Freedom

I'll admit. I'm a history buff. A big one. I absolutely love learning about the past, the present, and how they can impact the future. It really got me thinking last night about something my Mom told me once, and one of my favorite stories about me that I didn't remember until my Mom brought it up was that in Kindergarten or First Grade when my Mom was taking me into class allegedly I told the teacher (Mrs. Rassmussen or Mrs. James) that I "only read non-fiction books". Haha what kind of a child was I back then! Well, ultimately I am glad that I felt that way, because it makes me different from lots of people out there. How many people that were going into college out of high school would go into Borders looking for a good read and come out with a 600 page war history novel written by an incredibly prestigious war writer chronicling 5 days of history over 500 of those pages, packed with in depth analysis of military tactics and interviews with people that actually took part in and made this event possible? Well last night I finally finished said book, and may I say that it was one of the most exceptional reads that I have ever had the honor to read in my ENTIRE life. Honestly, the amount I appreciate veterans of this great nation as well as veterans of other nations, those who offer up their lives to preserve the freedoms that we often un-thankfully enjoy, is unparalleled by a lot of things. These men had more courage and integrity and virtue then I can ever dream of having. On this one day, in the space of about five hours, over 4,000 men lay dead on the beaches of Normandy. Have we ever truly thought about how much we owe to these men? Its not even Veteran's day, but I don't care. Once I was listening to the theme song from Saving Private Ryan, called Hymn To The Fallen, and it literally brought tears to my eyes, and it soon became one of the most played songs on my iTunes, not because I like the song along, but for the day it represents. If I could go back in time and have the chance to fight alongside such valiant men, I would do it in a heartbeat. If I could have dinner with anyone in history, besides Jesus Christ of course, I wouldn't choose celebrities or so called hero's of modern times, I would have dinner with the men of the 101st Airborne Division the "Screaming Eagles", or Supreme Commander Eisenhower (I like Ike), or Winston Churchill, because these men truly are my heroes. 

I want to share one of my favorite passages from the book, illustrating the ultimate sacrifice and valor shown on D-Day.

"Sergeant Sigie Johnson saw one of the bravest acts possible in war. A pioneer platoon was held up by barbed wire. It was supposed to use a bangalore torpedo to blow a gap, but the torpedo failed to explode. A soldier, unknown to Johnson, threw himself over the wire so that others could cross on his back. Johnson saw others crawl through barbed wire to get to minefields to get close enough to the embrasures of pillboxes to toss in grenades. He concluded the interview with these words: "Very few publications ever get he truth out of what our Winnepeg infantry faced and did."

Thats why I love this book so much, it is filled with stories like these that demonstrate what America and freedom and rights and privileges and fighting for something that constitutes so much comes down too. I appreciate these men, and always will. I invite you to read of their sacrifices, or just offer up a moment or two to remember the sacrifices that over 1 million american soldiers have ultimately given so you can do what you are doing right now. This is what I feel strongly about, and I hope all of you do too.