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Taking Care of the Greatest Generation: D-day Thoughts

By admin on Jun 6, 2010 in Main, Social

: Image via Wikipedia

Many of us have the privilege of taking care of what has been named “The Greatest Generation.” June 6th is always a day of remembrance for many of us because it is the D-day anniversary. It was 66 years ago today that the invasion began early in the morning as many brave men landed on the beaches of Normandy.

My Uncle Charlie was one of them and he arrived on Utah Beach in one of the first troop waves.

It is hard to imagine what it was like because many of the survivors rarely talked about it. What small snippets of information we got were short and not very detailed. The men often did not want to re-live those horrible moments.

My uncle, who was a sergeant, did tell the story of a young boy in his outfit. He described the boy as being so young he had never shaved.

“I ordered him to dig a hole and stay in it,” Uncle Charley said. “He complied, and I was glad to see him alive and well after the battle. I was afraid he would have been killed otherwise.”

Now it’s our turn to take care of them. Many of them are now passing on, but we still have a few of our parents left who served in World War II. Not only did they provide for us and take care of us but they also preserved freedom. That’s a powerful legacy.

While I’m reminiscing about D-Day I’m also reminded of a story told of a woman in labor somewhere in England. It was the night of June 5, 1944, and the first planes secretly heading toward Normandy were still hours away from the battle which would begin at dawn.

She kept telling the doctor she could hear planes. The doctor later said he thought it was her imagination, because no one else heard them. Later, after the baby’s birth and the invasion was revealed it was learned she had indeed heard planes.

These stories are so important to record. Get all the information you can now before it is too late. Write down the memories and preserve them. Your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be grateful.