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Important to remember June 6, 1944June 6,1944 is, to me, the most important date in the history of democracy. Known as D-Day to many, the official name for the Allied invasion of Europe was Operation Overlord.What was at stake was significant, not only for those alive during the war years but for the millions to Mow. Would the world be completely overtaken by Fascism or would democracy rule this earth?On that day hundreds of thousands of men and women, from the US, Britain and Canada left southern England to commence the Allied assault on Nazi forces that had overrun Europe.This short trip to the northern coast of France, the Normandy region, would prove to be the defining moment of World War II. It was the largest amphibious landing in history involving nearly 5,000 ships and 10,000 aircraft. After more than a year of meticulous planning and endless training, for most American troops, it came down to this: the boat ramp goes down... jump, swim, ran, crawl to the cliffs.These young men were unloaded into deep water, carrying 80 pounds of equipment and then had to traverse more than 200 yards of heavily defended beach while being blanketed by machine-gun and rifle fire with explosive shells streaking overhead and exploding mortars spewed shrapnel and sand everywhere. At the end of that day the combined Allied Forces had suffered almost 10,000 casualties, more than 6,000 Americans were deadIn the days and weeks that followed there would be other battles but within two months of D-Day Parisians were freed from their Nazi aggressors, and in less than a year Allied Fbrces marched into Berlin bringing an end to the war in Europe.So why do I “torture my children by insisting that they learn about something that happen 56 years ago? Because I want them to remember the sacrifices that others made so that you could be free — free to be who you want to be and do what you want to do, to enjoy the diversity that this world offers by knowing that no matter what a person s skin color, ethnicity; religion or language they have something significant to contribute.Most of all, I want them to be appreciative and respectful of those men who laid their lives on the fine and made the ultimate sacrifice so that all of us can enjoy the freedom that is too often taken for granted.MARK GAVERMiddletown
Newspaper Details
News
Frederick, Maryland, US
Tue, Jun 13, 2000
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Jackie C.
USA 16 May 2025
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