D-Day: Forgotten History [POLL]

Sad to think that one of the most important days in the war against fascism seems to have become a footnote.

But I’d be willing to bet that if you were to ask any high schooler about the significance of D-Day; it would probably be like a scene out of “Jay Walking” where they’d come up with an answer about it being a promotion for Dunkin’ Donuts.

I know…I say that with tounge in cheek, but history tends not to be emphasized by schools, and is therefore forgotten.

However not by those that were a part of it.

According to this:

A Cape May vet who still gets goose bumps — 68 years later!

Ed Kent’s voice cracks as he reads Dwight D. Eisenhower’s D-Day letter to the troops.
He stands in front of 15 people at a D-Day anniversary program at Cape May Lutheran Church on a sunny Saturday afternoon, but reciting the letter takes him back to when he was first handed the mimeographed document aboard a landing craft in the early hours of June 6, 1944.

He reads, “Your task will not be an easy one,” he reads. “Your enemy is well-trained, well-equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

It continues…. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!”

The Cape May resident revisits these words from time to time; they are more than a historical artifact. They are a reminder of sacrifices made in the face of evil.
He said, “You can imagine a 20-year-old boy reading that to himself,”. “It gets to me today — I can’t read that without getting goosebumps.”

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, WWII veterans are dying at a rate of about 740 a day.

Currently, there are about 1.7 million veterans remaining of the 16 million who served.
But here’s what Ed Kent says about the significance of the day….
“What bothers me is the fact they don’t teach much of this in the schools anymore,” he said. “I’ve run into people who didn’t even know what D-Day is.”

How right he is and how sad:

If anything, what they do know of D-Day comes out of the movies.

Posse Poll:

Feel free to share memories of those who’ve served on that fateful day 68 years ago today!