6 June, 1944, D-Day remembered.

65 years.
Until recently, that was the expected life span of the average male in this country.
One of my Grandfathers made it exactly, the other lived another 12 years past that mark.

When I was a school boy in the sixties, D-Day and the end of WWII was only twenty years past.
Now the 'end' of the Vietnam war is 34 years in my rear view mirror.

Most of the men who saw action on June 6th, 1944 are gone now.
Only a relative handful of the hundreds of thousands that were involved are still living, both Allied and German alike.
All of them are old men in their eighties and nineties.

By the time June 6th 2014 is upon us, virtually all of them will be gone.
My sister told me recently that the last of the "Bedford Boys" had passed away.
Bedford VA is still a small All-American town halfway between Roanoke and Lynchburg.
A disproportionately high number of their boys, who were Reservists by the way were killed and wounded on D Day.
That is why the National D-Day Memorial is located there.
Dedicated by President George W. Bush during his first term, it is a stirring and somber reminder to us of the sacrifice that millions of young men made during that awful war.

It pays homage to all of our allied troops as well, even though our American boys suffered the worst casualties simply by the luck of the draw on landing beaches.

Omaha Beach. The name still stirs vivid emotions for me.

Watch the opening sequence of "Saving Private Ryan" Not with young children under any circumstance.
Then watch the D-Day episode of the excellent series "Band of Brothers", which gives perspective to what our Airborne troops went through.
My son is now one of them.

Then lastly, watch the excellent epic "The Longest Day", and read the book by Cornelious Ryan on which it is based.

Then you may gain a small inkling of the sheer terror and horror those young guys went through on the day that literally saved civilization from a tyranny no one can imagine.

A footnote, my thanks and regards to the citizens of Normandy, France.
Even though most of them who were alive on D-Day have passed, their children and grand children carry on a wonderful tradition of thanks and respect for our lost sons.

Each local family adopted the grave of one of our boys in the American Cemetary at Normandy, almost 10,000 of them.

They lovingly care for it year round, often bringing flowers, and having picnics there, which is a great sign of respect and thanks in their culture.

This is perpetual, passing on through the generations.
When a veteran visits who was there, he is lauded by the local citizens.

We should all pause and thank them as well, if we did not notice the significance of this Saturday past.