POWIP Piece of Work In Progress – Former Abode of Dan Collins

On the Anniversary of D-Day; June 6, 1944

After 66 intervening years it's easy to see how folks have lost touch with just how perilous, risky, and important the Normandy invasion was in hastening the end of WWII.  Many of those who directly experienced the event are either dearly departed, on their way out, or living on the margins of society-so to speak.  They are aged, weathered, and payed little attention by the larger world, save for a few fleeting moments here and there, much like the famous cliffs at Point-du-Hoc, the site of a pre-landing assault by Army Rangers, who despite the challenging terrain and withering German fire, took and held this important strategic point until relieved days later, though they suffered horrendous casualties doing so.  Today, that Point, immortalized by Reagan in his famous speech on another Anniversary, is being shored up in the hopes it may last for another 50 years.

Do you think you could climb it, with all your gear, under withering fire from above?  And after doing so, engage the enemy?  It's an amazing feat, to be sure, but just one of many that took place, By the grace of God, to quicken the end of the fascist scourge in Europe.  It would difficult, if not near impossible to rank any single facet of the operation as being more important, or more pivotal than others.  It was the synergy of all the acts that led to the astounding success of the largest amphibous assault in History.

But there are plenty that deserve honorable mention indeed.  The US paratroops, going in hours before the invasion began, overcoming disorganization and disaster to play a vital role in disrupting the ability for the enemy to freely travel in the rear behind the beaches to mount counter-attacks against the landing forces.  The British paratroops seizing the Pegasus bridge, and holding it in the face of ferocious assaults in order to deny passage to the beaches in their sectors.  The sailors and airmen who pounded the beach mercilessly or flew CAP overhead to ensure that the  elements of the Luftwaffe that remained couldn't pose any real danger to the vulnerable landing forces.  And of course, the soldiers coming ashore from small boats themselves in the face of terrible fire from reinforced bunkers.  I've visited Normandy several times and have walked the beaches and examined the ruins.  The terrain is very difficult, with high bluffs and escarpments rising right off of the narrow beaches.  It would have been difficult going ashore without anyone shooting at the soldiers! 

By the grace of God, the casualties were far less than expected, though still heavy; around 10, 000, of which 2500 were KIA.  It could have been much worse.  But, as they have over the years, American soldiers rose to the challenge.  It is an oft used cliche, but truly that day uncommon valor was a common virtue.  And many who went there never left; those that gave the full measure are buried at the American Cemetary near Omaha beach.

These days, when revisionists want to diminish the rich history of our nation and the role we've played over the years, it's important not to allow this great event to fade from memory; to be replaced with post civil rights act race baiters or hippies that picketed against the Vietnam war.  We need to ensure that these real heroes are not replaced instead by glorified professional malcontents whose heroism consisted of what has commonly become known as speaking trooooooooof! to pow-ah.  And we also need to be on the lookout for those who in their transnational zeal would award victory in WWII mainly to the Soviets.  It took the efforts of many to defeat the Nazis, the synergy I mentioned, and the plain facts are that the Soviets, who suffered greatly at the hands of the Germans, would have suffered infinitely more had they not recieved materials, weapons, and food from the US and benefitted greatly from ULTRA decriptions from Britain.  While the war would have been infinately harder had the Soviets been removed from the allied coalition, it would have still been within our grasp; the same could not be said for the Soviets without the help of the allied nations.  Perhaps it would have been better anyway, for both the post-war world order as well as today.  I mean, the far-left NO NUKES! crowd wouldn't be able to impute racist disregard in the use of atomic weapons as they clearly would have been used in Europe too.

But now I'm going down a revisionist road that I'd rather not travel...

Anyway, if you're a religious person, thank God for the success of the Normandy landings 66 years ago today.  And if you're not?  Well you can still take a moment to be grateful for the success of the day, and how it hastened the end of the second world war.  And if you ever get the chance to travel there, I reccomend visiting the beaches themselves, the museaums, and of course, paying your respects at the Cemetary.

Russ at Ace's site has an excellent reprint of his take on D-Day last year.

Let me know, kind reader, any of your thoughts or experiences regarding this subject.

Rocketman