D-Day anniversary muse.

Just a personal reflection.

American paratroopers, heavily armed, sit inside a military plane as they soar over the English Channel en route to the Normandy French coast for the Allied D-Day invasion of the German stronghold during World War II, June 6, 1944. (AP Photo)
American paratroopers, heavily armed, sit inside a military plane as they soar over the English Channel en route to the Normandy French coast for the Allied D-Day invasion of the German stronghold during World War II, June 6, 1944. (AP Photo)

Seventy years ago, to this day, as the whole world now knows, the start of the end of World War II swung into action.  As this website put it (from where this photograph came),

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Allied troops departed England on planes and ships, made the trip across the English Channel and attacked the beaches of Normandy in an attempt to break through Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall” and break his grip on Europe. Some 215,000 Allied soldiers, and roughly as many Germans, were killed or wounded during D-Day and the ensuing nearly three months it took to secure the Allied capture of Normandy.

On this day, seventy years ago, my mother was living in London four months pregnant with yours truly. I was born in November, 1944.

The USA frequently gets a hammering in the media, including blog sites, for a whole range of activities.

But the 6th June, 1944 reminds me that when the American people turn their hand to helping others across the world, they can be a most powerful force for good.

That I have lived my almost seventy years in an environment that has allowed me freedom and opportunity and that I write this as a relatively new resident of the United States of America, living happily in rural Oregon, is a testament to that force for good.

Thank you Yankees!

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10 thoughts on “D-Day anniversary muse.”

  2. The BBC spent nearly the whole day broadcasting live from HMS Belfast in London, Southsea beach (near Portsmouth) and Normandy (Arromanches, Bayeaux, and Ouistreham). It was all excellent but the best programme was one I stumbled upon by accident, which looked in detail at the 77-day campaign that came to be known as the Battle for Normandy, which followed the landings.
    In the UK? Then watch it on iPlayer. Outside the UK? The documentary is on YouTube.

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  4. My Great Uncle, Lawrence Warren Sudduth, is the one in the very back – he received 2 bronze stars during his service.

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      1. Jessi, I earlier erroneously replied below to Mr. Handover’s email. I met Lawrence and his wife Dot Lee Sudduth when they came to my and my wife’s wedding in 1972 in Aiken County, S. C. Dot was my wife’s mother’s cousin and was the daughter of Stephen Dill Lee and granddaughter of Stephen States (S. S.) Lee both of whom are buried in the Warrenton Cemetery in Aiken County, S. C. (See Findagrave.com). Lawrence was such a distinguished Virginia gentleman. It’s remarkable to run across your identification of Lawrence in this picture.

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    2. Jessi, I ran across the picture and your comment on the internet. Lawrence’s wife Dot Lee Sudduth was my wife’s mother’s first cousin. Dot’s father was as I remember Stephen Lee and her grandfather Stephen States (S. S.) Lee both of whom are buried in the Warrenton Cemetery in Aiken County, South Carolina . (See Findagrave.com). Lawrence and Dot came to our wedding in 1972 – he was such a distinguished Virginia gentleman.

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