June 6^th, 1944, over eighty years ago. It’s a number that, at first, seems impossible. This is one of those dates in the military community that always seems to have just happened. We have it that tightly woven into our history.

Back in 1984, President Reagan gave what may be the most well-known speech about that day. In it, he not only spoke of the actions taken that day but also what those young men did after the shooting stopped. They returned to build and rebuild everything from families and homes to nations and alliances that have stood firm for the last four decades.

It all happened rapidly. For these young men, it had to. They knew exactly what would happen if they failed, and the mistakes after the First World War were repeated. They knew because they bled for those mistakes and buried their brothers on the foreign soil they freed from tyranny.

Watch the documentaries and then pick your jaw up off the floor at what they accomplished. Weep for their losses if so moved. Once you’ve done that, go into your local community and look at the memorials. Then, pay attention to what they built, not just the buildings that house our industries and governments, but the life we enjoy because of their sacrifices.

Why is that so important? Because even the youngest of those men are nearly a hundred years old now. Most of them have already passed into history to live in our minds and in the memorials we have built to honor them.

If you are fortunate enough to still have a veteran in your life from this time, take a little time to seek them out and say thank you. Thank you for your freedom, for the life you enjoy, and for the opportunity to raise your children in a far better world than the one where they were raised.

Remembering D-Day is easy. Honoring what happened that day and what those veterans built and died for is something far better.

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