Thanks, President Obama for Remembering D-Day: From the Granddaughter of a D-Day + 4 soldier

I am at once honored and thrilled that the sacrifices and courage of the soldiers who fought through North Africa, into Italy, through circumstances we can scarcely imagine, to give us a life in which m mortgage crises and a faltering economy are the biggest concerns for most of us are being so widely commemorated internationally.

My grandfather landed at Normandy 3 days after the first landing, and marveled for years that, after liberating 2 concentration camps and continuing through the Battle of the Bulge and on to Berlin, standing guard at Potsdam, there was never a real national monument to the brave men who fought in the heroic battles of World War II. He died a week after the WWII monument in DC opened and was only able to view the photos of it I sent via digital phone. Viva the modern era of instant communication.

The gesture of that monument meant so much to this man whose young adult life was spent fighting for the country he loved. This morning's ceremonial honors and the homage paid by so many have inspired such gratitude and a renewal of hope in our great nation. President Obama's homage to his own grandfather and the grandparents of so many Americans who have enjoyed the spoils of the freedom they bled to preserve is a reminder that, beyond our often disparate views, the common thread of courage, justice and freedom bind us all one to another in this country.

Thank you, President Obama, for remembering those brave souls who have gone before us, who have led by example with exemplary lives, whose wisdom and courage we should incite in these trying times to suss out the best answers for a nation whose troubles may dishearten for their density. It is nice to be reminded that we live in a nation, whose essence and history is to thrive in unprecedented situations.

Remembering our history gives us strength. It gives us the opportunity to rise above the pettiness of individual desire, and to strive for something greater -- the same vision of a great nation which drove these brave souls forward to protect and serve when duty called. Perhaps we can take some piece of that as we move forward. Perhaps we can raise the bar and pull together the way our grandparents did to make the sacrifices necessary to leave a legacy of love, decency and honor rather than squandery.

Perhaps, remembering what wide-spread, no-nonsense heroics look like, we can reach within and break new ground as a nation and as a community of humans working together for the better of the whole world.

Comments

[grey sells]

Canada is home to many Greeks including some Greeks who receive Canadian Pensions for war service, I believe. All their service and sacrifice is noted and admired. Condolences to their families.

[oxi]

"so many Americans who have enjoyed the spoils of the freedom they bled to preserve"

Germany never attacked the U.S., so what freedom are you refering to? I would rephrase and call it Europe's freedom.

[mamacat]

Germany declared war on the United States on Dec. 10th or 11th, 1941. If they had not, the U.S. might never have gotten into the war in Europe.

[oxi]

HuffPost's Pick

My grandfather faught against the axis powers in Greece. He was there when Greece gave the allies their first victory against the Italiens and Albanians on Oct. 28, 1940 called "oxi" day in Greece. That victory delayed the German march in Russia because Hitler had to move troops into the Balkans and that delay proved vital with winter settling in.

As the Germans pushed the Greek/British/New Zealand troops out of Greece, they reformed in Egypt, 2 Greek divisions and placed under the British 8th Army. When El Alimein took shape, the Greeks and the French fired the first diversionary shots in the south that led to that key victory in Africa. After Libya, he moved into Italy and was later in a supporting role of the famed Rimini Brigade that liberated that city. I visited the war memorial to the fallen Greeks in Italy to pay respect that their sacrifice is the reason I am alive today and so many others.

From there he was called back to Greece to liberate the remaining pockets of German troops before he left the service in full honors and decoraded well for his service. Greek troops also participated in the Normandy landing with 2 warships. I also visited a memorial in Greece where the Greek resistance faught bravely against the German occupation and in response the Germans slaughtered over 2,000 men. The clock in the village has never moved since that horrifying day.

[mamacat]

HuffPost's Pick

With all due respect to the immense American efforts and sacrifice in World War II, the United States did not and could not have defeated Germany alone, excepting for the possibility of the eventual use of nuclear weapons.

Even at D-Day, only two of the five invasion beaches were American; two others were British, and one was Canadian. Forces from all of the allied countries participated in the liberation of Europe, although they are almost never mentioned outside of their own countries.

It is only human nature to look back at history and to inflate one's own role in it, but Americans were not the only players on the allied side, and in Europe they were not even the majority allied force - the Soviets were.

A more honest assessment of the American role in the outcome of the war in Europe, is to say that American efforts may or may not have been the deciding factor, but certainly American efforts shortened the conflict, and kept Western Europe free from Soviet domination.