D-Day at 70; Missing Reagan for 10
Commentary by Sanford D. HornJune 5, 2014
“We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied
armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For four long
years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had
fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe
was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue
began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking
unparalleled in human history.”
Former President Ronald Reagan spoke those words on the
40th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1984, at the site of the US
Ranger Monument, Pointe du Hoc, on the northern coast of France. In addition to
his riveting speech, Reagan unveiled plaques to memorialize the 2nd
and 5th US Army Ranger Battalions, then, he and his wife, Nancy,
personally greeted each of the veterans.
“These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men
who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These
are the heroes who helped end a war,” continued Reagan.
Thirty years later, on the 70th anniversary of
D-Day, there are precious few of those heroes still with us. They must and will
be remembered for their actions that saved a continent from falling into the
hands of a certain few deviant slaughterers hell bent on sterilizing the planet
in their own warped images. These heroes are part of the much vaunted “Greatest
Generation” – dedicated to a cause greater than themselves.
The landing
at Omaha Beach and four other locales over a 50 mile span was the beginning of
the end of the European segment of World War II. On this date 156,000-plus
American, British, and Canadian troops hit hard the shores of those five
beaches – initially suffering unprecedented casualties prior to wresting
control from Nazi Germany.
Over 5,000
ships and 13,000 aircraft participated in the invasion where more than 4,000
Allied soldiers were killed and another 5,000 were wounded within the immediacy
of the landings. This was a heavy price to pay, but was the turning point in
defeating Hitler, Nazism, and Fascism.
From the
time of the D-Day landing through late August 1944, the Allied troops liberated
northern France, including Paris. By May 1945, the Allies defeated Nazi Germany
and the Axis powers of Europe.
“You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you,” said Reagan in the 1984 speech.
Drafted into the Army shortly after the United States
entered the war in December 1941, Reagan was not permitted to the front lines
due to his near-sightedness. Instead, Reagan worked for the Motion Picture Army
Unit producing training and propaganda films. For my impressions of Ronald
Reagan: http://sanfordspeaksout.blogspot.com/2004/06/mourning-in-america.html
“Strengthened by
their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let
us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died,” concluded
Reagan who died, ironically, June 5, 2004, one day prior to the 60th
anniversary of D-Day.
May we and
future generations never forget the sacrifices made by the brave soldiers on
D-Day, June 6, 1944, and may the losses of those who made the ultimate
sacrifice not have been in vain.
Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator
living in Westfield, IN.
