D-Day

The very name should bring to mind sacrifice, organization, a fight against evil — so many things. And on this day, there needs to be a pause for the cause.

Seventy-Seven years ago today the successful invasion of Europe marked the beginning of the end for Germany’s occupation of Europe.

In the East, the Russian Great Patriotic War was in full swing and they were pushing the Germans back — at great cost.

The D-Day landings were successful because people sacrificed their lives.

The question for us today is simply this: What are you doing to fight evil – in all its forms? I’m not going to make a sermonette out of it. Just asking the question.

 

You can post what you like, discuss what you like. The forum is open.

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44 COMMENTS

  1. Our battles against evil are on a smaller, more daily, scale.
    Those guys trained for THAT day. Waited for it.
    Wished it was over.
    And for many that day, it was.

    • Very few in those first few waves that hit Omaha Beach lived the next two weeks. Well under 10% survived the war. The attrition was wicked. A lot of those who survived the war had wounds that took them home (CASEVAC), or at least out of the fighting.

    • Us as well, smaller battles, because influence for most of us is localized to our immediate circle.

        • We try as individuals, and try and find other like-minded individuals to associate with. I don’t think we’re Agnew’s “Silent Marority”, as times have changed a lot since then.

          I think we’re more like the “Pissed Off Multitudes” these days.

  2. The Left IS evil…so we start there. Anything they demand we oppose…by Christian tenet. We must. No violence required (thus far…and prefer not, but the moron zombies think real life is Facebook and they have a right to freely comment on your life and get in your face about it. They do not.)

    Did a trip up near Pinedale (WY), brothers commented “People here are so normal and nice.” Said, “They are as long as you are.” Locals respect “decent”.” Reminded them to “lift a hand” to oncoming traffic, a sign of “being neighborly”. Dinner out at the local places were normal, and have been for a long time because most rural folks have little time for idiocy imposed by “officials” who believe they are mini dictators over some personal fiefdom. That video posted over at CW’s, “Red White + Blueprint” is a siren call to others on how to eradicate the evil-doers among us who have gotten to big for their britches, thinking they own the place.

    Us? We adjusted accordingly to avoid the idiocy, so far we have had little trouble, been more about avoidance and a few “terse” emails to our county health director and “The Board”, who have summarily ignored me…because they can. We (mostly those Wyoming residents just north of the border) have been actively opposing an asinine Lefty industrial wind facility grift that will completely ruin our rural landscape and lifestyle…it personifies evil-doing by out-of-staters and Lefty loons who think it their right to freely impose their project on others lives, and we are required to embrace it wholeheartedly. Tuesday the Commissioners had gotten so much pushback that they tabled any approval decision. The surprised “developer”, who worked to buy votes, is feeling the pain of local smart folks who aren’t stupid.

    There are ways to fight evil and evil-doing. I believe the Dem’s et al are feeling the heat, and like that scene in Miracle” with the Russian hockey coach, they “don’t know what to do” when they start losing. When these cretins start to flail it indicates “game over”, a signal they are out of moves. It may not be Omaha Beach, but it is our battle for our time.

    • Fight battles that you can win, and take a moral stand. The sermonette comes later today. I didn’t want to take away from people considering D-Day. Each soldier’s battle was personal and small. Each death was in itself small and one could even say meaningless when looking at the granularity of a rifle squad. But collectively they did great things. It was the same in the American Revolution.

      • Absolutely! They did what they knew they must, and to them, their example, is for us to follow and now cow or cower to the reprobates of our time.

          • My much shorter answer to your question is avoidance, when that’s not possible, then fight it head on. At some point the warrior gets engaged. And that ain’t “no bull”.

          • We need to predetermine our trigger level and response.
            I have friends who say don’t shoot someone over a mask requirement.
            Maybe shoot them if they try to confiscate your weapon.
            Have a will and a will.

          • Ed, exactly – My dad gave me a hard learned piece of advice, “If you take the bullet head-on you’ll end up bloody so pick your battles carefully. I have gotten bloody here and there, some worth it.

