70 years later...Why we fight remains the same.

In the predawn stillness of the French coast, the English Channel erupted into a hell on earth, the likes of which had never been seen before. The invasion of Europe had begun and the end of the beginning (as Winston Churchill referred to it) started.

That was 70 years ago today. Tens of thousands of allied fighting men would give their lives on this fateful day in 1944. They all knew the risk and they did their duty, not for themselves but rather to preserve freedom throughout the continent of Europe and thus the world.

The operation was called "Overlord". Today, that name is common knowledge but 70 years ago, few people knew what it meant. General Eisenhower called this day the "Day of days." He would stake his reputation on the success or failure of the landings and waited for reports from beaches called "Juno, Sword, Utah, Omaha, Home and Gold. These were the names of the beaches were the troops came ashore. A place called Normandy.

The plan was not foolproof and victory was far from assured but, the allies had done their best to anticipate every contingency in their attempt to break through Hitler's "Fortress Europe". Truly, the outcome of the war would hang in the balance on this day.

The allies fought to restore justice and freedom to the Continent of Europe and from there; the rest of the world. The war in the Pacific would still have to be won but the defeat of Germany would come first.

In the end, our way of life is preserved and 5 generations have been born since that fateful day, 70 years ago.  We see our children grow in happiness and prosperity as they raise children of their very own because of the sacrifice of those brave men of Operation Overlord. They fought so our way of life could continue.

Many years ago, I was just a teenager watching a movie about a WWII Admiral and my mother walked in the room. She stopped and watched for a few minutes. Turning to me, she had a tear in her eye and said "He was a great Admiral. Let's hope we never need one like him again." That sentiment still holds true today.

To call those WWII Veterans "The Greatest Generation" just doesn't seem to be enough. But, it will have to do.

To all of our WWII veterans, especially those who stormed the beaches of Normandy 70 years ago today, a special prayer of thanks on this "Day of days."

As always...