Community Chat

[sann]

🇺🇸 Never Forget the Sacrifice of Those Brave Heroes 🇺🇸

[just bee]

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@Oznell wrote:

@just bee ,  that famous "Pointe du Hoc" speech by President Reagan, delivered right there, is rightly judged one of the most moving ever of presidential tributes-- thanks for quoting!

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@Oznell 

It was beautifully written and delivered.  And it was long.  Here are the final thoughts:

We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''

Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

[hckynutjohn]

Many in those troops were still teenagers or barely into their 20's. Remember all those young lives lost so we could enjoy all of the freedoms in our Country.

NEVER   FORGET    🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸

hckynut 

[Desert Lily]

@Oznell  Thank you for posting this.

My dad was in the 8th Armored Division/58th Armored Infantry as a medic. He landed at Normandy on one of the ships from England. Although he was a medic, he said that the enemy repeatedly shot at his red cross. So, he also fought and earned a combat medal along with his medic medal & others. My dad didn't talk about his service until he was 70. He told me that the ships let many of the troops off too far out in the water at Normandy, and some couldn't swim. Some troops couldn't keep their rifles above the water. He talked about how the Germans were already there and our many casualties. My dad was one of the fortunate ones.

I saw tears from my father 3 times in my life:

1. When his mother died

2. When I moved across the country

3. When he told my child & me about while he was with the 8th Armored Division and they liberated some camps and the horrible condition the starved people were in.

I get choked up sometimes when I watch WW2 movies because I think of how young the soldiers were that were willing to give up their lives to fight for freedom. And I think of man's inhumanity to man then.

[on the bay]

@Desert Lily,

That sounds so awful. I've never heard about that from someone who was actually there and in the hell of it all. 

What horrible memories your dad and so many had to carry all of their lives.

I'm so glad for you and your dad that he was a survivor. How sad it all is.

War truly is hell on earth.

[ruthbe]

My dad (WW2) and my grandfather (WW1) never would talk about it.  My father was wounded and almost lost his right arm.  But because of the wonderful medics and all of the medical personel they not only saved him, but also his arm. 

[Boomernichols]

@Oznell Thanks for this post!    I recently received papers from the Dept of Defense about submitting a dna sample to help identify the remains of my departed uncle.   He went down on D-day and all of his brothers/sisters have passed on.  I am a niece and pray that they can identify "him" and it would be a happy day for sure!  I never met him but know it will give peace to our family.

[Oznell]

Very moving to hear of your fathers' involvement, @Desert Lily ,  and @ruthbe .    Hoping you get the confirmation that you seek, @Boomernichols .

[Trailrun23]

My grandfather was a "doughboy" and fought in France during WWI. He survived, sick and injured, and returned home where he lived many more years. I remember as a small girl sitting in the lobby of the VA hospital on Sunday afternoons, waiting for the nurse to bring my grandfather down in a wheelchair to visit with us. I thank him for his service. I am so glad D Day has not been forgotten and that France honors those who helped fight for their freedom. Americans must not forget either. 

[Oznell]

World War I vets like your grandfather paid a steep price, for all of us, @Trailrun23 --  we can't honor them enough.