Today marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing of June 6, 1944, ranked by many as the boldest and most successful large scale invasion in military history. On this one day, 160,000 Allied troops crossed the English Channel to successfully secure a beachhead on the coast of Normandy. They were supported by 7,000 ships and boats, and 5,000 landing and assault crafts. Within ten days there were a half a million troops on shore. Within three weeks, that number swelled to 2 million.
At our men's Bible study this morning, we learned that Don Duggan was a new 18 year old recruit exactly one year later, on June 1945. After a week of training (one week!), he was headed to Japan, where almost everyone was anticipating yet another invasion, what certainly would have been the largest amphibious invasion in history.
All but one of the men around the table (20 or so?) had a family member who fought in WW2, many of them part of the Normandy invasion. They spoke of Col. Robert Sink of Lexington, commander of the famous 506th parachute infantry regiment, the first men to land. Two months later, he was named commander of the 101st Airborne Division. Others spoke of Col. Thomes Ferebee, known as the man who dropped the first Atomic bomb, destroying Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, but saving the life of Don and millions of others, American and Japanese alike. Ferebee grew up on a farm in Mocksville and was the cousin of Joe Ferebee, the long-time baseball coach at Pfeiffer and good friend to men around the table.
For most, WW2 is a thing of history books. But for many of these men, June 6, 1944, was a day of vivid memory, after which brothers, uncles, and dads would soon be coming home.
I hate war, but I'm thankful for those who had the bold conviction to fight when war was necessary. Today, we remember their sacrifice and pray that someday God will bring peace to all the land, when even lion will lie with the lamb. What a day that will be.
