June 6, 1944 :: A day of gratitude and rejoicing
As a gift for her college graduation in 2005, Audrey was treated by my mother to a trip to France.
The two of them went together and, once they were settled into their hotel, joined a week-long guided tour of Paris and surrounding areas.
Of all the places she was privileged to visit on that trip, the one that meant the most to Audrey was Normandy.
When she got back home, TG and I sat with her at the kitchen table as she wept when telling us about the thousands of white crosses at the Normandy American Cemetery.
Audrey told us of her acute disappointment on the day of her visit to Normandy with her grandmother.
My mom was upset because there was no quiet; a great deal of maintenance was being done at the memorials and the cemetery alike, and the noise bothered her.
(Someday I'll tell you about the time TG took me to a cemetery in upstate New York that I had wanted to visit for many years. A dream came true on that day but circumstances nearly ruined it for me until I figured out how to deal with it.)
Exacerbating the cacophony at Normandy on the day my mom and Audrey were there in June of 2005 was the fact that the tour had been running behind since the morning, and what was supposed to be a much lengthier stay at the beaches turned into a scant hour.
I cherish this souvenir given to me by my daughter
Not nearly long enough. Audrey says that if you go to Normandy, plan to stay for at least one whole day.
At any rate, the sacrifices made by Allied troops at Normandy on D-Day boggle the mind, even now.
My daughter presented me with the resin statue which I cherish, depicting an American soldier being given flowers by a Parisian child on June 6, 1944, the day of France's liberation after four years of occupation by German forces.
Years ago TG and I watched the movie Saving Private Ryan on TV. The opening sequence of that film left me speechless and in tears. I almost wish I'd never seen it, but at the same time I am glad I did.
The Higgins boats crammed with young men -- and boys -- approaching the shores of the beaches where the heavily fortified Germans were shooting from positions in the hills, while fire also rained on their heads from the sky, is a scene that anyone who values their freedoms should contemplate on purpose, from time to time.
Later I said to TG -- who, if one becomes a student of a subject by reading dozens of books about it over a period of decades, is a student of World War II -- that if the reality of June 6, 1944 was even half of what was acted out in the film, it's difficult to comprehend how desperate a situation it was.
He said, It was exactly like that. And probably worse.
It happened eighty years ago, yesterday.
Soon all those who survived that engagement with the enemy in that place on that day, will be gone. There are a few thousand left across the world, the youngest of whom are in their late nineties.
Never again have so few done so much for so many
In my opinion, the day that the last veteran of that conflict passes away, will be a tragic day for the world. We will never see the likes of them again.
We owe all of our gratitude for every joy we have known in this life, to God and also to them.
And that is all for now.
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Happy Friday :: Happy Weekend
