Eighty two years ago, on June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord – more commonly referred to simply as D-Day – commenced.
If Operation Overlord had failed, Europe would have been under Adolf Hitler’s control and the world we live in today most likely would be dramatically different.
If Germany had won the war, Jews would have been persecuted into oblivion by the Nazis. Schools and colleges in Europe would be propaganda institutions spewing disinformation and hatred to promote Hitler’s agenda of a thousand-year Reich. If Operation Overlord had failed, generations of people in western and eastern Europe alike would have been taught Nazi propaganda as if it were gospel.
The allied forces that fought knew each step forward on D-Day was a step toward world peace, toward freedom for millions of citizens all over the world. Many troops made that step on D-Day even in the belief that they faced certain death. For many, there was no cover on the beach, no way to turn back. The only way was forward into a fortified Nazi front.
Today, 27 war cemeteries hold the remains of more than 110,000 dead from both sides: 77,866 German, 9,386 American, 17,769 British, 5,002 Canadians and 650 Poles.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 French civilians were killed. Thousands more fled their homes to escape the fighting.
We should never forget the names of like Auschwitz and Treblinka and people like Himmler and Hitler, and we should never forget the atrocities against humanity they committed. Six million Jews were killed, along with millions of other innocent people, because of one madman’s desire to rule the world.
As we enjoy our summer activities, please remember the sacrifices our military veterans have made. We can attend whatever church we want, cast our votes on election day and sleep under a blanket of freedom because our veterans stood against tyranny.
At the Holocaust Memorial in Washington, D.C., an eternal flame burns, with the teachings of Deuteronomy 4:9 etched into a black granite wall behind the flame: “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
James Lockhart lives near the Kiamichi mountains in southeast Oklahoma. He writes cowboy stories and fools with cows and horses.
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