Column: D-Day a turning point in history
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Mon, 06/06/2016 - 12:52pm
Seventy-two years ago today, the largest seaborne invasion force the world had ever seen landed on the shores of Northern France, both making and changing history at the same time.
D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the beginning of the end of Nazi rule across Europe.
The massive Allied operation at Normandy came at a tremendous cost: over 10,000 casualties, including more than 4,000 confirmed dead. More than half of the casualties occurred in the first two waves of the assault alone.
But the sacrifices of those men wounded and dead upon storming the beaches named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword were not in vain.
Less than a year later, after a month-long grudge match and stalemate during the Battle of the Bulge, the Allies were occupying Berlin, Hitler was dead, his Nazi regime toppled, and Victory in Europe had been declared.
D-Day, a military term meaning the day on which a combat attack is commenced, required substantial deception on the part of the Allies to mislead the Germans and keep them guessing about when and where the amphibious landing would take place.
But the efforts of Operation Bodyguard to shuck, jive, and juke the Nazi forces paid off.
The invasion of Normandy turned out to be one of the most successful offensives in history; not just because of its effectiveness against German defenses ill-equipped to outlast the Allied invaders, but more so because of its social and political significance.
Because of D-Day, the signature event of Operation Overlord, the dark days of Nazi rule became numbered as Allied forces marched steadily inland, pushing the enemy ever backward, liberating communities, towns, and entire cities along the way.
It was the dawn of a new freedom.
France, Holland, Belgium and several other European nations owe their sovereignty today to D-Day and the Allied troops who carried it out.
Because of D-Day, the truth about and extent of Nazi oppression became clear as Allies stumbled upon the grisly realities of concentration or death camps.
And, because of D-Day, the world could finally see the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel that began five years earlier with Germany's invasion of Poland.
The end of a sweeping, devastating second world war could be seen on the horizon, and the generations who endured it were able to exhale at last in a collective sigh of relief felt around the globe.
Few other military offensives have had the kind of positive, lasting outcomes that D-Day resulted in.
Sure, there was the Cold War and it's division of Europe, including Germany and its capital, Berlin, shortly after the end of World War II. But D-Day was not responsible for that.
What it was responsible for was hastening the end of catastrophic European military conflicts which scarred generations of people.
If you haven't yet, thank a World War II veteran. Shake their hands, hug them, salute them, or just offer a warm, heart felt smile.
Their numbers are steadily shrinking, though, so make haste in expressing your gratitude toward them. Don't wait.
There are many fewer WWII vets today than there were at Normandy's golden 50th anniversary 22 years ago.
Virtually all surviving vets today are either approaching ninety or older.
There will be even fewer still three years from now when the 75th diamond anniversary of D-Day is remembered.
But don't stop at thanking these heroes, either. Take the time to sit and listen to their stories. It isn't everyday you get to see and hear genuine living history recall what really happened.
For the time draws nigh when these vets will be gone, and all we'll have left are our memories of them. Soon the history of D-Day will be limited to what is written or recorded, and no longer what is live.
To all World War II veterans, living and dead, I want to express my heartfelt love and appreciation for what you accomplished.
You made the world safe once again to practice liberty and exercise freedom.
Without you, there's no telling what condition our world would be in today. Or, if any of us could rightfully say we'd even be here at all.
