We need not repeat all the details offered by press and media regarding the D-Day landings commemorated today. A mass of detail come of it accurate, has been printed: also many individual stories of the few remaining men who served on the beaches, in the air above, or on the sea beside.
Over 100,000 men sailed over a very bumpy Channel, Royal Navy ships noisily bombarded the German defences, aircraft dropped bombs and harassed the defenders, while men left the landing craft to save the world from another 'Dark Age,'
And indeed this they did.
Allowing for 50 years of a 'Cold War' with the Soviet Union the peace they earned has lasted in Europe up until now. 80 after the end of one major war it is to be wondered at that no major war in Europe has once again returned. Possibly this was because of the 'Third World' hosting the 'Hot War' between the two remaining great powers? While Europe saw unprecedented wealth the rest suffered 50 or so million dead.
However, peace there is, in spite of the small wars that have erupted since. The elderly, sometimes quite fragile ex-servicemen who gathered on the beach today accomplished something extraordinary with their victory. Only now do these men allow themselves some sort of congratulations. Most men I knew, and like many others, I grew up amongst them, never saw themselves as the 'Greatest Nation,' it was just a case that they had no choice, "You just had to do it, you just had to get on with it and make the best of it." was the most common type of response. "Avoid 'death or glory men' keep well away from them, and you may survive," has been said before. While some understood the reason for war many had no deep comprehension, it was just a job that had to be done. Of course flying a bomber, sailing in a battleship or driving a tank gave lots of joy to many young men, and the excitement, when you survived, made life back home quite dull. Some sought medals and glory, not all survived, some just wanted to get home again. Almost all found a comradeship not known at home.
'Operation Neptune' got the men ashore, 'Operation Overlord' continued for many weeks at great cost, always pushing back a reluctant to leave and very competent defender. Many weeks and months of war lay ahead after June 6th, more people died in the period leading up to the German surrender than in previous years, many of course civilians.
We could take a very long lifetime to read the adventures of all who participated in this operation. The preparation at a high level, the spying on the ground, the men and women who risked their lives to pass on information, the me who lie there still filling the neatly laid out war cemeteries. Many stories would make you weep, others would allow you to laugh, and others let you ponder what might have been had this operation fail.
Churchill of course suggested many absurd alternatives to D-Day, this because he feared another Gallipoli and thousands of dead men on the beach. Norway was one, even Portugal another! The Chief of the Imperial General Staff understood his fears but somewhat roughly brought them to an end. Soldiers expect casualties in a way politicians do not. In the end casualty numbers were considerably less than expected, the beachhead was secured and victory inevitable.
There is a great deal more we could say about these men but regarding them as something above others, especially todays youth, is not one I would go for. The young men today would react in similar fashion if required, the culture may have changed but the response, as we can see with the way young men defend the Ukraine against Russian attacks, would be the same.
Let us however, remember those who served as themselves, let us avoid using them as an extension of English Nationalism as some do, let us see them as themselves, for most became dads and grandads and we ignored them most days until the November Armistice Services, let us remember them for themselves.
