I was reminded this morning of today’s profound meaning. Upon looking at the date, June 6, I remembered that 77 years ago tremendous sacrifice was made on our behalf. The U.S., Canadian, and British allied forces, 160,000 of our bravest and strongest young men, invaded and captured the Nazi-held beaches in Normandy, France, in 1944. That is 77 years ago today.
Over last 21 years of my medical practice, I’ve had the tremendous privilege of caring for a few handfuls of these men that served on the beaches of Normandy or parachuted into France. They rarely talked much about it, but there was something in their eyes. Many of them have already passed on. But, their nobility and honor brings me great joy when I see them or remember visiting with them.
Today, the day they called D-Day (the “D” simply stands for day and the term denotes the starting of a distinctive military field operation) marked the beginning of a 3-month strategy known as Operation Overlord. Many historians believe this strategic action determined the course of World War II (1939-1945) by paving the way for allied expansion into France.
You really should take the next nine minutes and watch some recently colorized footage of our 18-26 year old grandfathers protecting our countries and pushing back German troops from France. It is actual black and white footage that has been colorized. You can watch that short nine minutes of footage here. I am just amazed at the hundreds of thousands of young men that sacrificed to push back fascism and communism for our sacred freedoms today.
The totality of Operation Overlord was an elaborate orchestration of events aimed at opening a new western front on the Atlantic that could put pressure on Nazi Germany, along with the advancing allied forces from the south and the east. Here is another nine minute video that summarizes D-Day and Operation Overlord in a very understandable way.
To those men, their wives and families, I tip my hat, and I thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service and willingness to sacrifice you all for our freedom and peace upon the earth. Wherever you are, may God bless you and your families.