Sunday, June 06, 2004
D-DAY
Photo (c) Robert Capa. Taken June 6, 1944.
Today is the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Thousands of Americans lost their lives on this day alone. It was the beginning of an epic and at times horrendous struggle to free Europe from the grasp of Nazi-Germany. It was the second war to end all wars.
The D-Day story is told here and here.
The total WWII death toll from Europe alone is staggering:
Stats from www.angelfire.com/ct/ww2europe/stats.html
Still more gave their lives in Asia and the South Pacific.
My father fought in the South Pacific during WWII. He would not talk about the war and he is gone now. Thanks Dad. And thanks to the millions of others who went to war and fought to preserve human freedom and dignity. Thanks also to others who helped behind the lines and millions more who sacrificed at home to support the war effort. Thanks mom. And after the war, they set about building a better country and a better world. The WWII generation may very well deserve the title somtimes bestowed on them: "The Greatest Generation".
Give thanks to someone today, And give thanks to God.
And remember on this day that freedom is barely a dream for many on our planet. Hitler was not the last murderous tyrant. Over 5 million people "disappeared" over the last 20 years in Iraq. Every year at Christmas, million sing about Peace on Earth. There is much work to be done.
*** *** ***
WWII letter posted by PBS:
"Holland, February 22, 1945
Dear Ms. Troby,
...the gents that I speak of down here are usually known but to a few -- and ask no publicity. There are some of the officers and NCOs who live down there in hell -- just a few miles from here -- and they stay there days, weeks, and months, until they are killed. There are just a few. They teach men, feed them, protect them, and lead them sooner or later into the jaws of a hell that is the bloodiest, dirtiest, most vicious kind of murder that man, with all his machines, has been able to devise.
These men are loved with a kind of love that exists no place but on the battlefield -- and it is never talked about. These gents go for days without sleep, give away their clothes, go without food, keep going when they are sick, perform miraculous feats when they are wounded, and take the suicidal details rather than ask someone else to do it. They are never afraid, they are never cold, they never complain, and they spend all of their time trying to think of ways to help their men -- and to save them. I don't know if they are happy -- but if it isn't selflessness I never hope to see it.
And I don't mean to leave out the privates -- but the officers and non-coms are the ones I'm thinking of. Remember I said there were just a few like this. The stories come trickling in every once in a while. They usually stay there until they die. Surely they must be God's people. He was like that. I'm sure they swore and drank and did a lot of other things -- but I am sure God got them when they went away...
Bye you,
Whitney"
*** *** ***
A film strip of photos taken by Robert Capa on D-Day, June 6, 1944
Photo (c) Robert Capa. Taken June 6, 1944.
Today is the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Thousands of Americans lost their lives on this day alone. It was the beginning of an epic and at times horrendous struggle to free Europe from the grasp of Nazi-Germany. It was the second war to end all wars.
The D-Day story is told here and here.
The total WWII death toll from Europe alone is staggering:
Stats from www.angelfire.com/ct/ww2europe/stats.html
Still more gave their lives in Asia and the South Pacific.
My father fought in the South Pacific during WWII. He would not talk about the war and he is gone now. Thanks Dad. And thanks to the millions of others who went to war and fought to preserve human freedom and dignity. Thanks also to others who helped behind the lines and millions more who sacrificed at home to support the war effort. Thanks mom. And after the war, they set about building a better country and a better world. The WWII generation may very well deserve the title somtimes bestowed on them: "The Greatest Generation".
Give thanks to someone today, And give thanks to God.
And remember on this day that freedom is barely a dream for many on our planet. Hitler was not the last murderous tyrant. Over 5 million people "disappeared" over the last 20 years in Iraq. Every year at Christmas, million sing about Peace on Earth. There is much work to be done.
*** *** ***
WWII letter posted by PBS:
"Holland, February 22, 1945
Dear Ms. Troby,
...the gents that I speak of down here are usually known but to a few -- and ask no publicity. There are some of the officers and NCOs who live down there in hell -- just a few miles from here -- and they stay there days, weeks, and months, until they are killed. There are just a few. They teach men, feed them, protect them, and lead them sooner or later into the jaws of a hell that is the bloodiest, dirtiest, most vicious kind of murder that man, with all his machines, has been able to devise.
These men are loved with a kind of love that exists no place but on the battlefield -- and it is never talked about. These gents go for days without sleep, give away their clothes, go without food, keep going when they are sick, perform miraculous feats when they are wounded, and take the suicidal details rather than ask someone else to do it. They are never afraid, they are never cold, they never complain, and they spend all of their time trying to think of ways to help their men -- and to save them. I don't know if they are happy -- but if it isn't selflessness I never hope to see it.
And I don't mean to leave out the privates -- but the officers and non-coms are the ones I'm thinking of. Remember I said there were just a few like this. The stories come trickling in every once in a while. They usually stay there until they die. Surely they must be God's people. He was like that. I'm sure they swore and drank and did a lot of other things -- but I am sure God got them when they went away...
Bye you,
Whitney"
*** *** ***
A film strip of photos taken by Robert Capa on D-Day, June 6, 1944
U.S. CASUALTIES FROM IRAQ
I am deeply moved by the photos of U.S. war dead returning from Iraq. They speak of sacrifice, loyalty, patriotism, commitment, sorrow, and the high price of war.
I posted one photo with some information about the photographer, Tami Silicio, and the story behind the photo in my May 16 post "ON THE WAY HOME" at my Photo Blog. If you missed that post, you can read more here and here.
Tami Silicio took the photos because she believed the families of the fallen soldiers would be comforted to see how much respect and care were shown to the remains of their loved ones. The photographer has a brief web page here.
Whatever your views on the situation in Iraq, the photos are worth looking at. I have not posted these photos as a protest. (Personally, I believe we should be in Irag but I don't we believe we have made all of the right policy decisions about what we are doing there.)
Of several hundred photos available, I have picked a handful to share. They are posted here.
If you want to see a complete set of photos, the Memory Hole has posted several albums of photos of flag-draped caskets arriving at Dover AFB. Due to very heavy internet traffic, several other sites have mirrored the photos, including this one.
I am deeply moved by the photos of U.S. war dead returning from Iraq. They speak of sacrifice, loyalty, patriotism, commitment, sorrow, and the high price of war.
I posted one photo with some information about the photographer, Tami Silicio, and the story behind the photo in my May 16 post "ON THE WAY HOME" at my Photo Blog. If you missed that post, you can read more here and here.
Tami Silicio took the photos because she believed the families of the fallen soldiers would be comforted to see how much respect and care were shown to the remains of their loved ones. The photographer has a brief web page here.
Whatever your views on the situation in Iraq, the photos are worth looking at. I have not posted these photos as a protest. (Personally, I believe we should be in Irag but I don't we believe we have made all of the right policy decisions about what we are doing there.)
Of several hundred photos available, I have picked a handful to share. They are posted here.
If you want to see a complete set of photos, the Memory Hole has posted several albums of photos of flag-draped caskets arriving at Dover AFB. Due to very heavy internet traffic, several other sites have mirrored the photos, including this one.
