When a Soldier Dies; is it Worth the Price?

I woke up this morning with the knowledge that it was June 3, 2007; only three mornings and it will be the 6th of June, a significant date in history. Why is it that we “celebrate”, if that’s the right word for a serious reflection of the terrible price paid by so many, why is it that we celebrate D-Day?

I looked up the somber statistics related to that event and the numbers that came off the page pierced me to the center. These numbers come from D-Day Museum’s “Frequently Asked Questions” page ( linked via title bar).

In April and May 1944, the Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men and over 2,000 aircraft in operations which paved the way for D-Day.

The day of the invasion on June 6th, 1944 are almost to grim to comprehend:

Total Allied casualties on D-Day are estimated at 10,000, including 2500 dead. British casualties on D-Day have been estimated at approximately 2700. The Canadians lost 946 casualties. The US forces lost 6603 men. Note that the casualty figures for smaller units do not always add up to equal these overall
figures exactly, however (this simply reflects the problems of obtaining accurate casualty statistics).

Casualties on the British beaches were roughly 1000 on Gold Beach and the same number on Sword Beach. The remainder of the British losses were amongst the airborne troops: some 600 were killed or wounded, and 600 more were missing;
100 glider pilots also became casualties. The losses of 3rd Canadian Division at
Juno Beach have been given as 340 killed, 574 wounded and 47 taken prisoner.

The breakdown of US casualties was 1465 dead, 3184 wounded, 1928 missing and 26 captured. Of the total US figure, 2499 casualties were from the US airborne troops (238 of them being deaths). The casualties at Utah Beach were
relatively light: 197, including 60 missing. However, the US 1st and 29th Divisions together suffered around 2000 casualties at Omaha Beach.

My math is pretty shaky; but that appears to be roughly 14,500 allied lives lost in a three month period of intense activity. What could be so important as to make such a sacrifice justified? I’m not being critical or judgmental; I’m only trying to put things in perspective with today, the war on terror. What comparisons might be applicable as we contemplate the price of a soldier’s life; that individual’s efforts to protect a way of life for those removed from the battle front and the horrors of war? When is the cost too much to bear, the war too costly to support, the idea not worthy of defending? Is there ever a time to surrender our lofty goals of freedom and submit to our enemies? I think we know that answer; or at least I would pray that we share a common answer, Never!!!

I looked up the statistics for the “War on Terror”, often mistakenly called the “War in Iraq”. These numbers are supplied by the U. S. Department of Defense and can be found at the following link:


http://icasualties.org/oif/

Since March of 2003 the total allied forces killed in Iraq = 3763
Of those killed, the number of American troops killed = 3487
The number of soldiers killed daily averages out at 2.45 per day

Any loss of life in combat is tragic and I do not wish to marginalize even one individual loss; however, and I had to clear my throat as I compared the numbers from a single three month period leading up to D-Day with that of the entire conflict over in Iraq, where is our resolve to win? Has the enemy been defeated, have we declared victory, or remembering the “terrorists”, those who would do us harm, have they given up?

I suggest that recent events here within our own borders indicate that the war is just now getting started; the most recent terrorist attack having been a foiled bomb attack that would have crippled JFK Airport in New York. I’ve included a link that lists several such terrorist attacks close to home.

http://www.foxnews.com/specialsections/waronterror/

I did some more math; quick, go get a calculator to verify my answers. If you take the two months leading up to D-day (30 X 2 = 60) and add 6 more days to include June 6th as the invasion date you come up with 66 days and 14,500 killed in action. That comes out to almost 220 soldiers killed per day. That’s nearly 100 times the daily killed in action report for the War in Iraq, the one which we have been told is already lost.

I looked up the total killed in action for all of WWII ( WikiAnswers ) and it came to 406,000; which would include the 7,000 Americans killed in a single battle, the battle for Iwo Jima.

I’m not sure the human mind is prepared to understand those losses, the grief of only one person is an emotional drain difficult to bear; how much then to withstand the loss of so many brave individuals? Can we ask the dead; “Did you die in vain or was your cause worth your life?” Sounds like a silly question until you read the letters written home to loved ones, letters which identify the pride which makes a soldier face the horrors of war each day.

Maybe a better question to ask the dead would be, “Am I living my life in such a way as to make your sacrifices worth while? Are the freedoms I enjoy being applied in a way that would justify the shortened life of a brave soldier? Have I learned what it is to be an American with all the responsibilities that go with that those freedoms?”

D-Day should be a day of reflection and celebration, a celebration that includes the recognition that one soldier with a knowledge of the gift of freedom can take on those who would deny that same freedom to others. If it takes a life lost in battle to make freedom possible, that loss of life is not in vain. There is only one way to honor those who died while fighting for our freedom and that is to continue the fight; take courage in the face of evil and, yes, die if necessary, with the knowledge that the banner of freedom is worth such a cost.

To the Harry Reid’s who disgrace our heritage and those killed in action, I can only shake my head and wonder how you can call yourselves Americans? How can you live here in our country with all the freedoms bestowed upon us, collectively and individually, and claim that it’s time to walk away from the fight? The struggle to keep freedom alive never ends. Americans must stand with a firm resolve to maintain the freedoms promised in our sacred documents; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are not simply words on an aging piece of parchment. Yes, these intangibles are worth dying for, and, No, we can Never turn our backs and walk away from the fight!

Edited June 4th:

Committees of Correspondence has an interesting article, Global War On Terror Ends, which the Democrats tell us the War on Terror was simply a political ploy by George Bush to gain headlines; go read it.
http://www.angelfire.com/ky/kentuckydan/CommitteesofCorrespondence/index.blog/1273522/global-war-on-terror-ends/