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Omaha Beach, (D-Day, 6/6/44), along with Iwo Jima, were probably the two bloodiest American battles of WWII. The unimaginable horror of Omaha Beach was the grotesque nightmare portrayed in the opening scenes of Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.”
The reason he died was because he was there. I never knew him and have no idea whether he was a Republican or a Democrat. He died while invading Hitler’s Europe. He died because he enlisted at the beginning of that war to help stop some villainous barbarians from turning the world into hell.
Since I never knew him, I can only speculate about this. I’d like to believe that he would find today’s wars odious. I’d like to believe that he’d find today’s Republican Party grotesque. I’d like to believe he wouldn’t lift a finger to fight for some trumped up cause to make the wealthy wealthier. I’d like to believe he’d fight against the villainy that exists in our country at this very moment.
But here’s the dilemma. The current war in our country is an ideological war, not a shooting war. Nonetheless, why aren’t we shunning those who are aiding and abetting tyranny? Why aren’t we in the streets with torches and pitchforks? Why didn’t we scream every time another one of our freedoms was stolen?
And I can’t help but ponder that if my distant relative could see his country today, would he wonder what it was he’d died for on Omaha Beach?
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