On this day, 65 years ago, men of the Allied military forces began the invansion of German occupied Europe on the peninsula of Normandy.  Many men that were alive at 0001 GMT on this day were not by 2359 GMT that same day.  Today, I am remembering their sacrifice and the great battle they engaged in starting this day all those years ago.

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER
(A Soldier Died Today)
by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting  old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
 Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,
Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

Thank you for your great posts guys.

GOA.Luke*BK*

Great posts guys...

"Ode of Remembrance"  taken from Laurence Binyon's "For the Fallen"

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

”Let the indomitable spirit of Bataan and Coregidor lead on…In the name of your sacred dead, strike! Let no heart be faint. Let every arm be steeled.”
General Douglas MacArthur – On the beach at Palo, broadcasting his return – 24th October 1944.

I've posted before about D-Day and remembering those that sacrificed so much for the generations that followed. I will always remember as I know you will too.

But, yesterday was my eldest daughter's last day for her junior year in High School . On the way to school I talked about D-Day, June 6th, 1944. Then I thought, what the heck does D stand for in D-Day? Being a know it all type Dad full of wisdom, I thought to my own question it must have meant " Decision " Day.  Yep, that's what it means I said self assured.

Then  today I thought well let's see what the "D" means. WoW, talk about a long trip through Google, Wikipedia and a few side trips to War Remembrance sites. So, I have boiled it down to this in order to properly remember D-DAY at least to me, I suggest you do some research as well and self edicate yourself. Yes , edicate. An education is what you went through but getting edicated is what you figure out later on.

Anyway, D-Day was on June 6th which meant that was the day it was suppose to happen after it didn't happen on June 5th. Sort of like we are going to do this now unless something makes us change our minds to tomorrow. Makes total sense right? So D-Day is June 6th. Then they say it was at 6:30 a.m. British Double Summer Time. Oh, Sure we all know what that means over here in America. You see, the Irish and the British took awhile to hammer things out earlier in the first World War but somewhere along the way they got it down to 2 hrs. past Greenwich Mean Time.

Unless you are in France, but they drink too much wine and no one really thought the invasion would happen anyway so the Germans, thought if the French were drunk it ain't happening and no reason to wake up Herr Hitler. For those over in the states, British Double Summer Time is basically daylight savings time.  No wonder we couldn't get off Omaha Beach. No one told the YANKs  that 2 hours more was just the same as one hour less than before. Or something like that. That's my version and I'm sticking to it.
  And yes , today is a special day for the entire world when the sacrifices made back in June of 1944 allowed all of us to live in a world where Democracy could survive. And although every day is a challenge today, with forces of evil and oppression still surrounding us, we can look back at those that gave then and realize that we too can give our future generations hope as well. Take care fellow *BK*'s.                      

  Muja` de' *BK*