Governor Bill AnoatubbyOn Memorial Day, the flags flutter, the bands play and the parades go by. This one day each year we honor the millions of American veterans who have defended our country.
After the parades, the salutes and the recognition, Americans most often return to their daily business. We are a country of busy people, and people
must return to their work.
But for many veterans, those days in service to our country become memories that are with them every day. Our veterans remember not only on Memorial Day, but each and every day of the year.
There is another special anniversary in June that some of our Chickasaw veterans recall vividly. It was 65 years ago, on June 6, 1944, that the U.S., Britain, Canada and other smaller forces joined together in the largest military amphibious invasion in history.
June 6, 2009 marks the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe. The invasion force of over 6,500 ships, 11,500 aircraft and 160,000 men – including many Chickasaw and other Indian soldiers – made the trip across the English Channel and landed at Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno and Sword beaches on the coast of Normandy, France.
The sacrifices these men made on that day, and the days that followed, were enormous – and enormously important. Without a successful invasion of Europe, there was no hope of finally defeating Nazi Germany. The Germans knew this and had fortified the coastline of occupied France in hopes of turning back the invasion on the beaches.
The landings were successful because the American and Allied forces struck Normandy, which was not where the Germans expected the attack. Additionally, the weather had turned bad on June 4 and 5 and the Germans thought it would not be a good time to attack.
However, the most important reason the invasion succeeded was the grit and determination of the American and Allied soldiers. To read and view the actual landings, it is now hard to imagine how primative and brutal the situation was. The men came ashore in landing craft that featured a large front gate. When the craft came aground, the wide front gate flung open and the men poured out.
Of course, the enemy gunners knew what was happening and directed their fire as the gates flew open.
Official estimates count 2,500 Allied soldiers killed on the beaches that day and another 10,000 wounded or missing. But the operation was a success and the Americans and Allies battled inland. The war would end in less than one year and freedom was restored to the world.
Although is was 65 years ago, for the veterans who experienced D-Day, it could have happened last week. The memories of the sacrifices, the comrades wounded or lost, are still fresh, and still significant.
It is important for us to recall that our veterans deserve our respect and admiration every day of the year. They are represented not just by a single holiday, but by all the freedoms we enjoy each day in our country. On this 65th anniversary of D-Day, let’s take time to study the event, and to give thanks for the men who fought so we might be free.
