It was on this day 80 years ago, American, British and Canadian troops stormed the beaches of Normandy commencing a two-month long battle which proved to be the turning point of WWII in the European theater. France would soon be liberated with the rest of Europe soon to follow.
While it is heartening to know there remain those who survived that battle who can still their story firsthand, the reality is their days are numbered. So how do we honor their memories of those few among us in the years to follow be it on the 85th, 90th, 95th and 100th anniversaries of D-Day?
In the here and now, we have Russia invading Ukraine as a gateway to conquer Europe bolstered by a fifth column in the United States led by a defeated, former President who wishes to relegate NATO to the dustbin of history. On the other end of the spectrum, there are those who say, "Hitler was right!!!" Such words would be abhorrent to those U.S. and Allied soldiers who would liberate concentration camps the year after D-Day.
The truth of the matter is that the fight for freedom against tyranny never ends. It is an eternal struggle with ebbs and flows. At the moment, the flow is heading towards fascism. There are many among us who have never lived in an authoritarian or totalitarian country who wonder what democracy has ever done for them who find fascism alluring and appealing.
The best tribute we can pay to those who lived and died during the D-Day battle is to recognize and reject authoritarianism, bigotry, demagoguery, fascism regardless of its ideological inspiration. If we do that, then one can only hope it won't be necessary to take up arms and storm a beach. Unfortunately, there are times when we are left with no other choice.
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