep. . .
h/t a Reader
As, first, an American and secondly a Army server, I with GREAT PRIDE, say THANK YOU to ALL that have fallen. This being the 75th anniversary of D-DAY and with only about 500,000 WWII Veterans left, this date must NEVER EVER BE FORGOTTEN. With Pride, Dawson Lake/Larry Riddle.
BEAUTIFUL
Thanks for posting! We will never forget the sacrifices these guys made for our freedom and the freedom of the world.
It’s a tragedy that WWII history is either not taught or glazed over in most schools. Defeating the Nazis changed the world and positioned the U.S. to influence the outcome of the Cold War basically limiting USSR influence in Europe. Outcomes of these events tend to influence the world decades after they occur. Soon, all those involved in the Great Crusade will be gone. My father, who is now 97, has talked about his experiences in that conflict more in the last couple of years than he did his entire life. He knows his time is short and I think just wants someone to know. Flew over 60 missions as a tail Gunner in the Army Air Corps. The first missions in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Will always remember seeing little kids in Italy eating out of garbage dumps. The horror of having to kill other people to stay alive and seeing comrades maimed and killed. No wonder these guys just wanted to go home and bury it once it was over. You can’t be human and see the crosses at Normandy and not get emotional. A debt that can never be repaid.
I hope you have him on video!
Please document his stories in writing too. God love him.
Thank you for your pictures and words of remembrance.
As my late father used to say, It was a NECESSARY mission to stop a necessary EVIL!
Sadly, only ONE of the original landing craft survives. The ONLY thing made of steel on it is the door that dropped down when it beached, the REST of the craft was wood-as steel was NEEDED for other applications.. Practically a suicide mission from the start
NEVER FORGET!
I watched a riveting 2 hours on the History Channel last week. It was mostly the guys who were there telling their story. Strongly recommend it, yes it was suicide.