"....They will need Thy blessings. Their load will long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest – until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war. For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home...."
With these words, on the evening of June 6, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt consecrated the sacrifices being made by Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. In his Fireside Chat the President expressed an understanding of the sacrifices being made by the soldiers and their families on those beaches, an understanding that is lacking in our current "leadership". All of us who read this.... if this is all we knew of that day, when a break in the weather acted as a "wink from the fates" enabling the largest land / sea invasion in Human History, we would be able to glean that the future of the free world was at stake.
Two reasons would explain the overwhelming support most Americans gave to this invasion,... to the war. Those who listened that night could take heart in the fact that the cause for which their loved ones were sacrificing their lives and limbs was just and REAL. In addition, our men were well trained, well supplied and the exit strategy was called "unconditional surrender".
Our current conflict has turned out to be less glorious. In Iraq our soldiers have performed the responsibilities that HAVE been clearly outlined for them. The problem is that they have no idea how they will know what the "....end of battle,..." is or when "...their return to the haven of home...." will be.... if ever. Americans have had none of the material and emotional preparation for war that Americans experienced in the 1940's. We were told to go shopping. Perhaps if we had been asked to make those sorts of sacrifices the right questions would have been asked and the wrong answers not accepted. The modern public was lied to again and again. We were told to believe that there were weapons of mass destruction. There were not. We were told the Saddam was in league with Al Qaeda. He was not.
Responsibility for this huge military blunder floats like a helium balloon around Washington DC settling nowhere. There are even hints that the Iraqis are to blame for the failure. Such an idea never would have dawned on those commanding the D Day invasion. In his Fireside Chat FDR spoke with confidence that we would succeed, but on the night before, one man had his doubts. A degree of doubt in the mind of an honest, thinking person in the face of something so monstrous is a commendable thing. From the letter that General Eisenhower sent the troops before the invasion, praising and encouraging them, one would never have guessed that he was fearful for the success of the mission. Not only was he fearful for its success, he was ready to accept responsibility for its failure. Out of fatigue and / or nervousness he actually dated a handwritten note for July 1944 instead of June. It reads:
“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Harve area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”
It was a letter he never had to submit. Thank you to all of the Operation Overlord Soldiers and Sailors of all nationalities and their families.
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