I have an idea. Why not make D-Day a national holiday? Like Memorial and Veteran’s Day, the new holiday would celebrate the bravery, service, and sacrifices of American service members. But more importantly, the day would commemorate what may be America’s finest hour. On June 6, 1944, the world was saved.
D-Day, and the months of battle that followed it, was a triumph of will, sacrifice, and courage. Hitler was defeated. Without the success of D-Day, you might be reading this column in German, assuming, of course, that you were alive.
Like most Americans, my knowledge of D-Day comes from books, documentaries, and movies. As a teenager, I remember watching The Longest Day and a TV series titled “Combat!” I remember reading Dwight Eisenhower’s Crusade in Europe. Recently, I watched Band of Brothers. My “take-away” from these and other readings and watchings is that in 1944 we collectively knew what had to be done and made the necessary sacrifices to succeed.
D-Day saw 160,000 troops land in Normandy, 73,000 of them Americans. They were met by 50,000 German troops. By the end of the day 2,501 Americans were dead. In total, 73,000 Allied troops were killed, and 153,000 were wounded in the full Battle of Normandy. Not calculated was the impact the battle had on the soldiers involved. Many suffered years of pain from injuries and the memories of what they experienced in the battle.
Honoring the D-Day troops and what the invasion represents is particularly appropriate at a time when America arguably has lost its way. Today, America doubts its own role in the world. Leading politicians seek to abdicate America’s world leadership and return to the isolationist policies that contributed to World War II. By remembering D-Day we will be reminded of the necessity of American leadership as well as its rewards.
The state of mind of America in 1944 was dramatically different than it is today. That is to be expected. A lot has happened since the end of World War II, including the Vietnam War and other conflicts where brave Americans died which are not celebrated like “the Greatest Generation.” That is unfortunate because everyone who served in the military deserves our respect. Even if the war they fought in did not produce a dramatic “win” for the United States, their service helped get us to where we are today—still free after 248 years.
The America of today tends to downplay the positive role it has played in the world. That is unfortunate despite things in our history that we wish could have been different. The Vietnam War was a mistake made by well-intentioned people. Other parts of American history are more troubling, especially slavery and its aftermath. It is good that America recognizes these mistakes and tragedies but that doesn’t mean we cannot or should not celebrate those parts of our history that help define who we are as a nation.
If Congress were to make D-Day a national holiday, it should be a day of national reflection. It should be a reminder that when America shares a vision, it can accomplish anything. That vision, of course, needs to reflect our democratic values.
More than 16 million Americans served in World War II. Fewer than 116,000 of those heroes remain alive. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the national holiday of D-Day were created while some of them could witness it?
J.E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.
Kim Cassady says
Your suggestion is absolutely right. We should celebrate the greatest generation and a great time in US history. It is far more significant and meaningful than many that we celebrate today. And we must keep this history forever in our minds. for the suggestion.
Thank you
John Dean says
Thank you for reading my piece.
Tom Vail says
Thank you for your summation of these events which were so much a part of our history and that of the world. I had the privilege of touring Normandy in August 1994. Many WWII veterans who participated in the Operation Overlord were there. To see those places, the patriots who put it all on the line, and to imagine the bravery of everyone involved will never leave me. American troops and our allies did surely save the world from tyranny during those days.
I must add this to my response…anyone who states those brave men and women who gave all for the fight to protect freedom from oppression were “suckers and losers” should be recognized and abhorred for who they are.
John Dean says
I could not agree with you more on your comment about those who insult our service members.
Thank you for reading the piece.
trudy wonder says
I agree wholeheartedly; it is especially egregious considering the above was said in the former President’s role as our Commander-in-Chief during a trip to France to commemorate the centennial of the end of World War I.
I was equally disgusted when he said of John McCain, who was permanently disabled due to the five years spent in a South Asian POW camp, “I like soldiers who weren’t captured”. [For added context, the man who said this is a five-time draft dodger.]
I surely thought this would be the end of his support from members of our military. But psychology is complex: it’s not uncommon for individuals in an abusive situation to make excuses for their abuser or rationalize their behavior.
Mickey Terrone says
As usual, John, your article poignantly emphasizes the horrendous blight with which Donald Trump has infected America. True American patriots simply cannot abide Trump’s insults toward veterans and those in uniform today and abandoning democracy around the world.
Yet Trump’s willingness to offer political (and probably secret intelligence) support to Putin and other authoritarian enemies of democracy utterly betrays everything those martyred Americans died to preserve. It should boil the blood of any American veteran. Most Americans understand the dire plight of Ukraine and their soldiers and civilians who patriotically struggle to maintain their freedom fighting overwhelmning numbers of Putin’s mercenaries.
As we mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and lest we forget, the liberation of Rome by the allies only 2 days before that, let’s also mark the dedication of millions of Ukranians with a national spirit of comraderie in their sacrifices and sufferings at the hands of a vile dictator. How a former American president can be so supportive of this vile Russian dictator and unsupportive of the NATO countries that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine, is a horrendous reflection on America. That many Americans support this degenerate candidate is an awful reminder that too many of us have forgotten or choose to ignore the sacrifices made by our own veterans in the Civil War, WWI and WWII and since then, Viet Nam and elsewhere.
Maybe the answer is to jolt the racist lethargy out of some of our fellow citizens’ smug denial of Trump’s vile nature and refocus our patriotic fervor by going to the polls on November 5th (ironically, a week before Veterans Day on November 11th) and delivering this terrible excuse for an American the resounding defeat he needs on behalf of those Americans who defended democracy and never had the opportunity to live beyond their youth so that he could live in freedom. How ironic!
When we vote for Joe Biden, we are voting for democracy in America knowing that the entire free world is hoping and praying for this same outcome. Handing the reigns of the most powerful job in the democratic world to a malevolent, self-serving egomaniac who talks the talk of a nazi, would be the definitive abandonment of everything this country was created to provide Americans and to support the remainder of the world to create for themselves.
Maybe the answer is for America to make better use of the national holidays we currently have to honor those Americans who gave their last full measure of patriotic devotion (Memorial Day) and our veterans and their families with a much more meaningful remembrances and commemorations than a barbecue, day off, a concert and fireworks. Maybe the 4th of July should emphasize the freedoms those men and women fought to preserve. Maybe we need the reminder that black men have fought, sacrificed and died from our Revolutionary times whenever they were allowed (and needed) and deserve every right and freedom that whites deserve. If we get those messages of sacrifice and freedom across to our children and the weaker democratic impulses of some of their parents, we’d be a nation more determined in our commitment to the patriotisma and valor of those heroism we honor.
John Dean says
Mickey, thanks for your comment. As always, wise.