I’d already watched the History Channel’s presentation of the D-Day invasion earlier in the week; the impact and realization of exactly how costly that moment in time was caused me to appreciate the most basic freedoms I now enjoy, freedoms paid for by the horrors of war. Life is a precious gift to be appreciated; even more so when others give up their lives in order to improve other’s chances to live in the light of freedom rather than oppression.
I caught the tail end of Saving Private Ryan on one of the movie channels yesterday; just as well since that’s the best part of the movie. I hope I live my life in such a way as to justify the sacrifices made by all those young men. I quietly look inward and plead, “Please, tell me I’ve earned the life they’ve given”, just as Private Ryan sought as his wife stood next to him at the grave there in France.
Several years ago I wrote and posted , “Perhaps Saving Private Ryan explained my tears. I remember the old man standing there in the cemetery with his family on the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. All around him were the markers, those young men who had given their lives, their chance to roam this Earth, to have families with children and grandchildren all around them, their chance to enjoy the “good life”. This old man was cognizant of the sacrifices made in his behalf. He knew that he needed to live his life in such a way as to “deserve” the opportunity to live out his life based on his having known these men.”
I’ve thought about the German soldiers who died during the D-Day invasion as well, what they were fighting for. The long and the short of it; Germany was fighting to remain rulers over a conquered people whereas the Allied forces were fighting to set those people free. It really does matter what you’re fighting for; hope your causes are worthy of your efforts.
Photograph Credit: Taxis to Hell – and Back – Into the Jaws of Death is a historic photograph taken on June 6, 1944, by Robert F. Sargent.
I caught the tail end of Saving Private Ryan on one of the movie channels yesterday; just as well since that’s the best part of the movie. I hope I live my life in such a way as to justify the sacrifices made by all those young men. I quietly look inward and plead, “Please, tell me I’ve earned the life they’ve given”, just as Private Ryan sought as his wife stood next to him at the grave there in France.
Several years ago I wrote and posted , “Perhaps Saving Private Ryan explained my tears. I remember the old man standing there in the cemetery with his family on the 50th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. All around him were the markers, those young men who had given their lives, their chance to roam this Earth, to have families with children and grandchildren all around them, their chance to enjoy the “good life”. This old man was cognizant of the sacrifices made in his behalf. He knew that he needed to live his life in such a way as to “deserve” the opportunity to live out his life based on his having known these men.”
I’ve thought about the German soldiers who died during the D-Day invasion as well, what they were fighting for. The long and the short of it; Germany was fighting to remain rulers over a conquered people whereas the Allied forces were fighting to set those people free. It really does matter what you’re fighting for; hope your causes are worthy of your efforts.
Photograph Credit: Taxis to Hell – and Back – Into the Jaws of Death is a historic photograph taken on June 6, 1944, by Robert F. Sargent.
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