Commemorating Real Courage

The gallantry of the forces that landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944 can never be overstated. The airborne and glider forces sustained catastrophic losses with many paratroopers killed before they ever had a chance to fire a shot at the Germans. The landing beaches were raked with machine gun, mortar, and artillery fire. Omaha Beach was soaked in blood as US troops suffered epic carnage, and yet, the sons of democracy still pushed forward to engage and defeat the forces of darkness. The Nazis did not give up without a fight and the toll they extracted was a fearsome one, but in the end, the forces of good prevailed, and despite the casualties inflicted by the Nazis fighting with determined fanaticism, the Allies vanquished Hitlerism. Without great men willing to lay down the lives they should have had ahead of them, casting caution to the winds, Europe and the world would be far different today.