Let’s Celebrate “Remembrance Week!”

We’re approaching the 78th anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy, known more commonly as “D-Day” which took place on June 6, 1944. Here in the US there will be many stories in the mass media and even more on social media celebrating the heroic men who took part in the invasion. I’m sure it will be the same in the U.K. and other Allied countries. 

But I believe those who fought in other theaters should also receive similar recognition. 

We are also approaching the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Midway fought in the Pacific from June 4-7, 1942. The US soundly defeated the Japanese Navy which lost  four carriers, hundreds of aircraft, and a heavy cruiser. Imperial Japanese forces never recovered from this defeat which many historians consider to be the turning point in the Pacific Theater of Operations (PTO).

Then there is the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944 (Germany had declared it an open city and withdrew). The Allies invaded Italy in September of 1943 and saw particularly vicious fighting in both urban areas and in the mountains. 

(I’m probably missing additional dates important to other allies.)

By all means, let us celebrate the brave men who participated in the Normandy Invasion. But let us also celebrate the victories and sacrifices made by those who fought in the other theaters of operation. 

Let us not stop there, though. These victories were made possible by the enormous output of the US and Allied defense industries which was manned and womaned by thousands of civilians who worked in factories and ship building yards across the U.S. and in other Allied countries. And let us celebrate those who supported the war effort by driving ambulances after air raids, smuggling downed pilots out of occupied areas,  planting Liberty gardens, rationing their foodstuffs, organizing scrap drives, and volunteering for the many service organizations which supported the war effort. 

Quick story told to me by one of my aunts. It takes place in the Illinois Central train station in Tutwiler, Mississippi, a small US farming community of about 3,000. The railroad agent is busy at work one morning during the war when in walks a stranger wearing a pressed suit and a snap brim fedora. “Say, what time does that ammunition train come through here,” says the stranger in a loud voice. 

The agent looks up from his desk at the stranger and bellows, “NONE OF YOUR DAMMED BUSINESS!” 

The stranger laughs and responds, “That’s exactly the answer I was looking for!” and whips out his FBI badge and identification. It turns out he was part of the security detail for the train.

To me, that story is one tiny example of  the near total commitment the civilian public had in supporting the war effort. That train was headed to New Orleans where the ammunition would be placed on ships, likely headed to the European Theater of Operations (ETO). That seems to be something often missed when people honor those who participate in the Normandy Invasion each June 6th. D-Day was important, it opened the “Second Front,” long sought after by Josef Stalin. Thanks to that successful invasion, within a few months a torrent of soldiers would pour into Europe, including my father who fought in the 102nd “Ozark” Division. 

Let us honor all those, military and civilian, who made victory in World War II by celebrating their accomplishments during the first week of June each year.