Remembering D day — Jeff Miller

Seventy years ago today, more than 130,000 men of the Allied forces embarked upon the greatest amphibious assault the world has ever seen, crossing the English Channel to storm the beaches of Nazi-occupied Normandy. In that great endeavor, they changed the course of human history forever. Amidst certain death, these men pushed through hellish conditions to advance the cause of Liberty, and reversed the momentum of Nazi Germany in Europe.

As the guns and shells of Operation Overlord fell silent on landing zones Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword, more than 4,400 brave souls lay dead upon the altar of Freedom, 2,500 of them American.

No spoken words of ours stand to measure the bravery or selflessness they exemplified through their heroic acts, but the seventy years since the dark violence of that day bring to light the immeasurable impact of their sacrifice, now enjoyed today by generations across the free world. Had they not succeeded, had they not fulfilled General Eisenhower’s orders of “nothing less than full victory”, our western civilization would prove to be a darker place.

I humbly invite all of us who benefit from the hallowed sacrifice of those lost that fateful day to take a moment of silence for all the free men who stood against tyranny in that noble campaign. Our words may fall short, but in solemn remembrance of their last full measure of devotion we honor these ordinary men who seventy years ago today accomplished the extraordinary, ensuring a world in which Freedom provides the hope of brighter futures for ourselves and our children.

Today, we remember The Greatest Generation.