Honoring Heroes

June 6, 2025, marked 82 years since D Day, the invasion of Europe by the Allies that began the end of World War II. The USA was in the war by this point and played a major role in the success of the invasion. The casualties were high, especially on Omaha Beach, near Colleville-sur-Mer. We took our children to Normandy in 1988 and showed them the landing beaches and the American Cemetery near Omaha Beach. The final resting place of so many American heroes is a beautiful, peaceful place now. Looking at the markers, it becomes clear just how young many of them were.  

I don't know how much of an impression the visit made on the children, who were 8 and 6 at the time but World War II was a big presence in my childhood, despite ending long before I was born. My parents were young in 1939, planning for a future that did not include death and war. My father began the war as an idealist and a conscientious objector.  He later joined the Royal Air Force as a mechanic. My mother, a dressmaker, served as a Civil Defense telephone operator. They married in 1943, with my dad in his RAF uniform. Due to rationing, my mother borrowed a wedding dress. 

When the war ended in 1945, rationing in Britain did not end as it did in the USA. My country was devastated by 6 years of war and rebuilding took a long time. As my young parents set up home, everything from furniture to blankets was in short supply. Blankets were available in one color-grey. Furniture was built plainly, without extra decorative elements that would take more wood. The style was referred to as "Utility", and it filled my childhood home. "Make do and mend" was the mantra of the war years and it carried over into their post war lives. Rationing ended in 1952, so I never experienced carrying a ration book to get some candy as my older sister did. However, the shortage mindset lived on after the war; my parents never felt comfortable with extravagance.

The heroes we honor on June 6th  should include those who came home. They may not have given their lives but they gave their youth and they were different people than they would have been if War had not gotten in the way.  After 82 years, the few remaining survivors of the D Day invasion are around 100 years old. They are part of "The Greatest Generation"; those who came of age during the Depression and fought in WWII. They came home to be fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers and likely never talked about The War. 

Now we are seeing a return to the views which led up to World War II, and not just in the USA. We study history to learn from the mistakes made, not to repeat them. As we celebrate Father's Day this weekend, let's give a thought to our fathers' fathers and grandfathers, who sacrificed so much for us!