D-Day — Remembering the high cost of freedom

They came from homes and families thousands of miles away, young, a bit afraid, but steeled for the upcoming battle.

They were not sure what to expect. They just knew they had a job to do. And even when the guns sounded and their fellow soldiers fell, they kept coming. And when they were finished, they left their mark on a continent and history.

Those soldiers who approached the beach at Normandy on June 6, 1944, could not possibly have known how much their heroism would change the world or the futures of millions of Americans.

But that is what heroism is all about — not thinking about the implications, consequences or recognition to come — just doing what you know needs to be accomplished.

Today as we remember the sacrifice of the men who stormed those beaches all those years ago, we should treasure the gift they gave us, the chance to be free and to be proud of what we can do as a country when we think about what is right, not what doing what is right will cost us.

The heroes from Normandy are immortalized in a field of crosses — a white sea of bravery that borders a calm, bright blue coastline. Their memory is forever imprinted on a country and region that has never really forgotten the gift these men gave millions of people they had never met. They honor their bravery and their determination and remember the high cost of the price they paid.

And so should we.

Published in Editorials on June 6, 2005 11:48 AM