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Remembering D-Day
By Greg L | 6 June 2008 | Patriotism | 9 Comments
On this day in 1944, members of the 29th Infantry Division, a National Guard unit from Maryland and Virginia, landed on the shore of Omaha Beach in Normandy and began the largest amphibious invasion in history. This was the toughest sector in Operation Overlord, a beach where the most casualties were suffered, requiring a level of courage, toughness and determination that has been immortalized in several movies, including “The Longest Day” and “Saving Private Ryan”. ‘Heroism’ does not adequately describe what happened there on that terrible, but triumphant day.On this day in 2007, members of the 29th Infantry Division are serving our country with the same courage, toughness and determination in the Global War on Terror in Iraq and Afganistan. While these citizen-soldiers have vastly different equipment, uniforms, training, and military technology at their disposal, they exhibit precisely the same personal qualities as those men who so bravely fought to save our nation and the world from the nightmare of Adolph Hitler. They stand on the shoulders of those giants who precede them, proudly carrying forward a legacy of honor, bravery, dedication and courage so that our nation can be safe from the horror of Islamofascism that threatens us today just as the horror of Nazism threatened us over sixty years ago.
Some of those veterans of D-Day are still with us, and you may encounter an elderly gentleman who wears a circular blue and gray pin. Take a moment to thank him for the amazing sacrifices he made for us all. You may encounter some much younger veterans of the 29th Division who served our country in Iraq, who also deserve our thanks for the amazing sacrifices they made much more recently. This is the symbol to watch for, because when you see it, you will know that you are in the presence of a true hero.
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9 Comments
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Very nice tribute, Greg.
Those are hard pictures to look at. My uncle died at du Hoc and was buried in Normandy.
I was able to visit his grave a few years ago and was most impressed with the way the cemeteries are so meticulously maintined. When I mentioned I was looking for my uncle’s grave, one of the attendants checked the records and took me right to ir.
Seeing du Hoc, I’m still amazed so many of our soldiers made it to the shore alive. The amphibious tanks (or whatever they called them) fiasco was so tragic, it’s too painful to even try to recount.
The people of Normandy are wondeful and grateful people - even today. They treat Americans who have family buried there with the utmost respect. One lady kissed me and said her family was saved by American soldiers, then cried for my loss.
I met a French solider who was at the cemetary with his great grandson, explaining the “strategy” on the wall of the monument. He took my hands in his and kissed them and said my uncle was a true hero and will always be honored and never be forgotten.
Such a shame Americans can’t at least make an effort to act interested or feign reverence.
I am a former SGT in the 29th. The men that came home from that beach are heros. The men who did not return are Legends.
The patch worn by this unit is 1/2 blue and 1/2 gray. It represents the fact that the unit was split in two during the Civil War. The soilders from Maryland fought for the Union and the soilders from Virginia fought for the Confederacy.
My grandfather served in WWII in Japan immediately following the end of the war (the war was ended while he was on a ship on his way to fight in the Pacific). My grandfather would be the first to tell you that the reason why he was spared from having to fight is because of the valiant efforts that were begun by American troops that served before him on D-Day. (That and the A-bomb, but that’s another story.) Hearing my grandfather talk about WWII makes it so much more real to me. People should honor that generation as they sacrificed so much for our freedom, just like those who serve in Afghanistan and Iraq are doing for us today. God bless all of our soldiers who serve our nation so honorably. Thanks for this post Greg, what these great soldiers did on D-Day should never be forgotten.
Beautiful. Thank you for the reminder that we have much to be grateful for–and much to protect–in this great country.
Home of the free and land of the brave. Thank you to our troops who have been on every continent, every sea, flew over the entire world to help and sacrifice for people oppressed and in need when no one else was there to help.
The Marine Hymn reflects back to the early 1800’s and as we stand on foreign soil even today around the world, as then, not to invade but to free from some tyranny.
No other country can make this claim but we have allies who have helped sharing in the pain, the blood and the sacrifice all for peoples we never met or knew but cried for help.
We are the hated, the cursed and the scourge to some, yet when the cry goes out, there by the grace of God goes the American soldier, sailor, airman and marine.
The world does not really understand or appreciate the sacrifice, courage and trepidations but this honor has been bestowed on us by someone more powerful than any mortal. It is our duty, our calling, our obligation for there is no other who can stand so strongly in the face of adversity, free people and make this world most certainly a better place.
Thank God for such courage, such men and such women and the indomitable American Spirit.
I know what that flag cost and I understand the sacrifice since 1774. The stars and stripes forever or forever the world will never be the same.
God bless all our troops and…..Thank you.
http://s259.photobucket.com/albums/hh289/Impish_Dragon/?action=view¤t=Untitled.flv
On a lighter note, if you watch the Andy Griffith episode where Ernest T Bass tries to join the Army. The recruiter is wearing a 29th Div patch.