second hand history

 Seventy four years ago today the Normandy invasion took place. Nine years, one month and 15 days later I was born. I grew up hearing about that fateful day and the lives lost on that beach. I can't say with certainty I ever met anyone that had participated in that invasion but certainly knew a lot of WW2 veterans, my father among them. You could say the memory was fresh because of that. Today the youngest of those men would be 91, assuming they were 17 at the time. There is no accurate figure of how many still live today. It won't be much longer and the entire generation will pass into history. It will be up to us to remember them and the sacrifices they made. The history has been well documented and analyzed. The conclusion is, they are the greatest generation! I would have to concur with that.

 I would say that today, Normandy is remembered as history. Yes, I know that yesterday is history but I'm thinking about real history, history as we perceive it to be. History is something that happened a long time ago, to other people. Isn't that the way we think of it? The things we did in high school or grade school are not historic. History is something that was important or noteworthy to the general public, or the world. The battles of WW2 are all history now. We have read the stories, seen the movies, and even film clips of the actual battles. The greatest atrocity of that war, the Holocaust, faces doubters now! There are those that wish to deny that it ever took place. There are those that wish history lost! We can't allow that to happen. 

 That has been the case throughout history however. Battles are fought, victories won and the world rejoices. There are winners and losers, the future is formed. The survivors tell the stories of valor and heroism. The next generation follows and the pattern is repeated. Past heroes fade in our memories, replaced by the new. I can name many heroes of WW2. The names of the generals are familiar, both good and bad. But those of WW1, not so much. In February of 2011 the last American survivor of that war passed away at the age of 110. With him, WW1 passed into the realm of history as I see it, no one left alive having witnessed that war firsthand. From that day forward the history of that conflict was secondhand. True, it was only a very small part of that war, as Corporeal Buckles was an ambulance driver during the great war, the war to end all wars , as it was known. Memories are always in the first person, everything else are stories. And stories, stories are subject to revision. 

 Seventy four years ago thousands of men stormed the beaches at Normandy, following the orders of their superiors. They went ashore, fighting for their lives. Where their heads filled with thoughts of valor? Did they storm that beach in the quest to free Europe from the grips of the Nazi's? No, from the first hand accounts I heard of those entering the fray, they were just doing their duty. Some joined up and others answered the call. As I said, I can't say I ever spoke with a veteran of the Normandy invasion but when fighting for your life does the battle location matter? 

 My generation carries the accounts of Vietnam. I would say that is the major portion of history we are accountable for. There were other conflicts and events certainly worth remembering, think 9/11, but I'm speaking of war. The first hand history we tell of Vietnam is not glorious or inspiring in any way. That isn't the memory of that war. The reason for that was there was no victory, no triumphant homecoming. I would say the first taste of defeat Americans have known, as a whole. To those that fought the battles, that taste is bitter indeed. Will that change with the telling of the stories as secondhand history? I do believe it will become tempered over time. The bitterness, no matter how well earned, will mellow with age. When our children and children's children tell our story it will be with pride. History told in stories is often different than history as it took place. 

 Normandy, a name that lives in history for one event. It resides alongside others, Bunker Hill, Pearl Harbor and Midway. The name was etched in history for the loss of life. Sadly it is a name that is fading in the collective memory of man. Only those with an interest in history and those tales of yore, remember. That day is getting closer. And I would lament like some many before me, never forget. The promise is made, we will never forget! I'll do what I can to keep that memory alive even though it is certainly second hand history to me. History is created every second, it is only when it becomes second hand that the value is realized. Such is the nature of man.