Let’s Celebrate Remembrance Week
(This post was first published on June 4, 2022, and has been lightly edited, primarily to correct grammar.)
We’re approaching the 82nd anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy, better known 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.
However, I believe it is important that those who fought in other theaters receive equal recognition, broadening our appreciation for all who contributed.
Celebrate Remembrance Week by Honoring Other Theaters
For instance, as I publish this, it is the first day of the 84th 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. This date will likely pass with no recognition from most of the mainstream media, unlike the coverage they will give D-Day.
Similarly, the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944 (after Germany had declared it an open city and withdrawn) deserves recognition. 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.)
Yes, let’s honor the brave men who participated in the Normandy Invasion. At the same time, let us also celebrate the efforts of those who fought in other theaters of operation or in Europe at other times.
Celebrate Remembrance Week By Not Forgetting the Homefront
Beyond the battlefields, 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 shipbuilding yards across the U.S. and in other Allied countries. Likewise, let us remember those who supported the war effort by selling war bonds, operating canteens for the military, planting Liberty gardens, rationing food, organizing scrap drives, and volunteering for many other service organizations.
Quick story told to me by one of my aunts. It takes place in the Illinois Central Railroad train station in Tutwiler, Mississippi, a small US farming community of about 3,000. In a farming community where men usually dress in work khakis, a stranger in a pressed suit and a snap-brim fedora walks in. “Say, what time does that ammunition train come through here?” he asked in a loud voice.
The railroad 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 only one tiny example of the public’s support of the war effort. That train was headed to New Orleans, where the ammunition would be loaded onto ships, likely bound for the European Theater of Operations (ETO).
We Should Honor All Who Contributed to the Victory
This broader perspective seems to be something often missed when people honor those who participated 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, a torrent of soldiers would pour into Europe within a few months, including my father, who fought in the 102nd “Ozark” Division.
Let’s honor all who contributed to victory in World War II by joining together each year to celebrate their collective accomplishments during the first week of June.
Did you arrive here via a search engine? I am the author of the forthcoming book Heroes By The Hundreds: The Story of the USS Franklin (CV-13). I am writing this book to help readers of World War II history discover the extraordinary accomplishments of the USS Franklin crew, so the crew’s story receives the recognition it deserves, and readers gain insight into leadership decisions made under pressure.
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-Glenn