"we must march together"

  Today is the 80th anniversary of the invasion at Normandy. I have seen lots of movies about that, lots of documentaries. I have never spoken with anyone that was actually there. Oh, I've known lots of WW2 veterans and perhaps some of them where there, they never spoke of it. And that was the normal thing with those veterans, they seldom spoke of the war, what they did or where they went in that conflict. I think perhaps it was like a secret club with them, they only spoke of it among themselves. Only sharing with those that were there, those that would understand. I've never had to take a life or had my life threatened in an imminent way. Yes, I served twenty years in the navy, but my life wasn't on the line. I had signed an agreement to do just that if it became necessary but that isn't the same thing as doing it. 

  Those that stormed those beaches eighty years ago today waded into a hail of bullets, bombs, and obstacles. Each was designed to kill them. I cannot imagine the stress they all had to feel. Death was all around you, at any second it could be you! Many were not there by choice, they had been drafted, sent to fight and die. They weren't there to sacrifice anything, they were there to fight to stay alive. They had answered the call to duty. Regardless of all else, they put that call above themselves. Honor above all else! And that is exactly what they all were, honorable men, men with integrity, with a sense of duty and obligation to the nation. Patton best put it when he said, " It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died, Rather, we should thank God that such men lived" 

 Some other advice from the General: "Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle. Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and who's good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our Army and Pray for Peace. We must march together, all out for God."

 Imagine if any General said such a thing today. How would that be received today? It was a different time, a different place and a different America back then. It was a time when people believed in America, in the idea of America. It was said we became the first superpower in the world. Eighty years after the civil war we defeated the axis powers! Eighty years. And now it is eighty years from Normandy, D-Day and where do we stand? Our own border is being invaded and enabled by our president. He just announced a restriction on that however, no more than 2500 a day! 2501 Americans were killed the first day on the beaches at Normandy. We should heed the advice of the General and we should all be praying! 

  "All religions must be tolerated for every man must get to heaven in his own way" (Epictetus) The importance lies in the realization that there is a power greater than us. The path to heaven, whatever you conceive that to be, has to be followed by you! No one can tell you how to get there, you determine the path. The advice is to pray. Pray often. Prayer is the introspection we all require. It is a skill that needs to be exercised, honed and practiced. That is where the answers lie. Our founding fathers were well aware of this. It was stated well by John Adams, "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." 

  I'm quite certain that every man setting foot on the beaches of Normandy prayed that day. There was no questioning any of that. There was no discussion of religious belief and ideology. There was only fear. There was only the desire to live through the day. It is estimated that about 100,000 veterans of WW2 are alive today. Of that 100,000 it is estimated less than two hundred were at Normandy on this day eighty years ago. Soon, there will be no survivors of the battle. How many have left us never having told their story. How many uttered their silent prayers as they stormed that beach. How many pray still.