What America’s fallen military heroes can teach us on the 80th anniversary of D-Day | Opinion
More than 200,000 American heroes lie in their final resting places at the 26 overseas American military cemeteries that commemorate their sacrifice. Marble headstones in the shape of Latin crosses and Stars of David dot the landscape in perfect rows, surrounded by grand monuments, manicured lawns and sculpted trees that stretch to the horizon, giving quiet dignity to those who took their last breaths amid chaos. The immensity of it is breathtaking.
At our American Battle Monuments Commission cemeteries, time stands still. Nothing changes — except for the people who visit, as the weight of history captures them.
June 6, 2024, marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings along the Normandy coast during World War II, a pivotal turning point in the conflict in favor of the Allies, with heavy casualties on both sides. With this milestone, it’s a good time to remember the sacrifices our service members made to defend our freedom and security.
Opinion
Americans from all walks of life, backgrounds and races lie side-by-side in these sacred grounds. Many were barely past their childhood. Entering into battle, they understood that on their left and right stood comrades in arms willing to lay down their lives for one another and for freedom — and they were prepared to do the same. We honor their memory by remembering their courage and dedication.
Standing at their graves — feeling their presence and their absence, wandering through row after row — is an education of the heart. It’s a way to briefly peer through the barrier that separates past and present, and to glimpse the strength it took to fly deep into the heart of enemy territory, creep around enemy lines, see death itself approach and keep fighting valiantly. The headstones beckon, inviting you to stand in reverence and bear witness to the legacy of valor that endures beyond the passage of time.
To do so is to be changed. Their stories can be heard in the breeze, in the chirping birds, echoing through the solemn silence of the cemetery. “Remember us and join in our struggle,” they whisper.
Their selflessness deserves our gratitude. It was not a foregone conclusion that America would defeat our adversaries in World War II. Victory, by definition, had to be earned. Everything we now hold dear — freedom, equality, prosperity, human rights — was in jeopardy. So we keep their memories alive, honoring their sacrifice to preserve all we hold dear.
There will always be men with selfish motives seeking to control others and oppress freedom. Even today, our world is plagued by hostilities both overt and covert that threaten peace and stability. Our battle scars represented in monuments, memorialized in textbooks and through the stories we tell hold extraordinary lessons for the future. These lessons are ignored at our peril.
It is in remembering these lessons and appreciating the sacrifices they demand that we fortify ourselves against the encroachments on freedom that persist in our world today. To remember is not just a passive acknowledgment of times gone past; it’s a commitment to ensure that their devotion was not in vain. We must uphold their legacy and stand steadfast in our resolve to defend the freedoms they fought for.
At America’s overseas memorials, a fleet of caretakers maintains their pristine condition: replacing headstones damaged by time’s passage, re-engraving them, ensuring that generations of Americans can visit and learn. In a piece of writing, as in a cemetery, words fail. That which is left unsaid — the communion with those who can no longer speak — transcends what can be rationally articulated.
Poetry, more elemental and evocative, gets us closer. Consider a favorite poem of mine, John McCrae’s “In Flanders Field,” part of which is etched on the flagpole at the Cambridge American Cemetery in England:
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
Those resting in our cemeteries have already done the hard part. When we visit them, we remember our job: to carry their torch, and to hold it high.
Daniel P. Woodward is a retired Air Force brigadier general, a presidentially appointed commissioner with the American Battle Monuments Commission and the executive director of Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings.
