On this anniversary of the invasion of Occupied Europe by the Allied Forces on June 6, 1945, I’d love to see some roving TV reporter ask individuals on the street, “What was D-Day?” I bet few under 50 years of age would have a clue.
D-Day, of course, is the day when Allied Forces under General Dwight D. Eisenhower took it to Hitler by landing on the beaches in France in the final phase of defeating the Wehrmacht. It wasn’t until May 8 of the next year that the job was completed, and Victory in Europe was declared, which then became VE Day.
On that fateful day in June, some 2.501 American soldiers died, and in all, 4,414 Allied troops lost their lives. The number of German casualties — killed, injured, or missing – is unknown but estimated at between 4,000 and 9,000.
This D-Day also reminds me of how few of our recent presidents have actually served in the military. Dwight D. Eisenhower, shown in the above photo, was elected overwhelmingly when he ran in 1952, no doubt in gratitude for his great triumphs in WWII. JFK, who followed him, was a Navy veteran. as was his successor, LBJ.
Richard Nixon served in the Navy as did his appointed successor, Gerald Ford. Jimmy Carter was a U.S. Naval Academy graduate. Ronald Reagan was an Army veteran, and George H.W. Bush a Navy veteran. All four served during WWII.
Bill Clinton, a lifelong politico with no military service, broke the tradition. Geoge “Dubya” Bush was in the National Guard during the Vietnam War but never saw any combat duty.
Barack Hussein Obama never served, and neither did Donald J. Trump. Joe Biden escaped the draft because he had asthma as a child.
The best in prior military service we’ve had in the White House lately is Vice President J.D. Vance, who served in the Marines during the Afghanistan War, but as a combat journalist who never saw action.
At any rate, let’s celebrate D-Day and honor the “Greatest Generation” for winning WWII.