The above picture shows my wife’s Uncle Charlie landing on Utah Beach seventy-four years ago today. He is the soldier in the right foreground. He made it off the beach and fought across France and into Germany before the war in Europe ended. Despite being in the thick of the fighting, he survived and returned home to raise a family and live in peace.
Like most of his generation of war fighters, Uncle Charlie said very little about his combat experiences. One day, however, over drinks, he quietly reflected that “D-Day in Normandy was the noisiest day of my life. I was so scared that, if I could have figured out a way to breathe underwater, I would have gone under and stayed there.”
Thanks to Uncle Charlie, my father and 11,000,000 others who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II, America prevailed over the truly evil Axis powers.
We owe them a debt that can never be repaid.
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