Three score and 14 days ago, our fathers stepped forth on the sands of Normandy. A bottle of sand has sat on my desk since our trip last year to France, reminding me daily of this great sacrifice for my freedom. Next year will be the 75th Anniversary of the occasion, so there were be much more publicity, allowing this year will pass by quietly. I borrowed some information from a USA Today article to refresh my knowledge:

  • Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded the Allied Expeditionary Forces during D-Day, known then as Operation Overlord.
  • Following the mass casualties of D-Day, the battles of Normandy continued for roughly three more months, until Allied troops had pushed all the way to the Seine River and liberated Paris from Nazi control. Less than a year after D-Day, Adolf Hitler committed suicide and Nazi Germany surrendered.
  • More than 4,000 Allied soldiers, most of them younger than 20 years old, died in the June 6, 1944, invasion. Up to 20,000 French civilians were reportedly killed in the bombings. More than 4,000 German troops died, and ultimately, the invasion is credited for changing the course of the war and ultimately pushing Nazi troops back to Germany.
  • About 450,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in WWII are still living, according to projections by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. An estimated 362 WWII veterans die every day in the U.S. A decade from now, it’s estimated that fewer than 50,000 WWII veterans will remain.
  • The ‘D’ in D-Day simply stands for ‘day.’ The term D-Day is used to identify the start date of a military invasion, according to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation.

I just listened to a stirring rendition of our National Anthem by a retired Naval Veteran prior to game 3 of the NBA Championship, but there was surprisingly no mention of the D-Day anniversary. However, as the game began the crowd began yelling “D.”

To all of our Veteran’s, especially my adopted father – thank you for your service – I’m forever grateful.