History Lessons

At dawn on June 6, 1944, American Rangers jumped off British landing crafts onto French beaches. They ran to the base of the cliffs and started to climb. Their mission was one of the hardest of the invasion- to climb the cliffs of Normandy to take out the enemy guns. They shot rope ladders to the top and began to ascend. When one ranger would fall another would take his place. Two-hundred and twenty-five American Rangers started the day. By day two, only ninety could hold a gun. Those brave men knew that if they failed, their brothers would be slaughtered on the beaches below, picked off by the German guns on the cliffs. Twelve of those men returned to those cliffs this past week to commemorate the 80 th anniversary of D-Day, their bravery heralded along with the 160,000 men who fought in that first wave of invasion. Over four thousand men died that first day of battle. All week we have heard one story after the next of those men, who landed on the beaches on D-Day. I wonder what the world would be like if not for their valor.

A few weeks ago, Lenape Valley celebrated the life of one of our own WWII veterans. Gordon White was just days shy of his 100th birthday when he died. At his memorial service, the stories were told of how he fought in the second wave, just days after D-Day. The losses in that second wave were just as daunting as the first, yet those brave men pressed on for the sake of freedom and democracy. Several years ago, I heard the stories of my sister-in-law’s father who flew over the beaches that day. His plane held enough fuel to carry his payload to the mainland so that he could bomb the Nazi artillery on the cliffs. He knew as he started his flight that day that he would not have enough fuel to return to England. His job was to ditch his plane in the French countryside and then try to evade capture. His brave service that day earned him the opportunity to risk his life again and again for his country.

Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in WWII, only 120,000 are still alive. Many fear that those old soldiers and the battles they fought for us are fading into dusty archives. Those men, many of them merely boys, braved the breaking waves and gunfire, and the danger of the skies to capture those French beaches. Their heroism turned the tide of the war, leading to victory just eleven months later. Somehow those men understood that a war across an ocean to free the European continent was also a fight for our freedom back home. They taught us the importance of standing with our allies for the sake of the world. Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagon stood on the cliffs of Normandy at Point du Hoc. He celebrated the bravery of those Army Rangers that led the invasion on D- Day. Reagon declared, “Good people with a great cause must stand together, grab that rope and climb, no matter what fire.” Reagon’s words that day were really a speech in a speech; one speech to commemorate the bravery of those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom in 1944, and the other speech to call America and her allies in 1984 to stand together in the Cold War. And stand we did, watching the Iron Curtain fall and the Wall destroyed just five years later.

This past week, the President of the United States stood again on the cliffs of Normandy at Point du Hoc. This year marked the 80th anniversary of heroism beyond measure. As the President spoke, he, too, gave a speech in a speech- one speech to celebrate those brave enough to face the fire to protect our freedom, and the other speech to call America and her allies to stand strong against the tyranny that threatens our freedom today. “Americans were willing to risk everything, dare everything, and give everything… Today those brave men are asking us to do our job, to protect freedom in our time, to defend democracy, to stand up to aggression abroad and at home, to be part of something bigger than ourselves.” The President called Americans out of an isolationist, America First, mentality, to a broader world prospective. He reminded us of our history, during WWI and again during WWII, when we hunkered down to protect me and mine, ignoring the danger facing democracy and freedom across the ocean. Our “neutrality” at the beginning of WWII allowed the Axis powers to surge, ultimately bringing the war to our shores at Pearl Harbor.

The stories told this past week reminded me of the story of Rev. Martin Niemoller, a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany during WWII. During the 1920s and 1930s, Niemoller used his pulpit to champion many of the Nazi ideals. (If you listen closely, there are those who champion those ideas at American political rallies today.) But when Niemoller saw the devastating outcome of those ideals in Germany, his opposition to Hitler earned him a place in a concentration camp. His prison cell writings remind us of the danger of isolationism.  

Niemoller argued against an isolationist attitude for rather selfish reasons. Jesus gives us the Christian ideal- “Love your neighbor”… even if your neighbor is a Samaritan. Are we willing to follow our Savior, and the example of the heroes of Normandy, to sacrifice for the sake of others? St. Paul writes, “Honor one another above yourselves.” (Romans 12:10)

With you learning the lessons of sacrifice from our heroes,
Anita