My tribute
to Memorial Day May 29th, 2017
The date is
June 4th 1944, 18 year old Johnny is in England taking a few minutes
from a busy training schedule to write to his sweetheart Karen in Seattle. He told her that his greatest dream is to
build a house for them to raise their family in and that her love is what gives
him the courage to face whatever may come.
He had very little time so he asked her to give his Mom a big hug and
tell her not to worry, the war will be over soon and I’ll be home to help plan
their wedding. As he just settled into
writing he heard the whistle blow that meant he had to muster. A quick goodbye and he sealed his letter with
a kiss dropping it in the post as he ran to muster.
All
afternoon of the 4th they gathered their equipment, held prayer
sessions and prepared to board the vessels that would take them across to
France and the German Army. The 5th
was full of activity, they started to go and were cancelled because of the
change in the weather. Nerves were on
edge and everyone was in deep thought as they knew they were about to face Hell
on Earth.
The night of
the 5th they finally got the green light to go, the mood was a
solemn one as they made their way across the channel and soon they could hear
and see the massive bombardment from the Navy on the shore they were about land
on. Surely no one could survive such
chaos, between the bombardment from the sea and the air, his buddies were
talking about actually walking ashore.
In the very
early hours of the 6th the call came to man the boats, Johnny’s was
in the third wave and as they were traversing the waves they saw the first of
the casualties being brought back. As
they neared the shore the boat next to his exploded and was gone in seconds
taking all aboard down with her. The
thought of walking ashore brought a nervous laugh from his lips. They felt a jolt as the landing craft hit one
of the structures the Germans had installed on the beach. The ramp came down with a splash and they
found themselves in neck deep water with bullets splashing all around
them. The 80 pounds of equipment made
the effort to survive double hard. As he
was fighting to keep his head above water and his carbine held high he saw the
bodies of those who never made the beach floating face down in the surf. When he finally hit dry land he found it hard
to run on as his boots dug into the loose sand.
When he made the cover of the cliffs above him he realized that he was
one of only three survivors from his Landing Craft.
As the day
progressed things were getting desperate, they were really pinned down hardly
able to get a shot off at the enemy above.
They were running out of water and were totally exhausted after the
fight just to make it to the cliffs.
Finally they breached the cliffs and got a foothold on the ridge above
to protect them for the climb up.
Not many men
today are still here that made that terrifying climb, many never made it to the
beach and even more died on those sands that were dyed red with American
blood. Their remains are buried in
France but their spirit is still alive in America. Memorial Day is special because it honors
those who actually paid for our freedom.
Whether it was on a lonely sea when their ship was blown out from under
them, in a burning bomber over Germany or on the sands of Tunisia or the swamps
of Viet Nam these men were just like Johnny, they had dreams and aspirations
for the future, they had sweethearts, wives and mothers who meant the world to
them. Many had yet to see their 20th
birthday. This is why we cherish and celebrate
Memorial Day and why it is so important that we take just a minute to give
thanks to those whose courage made our lives possible. Johnny died of his wounds at just 19 during
the Battle of the Bulge in the freezing cold and never made it to his wedding.
Memorial Day
is more than an extra day off and a picnic, it’s a day to praise and give
thanks to those heroes who gave their lives in order that we may live ours in
freedom.
