Sixty-five years ago today, June 6, 1944, Allied military forces stormed the beaches of France and began the campaign to retake Europe from the Nazis. It was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe.
Utah Beach Landing, June 6, 1944
Our World War II veterans are now in their 80′s and they carry with them the stories, scars, and horror of what they found during their liberation of Europe. Many veterans have gone to their graves without telling their stories. If you are a World War II veteran, please make a point to tell your stories, including the horror and ugliness, so we will never forget you, our greatest generation. If you are unable to talk about them, please consider writing about them. We need your wisdom to keep this thing from ever happening again.
U.S. Navy and Coast Guardsmen Being Bombed by Nazis, Paestum, France
We must also heed your wisdom to prevent conditions that led to Hitler being able to take power in Germany and rain terror down on the world with its ideal of a “master race”. There is only one race, the human race.
We can never walk down the path that sees any group of humans as lesser or greater than any other group of humans. “Racial purity” is not a human strength, diversity is. All of the human race has something positive to contribute to the world, and we should honor and value all those contributions.
Still Storming Southern France Beaches on Aug. 15, 1944
America was headed down this path again by demonizing the religion of Islam and the entire Muslim world. Islam and Muslims are not our enemies, you are our friends and countrymen as well as important contributors to western civilization and our modern world.
U.S. soldiers of Islamic faith are fighting and dying in the war against terrorists beside Jewish and Christian soldiers. There are a growing number of headstones in our National Cemeteries with a sickle and star engraved on them as this war continues. There are Christian crosses and Jewish stars of David, and I am proud that Americans of Islamic faith are just as important a part of our modern military as Americans of all other faiths.
My father is interred in Arlington National Cemetery, and if he were here he would be proud to serve along side all other American soldiers no matter what their faith (or ethnicity or sexual orientation). Why? Because they are Americans who volunteered to put their lives on the line to serve their country.
Terrorists of every ilk are our enemies and will be fought on all fronts. Our most recent terrorist attacks on American soil were carried out by American citizens of extremist beliefs who thought it was all right to execute other Americans going about their everyday normal, legal lives. Dr. George Tiller and Private William Long were shot and killed in cold blood last week, one in Kansas, the other in Arkansas. Our prayers are with their families and friends during this difficult time, as we remember our veterans of D-Day 65 years ago.
Cemetary at Juno Beach, France
65th D-Day Anniversary, D-Day, June 6 1944, Veterans, World War II
June 29th, 2009 at 12:58 am
Yes, We must never forget. And what you warn against believing in ‘the master race’ remains relevant even today. But as I was browsing online to find out more about WWII, I came across an interesting site with an even more interesting point of view. Shmoop provides in-depth information on all sides of the war. And while much has been said and written about the Holocaust and race discrimination, this site offers some telling insights into the racial tension within America at the time. And I quote, “Black inductees found discrimination and segregation prevalent in the armed forces. Military and government officials rejected desegregation, some asserting the belief that blacks were inferior. Segregation policies reflected the notion that blacks did not make adequate leaders and worked best under white supervision. The United States Army enlisted black soldiers into separate regiments; the Navy confined blacks to service roles as cooks, janitors, and waiters; the Marine Corps, for much of the war, excluded blacks altogether. African-American servicemen were sent to segregated training camps, often on military bases in the South where black GIs were harassed. Like World War I, the Second World War, despite all the democratic rhetoric, brought few tangible changes for African Americans. Lawful segregation continued to limit access to public facilities in the South, laws restricting black suffrage remained intact, and the threat of economic reprisal and death at the hands of whites prevented black citizens from owning land and gaining economic independence.” I am including this excerpt here because I feel it is relevant to the struggle you write about and the need to remember. It is important to open one’s eyes to all aspects of the past and learn from our mistakes.