On June 6, 1944 -- 75 years ago today -- more than 150,000 allied forces from the United States, Britain and Canada bravely marched into the jaws of death.... and saved the world. The D-Day invasion was the largest seaborne invasion in history, and it's often called the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Brothers in arms stared down the enemy, stared down death. Not all survived, and the death toll easily eclipsed 10,000.
A couple of weeks ago, we commemorated Memorial Day. The Normandy invasion should remind all of us why Memorial Day is such an important holiday, and not simply a weekend on a beautiful Gulf beach. Because these brave souls would have been anywhere but on this beach, this bloody battlefield. And yet, the Greatest Generation had a job to do. They forged ahead and served. They fought, sacrificed, died.
And they prevailed.
America and the world owes them a debt that can never be repaid.
The photo is by Robert F. Sargent, who on that fateful day was a photographer's mate in the United States Coast Guard. One of the most famous photos of the Normandy invasion, it shows soldiers who've just left their boat and are wading toward battle on Omaha Beach.
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