D-Day
It's been awhile since I checked in here. Life has been truly busy, with Easter, church property deals, and a trip to God's beautiful Alaska (where we took 400 pictures in 8 days, and a dose of 100% DEET protected me from mosquitos and caused my skin to break out like a 13-year old's).
More on that next time. But every year during June's first week, my mind turns to the first week of June, 1944, and the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces.
June 6 was overcast, grey, with a thick, low layer of cloud that cut visibility to hundreds of yards. The night before, Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower addressed his troops with these words: "You are about to embark on the Great Crusade. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
The invasion began the night of June 5 with paratroopers jumping into France to prepare the way for the main body of troops; they did their work but many drowned when they landed in swamps and their heavy gear sucked them under.
At dawn the German troops on duty up on the cliffs saw the fog lift a little... to reveal a solid wall of grey ships unloading troops. The first men ashore had to scale those cliffs, and that unit lost over 60% of their men in that one, bloody day. Those who followed faced the scythe of the Grim Reaper, and within minutes the surf was bloody and the beach was littered with dead; within hours the bodies were piled high. But the combined troops, American, British, Canadian, and the other allies, pressed on until, at the end of the day, the Nazi fortress was pierced and a permanent foothold was established.
That night President Franklin D. Roosevelt's prayed on national radio, "Almighty God, Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization. They will need Thy blessings. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. Help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith to Thee...And O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade...Thy will be done, Almighty God."
God was indeed gracious that day, as those who fought and those who died prepared the way to free Europe. On this 64th anniversary I again thank Him, and them, for having blessed us with a freer, happier world than the one they knew.
More on that next time. But every year during June's first week, my mind turns to the first week of June, 1944, and the invasion of Normandy by the Allied forces.
June 6 was overcast, grey, with a thick, low layer of cloud that cut visibility to hundreds of yards. The night before, Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower addressed his troops with these words: "You are about to embark on the Great Crusade. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
The invasion began the night of June 5 with paratroopers jumping into France to prepare the way for the main body of troops; they did their work but many drowned when they landed in swamps and their heavy gear sucked them under.
At dawn the German troops on duty up on the cliffs saw the fog lift a little... to reveal a solid wall of grey ships unloading troops. The first men ashore had to scale those cliffs, and that unit lost over 60% of their men in that one, bloody day. Those who followed faced the scythe of the Grim Reaper, and within minutes the surf was bloody and the beach was littered with dead; within hours the bodies were piled high. But the combined troops, American, British, Canadian, and the other allies, pressed on until, at the end of the day, the Nazi fortress was pierced and a permanent foothold was established.
That night President Franklin D. Roosevelt's prayed on national radio, "Almighty God, Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization. They will need Thy blessings. Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom. Help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith to Thee...And O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade...Thy will be done, Almighty God."
God was indeed gracious that day, as those who fought and those who died prepared the way to free Europe. On this 64th anniversary I again thank Him, and them, for having blessed us with a freer, happier world than the one they knew.
posted by David Hardesty | 9:24 AM
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2 comments
