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| My father in 1942 |
My father survived
that fateful night and although injured, he continued on leading his company of
men. He gained battlefield promotions and continued against the Germans through
several more campaigns including the bloodiest at the Battle of the Bulge. Most of the journey through Europe was on foot as well.
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| The Battle of the Bulge was fought in snow feet deep. It's said the snow turned red with the blood of the fallen. |
My father continued after the war with a career in the military, serving in the Korean
Conflict and eventually, his final assignment was working with the Joint Chiefs
of Staff at the Pentagon. I have always been proud to be his daughter and proud
of his lifetime service to this country. Without men like him, who knows what
our world would be had the enemy succeeded in their world domination. My father was and always will be my greatest hero.
Shannon L.
Alder said, “Heroes are not made.
They are born out of circumstances and rise to the occasion when their spirit
can no longer coexist with the hypocrisy of injustice to others.”
This is true. The generation of men who served in one of the greatest wars to visit this planet were heroes of a sort we may never see again. They were not perfect. There were those who shunned their duty to their fellow man and there were those who took the wrong path and became an enemy to doing the right thing. But the majority of men and many a woman as well showed their honor, their bravery, and the hero which lives within every human being but only a select few are ever able to bring it forth.
The numbers
of World War II veterans is quickly diminishing. My father left us on Veteran’s
Day in 2016 but he never allowed June 6th to pass without
remembering the day and the sacrifices of the invasion. He would tell us about
the things that went wrong, the things that worked, and the pure dumb luck
which most likely saved many. He would’ve been 99 years young this year had he
still been with us and I’m sure he would’ve remembered the day as always and
possibly with a bit of amazement. Seventy-five years since the beginning of the
end of the war which threatened the freedom of the planet but good triumphed
over evil. God Bless.
In memory of
all those who fought on the shores, the seas, in the air, across the different
theatres and of course, on the home front—thank you for your service, the
service of your family for supporting you, and for allowing us the privilege of
knowing you and continuing to live in the freedom for which you fought to keep.
God Bless our military now and always. And Airborne All
the Way!