  3. In the movie, “The Longest Day”, there is a scene where combat engineers blow a gap in a seawall. The unit was the 122nd Engineer Company. I learned this sorting through and organizing a large file of the unit history of the 814th Engineer Company that was reorganized and renamed in the 1950’s.

    Our First Sergeant had “volunteer work details” for miscreants to choose instead of seeing the company commander for more formal proceedings. I enjoyed doing this particular detail, it was interesting while being quite sobering. In 1944 the 122nd had a casualty rate over 200%.

    Last I heard, the 814th is still on active duty at Fort Polk.

    • I was told that engineers find landmines.

      Naturally, those landmines provide a barrier to slow troops down who are trying to assault a fortified position and those who fortified it are picking them off… you engineers are crazy.

      • During Gulf War I, we inserted an infiltrator by sea from a fountain (speed boat) into an area controlled by Iraq. We weren’t certain that they’d laid mines above the surf line. They had, he turned into mist and a few large chunks of meat. You need to respect landmines because they won’t respect you.

      • For our sins Tom O’Connor and I were sent to a 13 week mines and demolition course at Bad Tolz. We got a lot of work looking at WWII leftovers in addition to working along the East German border.

        My knowledge is 50 years out of date but the two worst we encountered were wooden “shoe” mines and a fiendish contraption of white phosphorus balls sealed in a plastic bag filled with nitrogen. Since we used ice picks for probes, puncturing the plastic bag could ruin your day.

        Engineers crazy? Not until they became engineers.

      • If I recall doctrine right, bearing in mind this is not the US army, if a battle group were using a company sized unit of engineers for an opposed obstacle breach the expectation was they were to take 80%+ casualties. Effectively write the unit off.

        • Think of the Russians at Stalingrad – where divisions, and corps were reduced to platoon-sized units.

        • Don’t know where they got their information but our training NCOs (1963) told us our life expectancy in combat was 1 1/2 minutes, longer if we pulled our heads…….and paid attention to our training.

  4. I have walked on the beaches, spent time there. Almost a week. Just to be there in silence and try to understand. Pointe du Hoc is a special place. When they trained for their mission and the cliffs they climbed, the courage they had must never be forgotten.

    Thanks to the great generation and for all they sacrificed.

  5. Meanwhile, over in the Pacific, Midway was taking place. Wonder about our ability to handle two large operations at the same time today – perfumed princes don’t seem to do well with that.

    • One was an Army war, and Dugout Doug notwithstanding, the Pacific was a Navy war. I am not minimizing Army and Army Aircorps participation in the Pacific, but it was a world apart in every aspect from Europe.

  6. I am saddened by the fact that there is very little mention of the importance of this day on news sites and mainstream blogs.

  8. Somewhere in one of my dusty books I recall one brief bit (of several) about BG Norman Cota, portrayed Robert Mitchum in “The Longest Day”. As best I can recall, Cota came across a group of GI’s behind a stone wall taking fire from a farm house. They were being led by a young lieutenant. Cota personally led the charge on the farm house using grenades and his .45. The Germans that survived ran out the back. After it was over, Cota turned to the lieutenant and said “That’s how you do it, lieutenant. You better remember, because next time I won’t be here to help you.”

    The war after the war to end all wars. No such thing. Evil doesn’t rest. Ever. I do what I can. I refuse to wear a face diaper with rare exception (like picking up my Wife’s meds). We just voted in our local election (Yeah I know, but they do a pretty good job here in Texas). And I vote with my dollars.

  10. IMHO, a very sad day for all those lost on the beach and beyond (and the whole war) but an inspiration and pride for those who fought through it and went on to win, along with our allies, to win the war. This, alone, defies America’s Greatest Generation. Respect to all.

  11. One of my Masonic Lodge brothers was a Ranger who went up Pointe Du Hoc. He could recite the names of those in his command that he lost in the following days in order of their deaths, and always said the ‘ONLY’ reason he survived was to memorialize those men. He was a small quiet man, not given to boasting, and seldom mentioned his service other than every June’s meeting.

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