D-Day: A Reminder About Sacrifice, Courage, and Leadership
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June 6, 1944 Eighty-two years ago, 160,000 Allied Expeditionary forces landed along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of Normandy. Troops were fighting to maintain their bridgehead into Europe on the bloodied landing beaches of Utah, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Operation Overlord had succeeded in breaching Hitler’s Atlantic Wall. Within eleven months the Third Reich was destroyed.
Above: Troops of Company E, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division disembark onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach.
History is often glorified (and such heroism rightly deserves to be) but war is a bleak undertaking. I’m humbled and filled with gratitude for what they did. I’m awed by their sense of duty and sacrifice. I'm grateful for our leaders' sense of responsibility to them and to their dedication to a higher purpose.
That's why the next bit is uncomfortable. Although I find it nauseating, inappropriate, disrespectful, and disgusting to talk about those in power today in the same sentences that mark the heroism of 1944, I’m left with little choice.
The younger generation may not know that what they're experiencing now is abnormal and an insult to the sacrifices made for freedom. They need to be reminded what democracy is capable of and that leadership, competence, and self-sacrifice matter. We must continually tell the story to be reminded of what they did that day and why.
No Guarantee There were no guarantees of success in 1944. General Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of a coalition force. Allies mattered as did finding the person able to balance their needs, navigate differences, and lead them. American leadership was important not just because of our military and economic power but because we stood for something greater and were willing to work with others to achieve it.
Eisenhower’s competence, grace, humility, and skill increased the chances of success. Ike laid out what was at stake for the troops entering planes or embarking on ships.
"You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
The Great Crusade This was a selfless endeavor for freedom and to stop Nazis. We fought for democracy and liberty however imperfect it was at the time. It wasn't about enforcing white Christian nationalism, asserting America First, or seeking personal gain. It was the opposite of all of that.
Two Stories When this anniversary comes around I always think of two stories that epitomize leadership. I still choke up when I tell them.
On the eve of the attack Eisenhower knew the importance of the pre-dawn airborne assaults. He also knew that Allied commanders had estimated 50%-70% casualties for those soldiers that night. Knowing what he was asking of them and feeling the need to honor them, Ike went to them. He didn’t have to. He needed to.
He didn’t see soldiers as props to further his career. They weren't a marketing opportunity. (I’m still livid that our current president used the dignified transfer of casualties from his ill-considered and illegal Iran war as a photo op to market the hat he was wearing and profit from their sacrifices.) Nothing stands in further contrast to self-serving greed and arrogance of today than Ike’s humble meeting with the airborne troops going to their deaths for something greater than themselves. When he asked one of the troopers, "How's the fishing in Saginaw?", he was making it about them and not himself.
Secondly, fearing that the assault would fail and that Allied forces would be driven back into the English Channel, Ike scribbled a note (recovered by an aide after he discarded it) taking full responsibility. It's a stark reminder of what’s missing in the narcissism of those in power today who refuse to take responsibility for anything. It's devastating to read:
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
Below: Omaha Beach. © Robert Capa, International Center of Photography.
I still, and always will, choke up knowing that this could have happened. That their sacrifices had been for naught. D-day, however, didn't fail. Democracy won.
Years later, Ike, still haunted by the soldiers he ordered to their deaths, reflected, "Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends." It was the best of us. It's also a stark indictment of those in power today who've betrayed them.
My Turn The D-Day landings represented self-sacrifice and heroism that is still honored by school children in France today. It's how the world came to see us and how we came to understand the sacrifices made in the name of freedom. That sounds simplistic and maybe it is, but we need to be reminded of what we aspire to and how the world looks to and at us. It's humbling and overwhelming to stand by their graves overlooking those Normandy beaches and to see today's children continue to honor them.
In contrast, those in power today (note, I do not call them leaders) understand war as something akin to a video game with quickly realized prizes. And now the president tells us he’s bored with his war and wants to move on (perhaps to the next one). His “excursion” is no longer entertaining him and he wants to focus on more important things like a ballroom for the wealthy. Tell that to the service members and their families who dutifully gave their lives in service to something greater.
The president’s sons - who’ve never served - are winning no-bid contracts with the Pentagon to make money from war. Their motivation isn't noble.
It's well documented that our president doesn’t understand why anyone would sacrifice themselves for anything but personal gain. He’s looked at the graves of those who died in World War I and called them “suckers” and “losers”. Yes, that's well documented and corroborated.
He sees troops mostly as props to be exploited for birthday parades, behind his ranting speeches, or as backdrop visuals for a UFC fight in front of the White House. If selected as good-looking enough, the troops will have to pay their own way to be there. It'll somehow make the president feel and look good.
His campaign filmed in sacred sections of Arlington National Cemetery for a promo. His PAC used images of fallen soldiers to ask for money. The FBI Director took a snorkeling vacation for fun onto the tomb of the USS Arizona.
Because he doesn’t understand sacrifice and courage, our current president mocks prisoners-of war; seeks to criminalize veterans who use their first amendment rights to remind troops not to follow illegal orders; insults the parents of Captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American soldier killed in Iraq; expresses frustration at the funeral costs for a murdered female soldier; and demands that disabled veterans are never permitted to make his parades look bad.
He's cut VA healthcare contracts and despite the “Big, Beautiful Bill’s” allocation of money for the VA, the president has overseen reductions to VA personnel that resulted in the departure of tens of thousands of doctors, nurses, and mental health clinicians.
Secretary of Defense Hegseth has undermined our military by firing qualified leaders or denying recommended promotions (60% of those because they were women or black) while purging senior, experienced leadership in wartime.
In severe contrast to Eisenhower and the troops fighting on D-Day, the president and Hegseth live in a world that revolves around them, their insecurities, their need for adulation and power. They dishonor and dismiss the sacrifices of others as inconvenient. Ike knew better because he took responsibility for things greater than himself. War wasn't a game.
As we approach our 250th anniversary we're forced to acknowledge that the greed, racism, incompetence, arrogance, and selfishness of this clown show are a part of our human experience. But we get to choose what our future looks like and hold them to account.
We’re at risk today because those in power fundamentally reject or don't understand the qualities and ideals of democratic life demonstrated on the beaches of Normandy. Instead, they aspire to dictatorship and tyranny which values loyalty to the leader (not the Constitution) and greed above competence and responsibility. They won't be remembered because they don't deserve to be.
Below: Omaha Beach. © Robert Capa, International Center of Photography.
I take inspiration from the past. I think of those who put ideals above self. D-Day continues to be a somber reminder of what democracy is capable of. It lays bare the heartless, soulless, immoral cruelty of those who see public office as a way to exploit not as a way to serve. Patriotism is alien to them but not to us.
Fortunately, we have other examples to live up to. These were the souls whose courage and patriotism allowed them to jump into darkness, scramble to meet their objectives, or disembark onto bloodied sand, raked with machine gun fire. Like Ike, they fought for and stood with the most vulnerable.
Above: Walter Rosenblum. U.S. Army Signal Corps. Galerie Bilderwelt / Getty Images.
We remain grateful and honor their memory and heroism with our actions. Our memory of them will continue to inspire and challenge us. Our monuments to them will be whatever sacrifices we make for democracy.
Unlike today's vanity projects claiming false honors and glorifying a president who's never sacrificed anything, our monuments to D-Day will last because they will be about something greater than ourselves.
