Remembering D-Day

Sixty-one years ago today, Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and without knowing it, changed the course of history. They won a battle they had to win to break the back of Nazi Germany and preserve freedom for generations to come. They won a battle that odds makers might have said they had no business winning, but they won it anyway. They won it because they had to!

According to Sun Tzu, "all battles are won before they are fought". If this is true, I can think of no better example in the history of warfare. This battle was won before the first troop carriers hit the beach and the first paratroopers landed on the ground. It was won because of what was at stake.

It was not won easily or without casualty, but it turned the tide of the war and the course of history. We were fighting to preserve freedom, they were fighting to preserve tyranny. I'll bet on freedom every time. I wasn't alive then, but I didn't miss the lesson. I pray you don't miss it either.

Others Blogging:

John in Carolina presents his tribute to D-Day with the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower and correspondents Martha Gellhorn and Ernie Pyle. Ernie Pyle's words in particular, struck a chord with me:

In this column I want to tell you what the opening of the second front in this one sector entailed, so that you can know and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.

I often wonder what became of war correspondents such as Ernie Pyle, who presented the facts in great detail and seemed to understand the cause our men in uniform were fighting for.

Rick Moran in "Remembering Why I Love History", offers some historical perspective and what if scenarios that may have occurred had the results been different. An excellent read!

W. Thomas Smith, Jr. (Via Michelle Malkin) had uncles on both sides of his family who were actually there and links to his words from last year at this time. A must read!