This Thursday marks the 75th anniversary since the beaches of Normandy in Nazi-occupied France were selflessly stormed by tens of thousands of Allied soldiers, many of whom would not live to see the sun set.
American, Canadian and British armies, navies and air forces coordinated their efforts on a monumentally complex military operation that would go down in modern history as the largest amphibious invasion of all time.
By June 6, 1944 the German war machine was already losing ground in the east against advancing Soviet troops as well as to the south in Italy to Allied units. D-Day opened up a western front that substantially hastened the end of Hitler’s tyrannical ambitions of global dominance.
Their efforts helped to pave the way for the post-Second World War era of unprecedented prosperity and peace.
But many never returned home to enjoy the fruits of their labour and hold close their family and friends, for whom victory must have been bittersweet. And those who did survive the bloody conflict often struggled for the rest of their lives to heal physical as well as psychological wounds.
Their sacrifice can never be allowed to slip away from our collective conscience, lest we find ourselves repeating the same mistakes.
Hitler’s protectionist promises to restore Germany to some perceived notion of greatness — a mantra sadly shamelessly espoused to this day by no shortage of populist politicians around the world — only led to the utter ruination for his country as well as people, the murder of millions of innocents, and sacrifices of the millions more who fought to end the reign of the Third Reich.
The painful lessons of history should guide our attempts to plan for a better future for the world. That long, challenging road is not paved with intolerance for the “other” combined with misplaced, chest-thumping nationalist fervour, but rather from a place of humility as well as understanding that humankind shares the planet and that we are all in this together.
Anyone interested in observing D-Day’s anniversary is welcome to attend the Sundre Royal Canadian Legion Branch #223 ceremony on Thursday starting at 11 a.m. at the Veterans’ Homecoming Park’s cenotaph, located on the southwest corner of the highways 27 and 760 intersection.
— Ducatel is the Round Up’s editor
