Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. – Hebrews 12:1-2
Eighty years can be measured in generations:
June 6 1944 my great-grandparents were in their 70’s, my grandparents were 50, and my parents were barely teens. Today my mum and dad are both gone, I am now 68, our children are 39 and 41 and our grandkids aged from three to 12.
D-Day is an epic story that impacted all of their lives – especially those not yet born. Ultimately, D-Day has shaped every last one of these six pivotal generations.
Courage and Trust:
Without the courage, the resolution, the commitment, the belief, and the trust of those who landed on the beaches we would not be in the position we are to enjoy this festival of freedom we can’t stop arguing about today.
I used the word trust. Thinking about it, I believe trust is a critical element (the critical element) that we dare not undervalue today. The eroding – and worse the intentional undermining – of trust in today’s political climate is as dangerous to America as the threatened Nazi invasion was to the United Kingdom in WW2.
Soldiers will not cannot act with such selfless heroism, storming beaches in face of withering fire, if they have no trust in the institutions that define what they are fighting for.
I don’t care if you identify as Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, something else or Independent, we are all – today – beneficiaries of countless generations who served and who put themselves at risk, because they believe in the principle and the purpose of the world’s most celebrated constitution, a democracy held together not by “the will of government” but by the will of the people, thousands of independent local election commissions controlled by regular citizens like you and me.
That is what D-Day was about for America and for the entire free world. Working to destroy such faith both disregards and disrespects their unparalleled sacrifice. – DEREK
This is beautiful and so well said. Thank you. My father landed at Utah Beach. Then on to the liberation of France, the Battle of the Bulge and then to Antwerp. He suffered from PTSD and rarely talked about this time period. He died at the age of 65, after suffering 3 heart attacks in one year. He is so loved and I hope he will be there to greet me someday. Its been 38 years since we have been together here on earth. Susan
Utah! Wow. I’m so sorry you lost him at such a young age. I know he will share all the stories when you meet again.
Peace – Derek