It seems that from the end of May to July is quite the time to be Patriotic. In that span of time we have:

• Memorial Day
• D-Day Remembrance
• Flag Day
• Independence Day

I love this time of year. You can put the flags up and keep them up! It’s so cool. There’s a story I never tire of sharing. I hope you enjoy it too. And don’t forget to pull out your Red, White and Blue if you haven’t already. 🙂
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Sitting in a hotel room on the coast of England, Allied Commander Eisenhower knew that a small window of opportunity was all that he had with which to work. Weather was terrible. But if it broke, as they had been notified it might, 150,000 Allied soldiers would be deployed to land on the shores of Normandy.
The General’s 5000-vessel armada stretched as far as the eye could see. Over 150,000 men and nearly 30,000 vehicles were now making their way across the English Channel and were heading to France.
This amazing collection included:

• Six parachute regiments with over 13,000 men. (These guys were flown from nine British airfields in over 800 planes.)
• 300 planes that would drop 13,000 bombs over coastal Normandy (Before the parachute teams arrived in order  to prepare the way.)
• Paratroopers that would drop at 1am. (But, would the weather hold? At a height of only 300 feet, in complete darkness, they would have to think and move fast!)
• Men in PT boats who were racing towards the shore as well. (Many would get close. Some would fall short. As soldiers poured out into the waters, the 70 pound packs would sink and drown many who thought the sand lay directly beneath their feet.)

By nightfall, more than 9,000 Allied soldiers would be dead or wounded, but… more than 100,000 would make it ashore! They would manage to secure French coastal villages previously held hostage by Hitler’s regime.
These were depression-era kids. Teens really. The scrappy boys that had learned to make it on their own. Those innate tricks of survival that only hard times seem to produce. Could there have been any better training ground to prepare them for the day ahead? Horrible conditions, impossible orders, and a ruthless world tyrant to boot. Truly, an awesome task. (Sometimes our current circumstances may merely be preparation for something in your life to come!)
Survivors of that day, and those wishing to remember, will gather once again on those French beaches on June 6. To honor. To think. It will be a very solemn day.
May we remember, as well.
Just my thoughts,
S.
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