D-Day: Reminding Us Of What American Exceptionalism Can Do
PerspectiveD-Day: Reminding Us Of What American Exceptionalism Can Do1 CommentBY STEPHEN PORPORA05:42 PM ETA visitor takes a photograph of part of the National World War II Memorial in Washington.A visitor takes a photograph of part of the National World War II Memorial in Washington. View Enlarged ImageAs we honor and reflect on the 71st anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Europe, we can pause to salute and thank that incredible (and "greatest") generation of Americans.Hardened by a childhood spent in the depths of the Great Depression and energized by a war that needed to be fought, this proud generation with a "can do" attitude, seemingly missing today, did the heavy lifting that preserved the freedom of their own offspring us, the baby boomers.They taught us by their example, their sacrifices and their unselfishness the lessons that we must preserve and pass on to subsequent generations of Americans.Every American should have the opportunity to visit the hallowed beaches of Normandy, to stand on Utah, the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc and gasp at the silence of the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer overlooking Omaha Beach. The reality of the bravery and sacrifice is overwhelming, and the only sounds heard are the whispered "thank you's" bathed in the inevitable tears of the stunned visitors.To view the remnants of Mulberry B Harbour in Arromanches, France, however, is to truly comprehend the immensity of the Allied invasion's total accomplishment 71 years ago. Mulberry A Harbour at Omaha Beach was also constructed, but a vicious storm destroyed it on June 19, 1944.Without the assistance of computers, GPS or satellite reconnaissance, these massive prefab ports were meticulously planned and constructed by British, Canadian and American civil engineers and were completed and operational on June 9 three days after the invasion!In the 10 months after D-Day, Port Winston, Mulberry B's given handle, offered up its portable caisson piers, artificial breakwaters and floating bridges to safely land over 4 million tons of supplies, 550,000 vehicles including heavy tanks and personnel carriers, artillery and more than 2.7 million troops to reinforce and supply the Allied forces on their march through the Battle of the Bulge into Germany and on to victory.While it's right and just to focus on the sacrifice of the men and women who fought on the two fronts of WWII, we must not forget the millions who stayed at home and built the hardware that ultimately made victory possible.It would later be called the "Industrial War." FDR in early 1942 called on American workers and industries to produce war equipment as never before. He called for 185,000 planes, and in places all over the U.S. like Farmingdale, N.Y., Wichita, Kan., and Seattle, Wash., they built 300,000. He called for 75,000 ships, and in cities from Brooklyn, N.Y., to San Diego, Calif., they built 124,000.Shipyard #2 of the Permanente Metals Corp. in Richmond, Calif., won a competition when it built an entire Liberty Ship in four days, 15 hours. Henry Ford's Willow Run Plant alone spit out 9,000 of the total of 19,000 B-24 Liberator bombers built.The statistics are staggering and the hardship at home equally so. All Americans endured rationing of everything from gasoline and heating oil to food and medical supplies.So, as we take time to remember the ultimate sacrifice made for us on the coast of France on June 6, 1944, let us also remember an entire generation that seemed to possess all the qualities that make Americans exceptional.We are losing the last of them as we speak. Make time to go to the funerals of the grandparents of friends and family, and you will be blown away by the stories of each of these remarkable people. Usually there is a folded flag next to the coffin.More importantly, listen to the reverent recollections of children and grandchildren of these men and women who lived full lives, cherishing each day, each of their offspring and each of their friends.Having survived hardship and loss that many of us cannot comprehend, they carry to their graves an unconditional love of country, family and often a chosen God.Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-perspective/060415-755821-honor-sacrifice-and-remember-american-exceptionalism-in-d-day.htm#ixzz3cAYUkODJ Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook
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There were exceptional British and Canadian and Polish and French and troops from many other countries storming the beaches on D-Day. America was just one of many nations showing their exceptional-ism. All were equally exceptional.
Ah the Anti American left has spoken. Their denial of all that makes America great and exceptional among nations is stunning and noted.
You are a compelling argument against American exceptionalism, that's for sure.
Ah the Anti American left has spoken. Their denial of all that makes America great and exceptional among nations is stunning and noted.
ALL of the nations that stormed the beaches on D-Day faced the same thing as all of the Americans did. Every troop, for every nation that was there, was exceptional. Do you honestly think we did it alone? America, by itself, would have lost the battle trying to invade France on D-Day. It took several nations from around the world and escaped armies from Europe to do it and they almost didn't make it several times. They were almost thrown back into the sea several times. Read some history and then realize it was an allied effort that won the battle of D-Day, not just an American one.
Yes, in many way America is an exceptional country. But it was not then and is not now the only one.
No one answered my question? Do you honestly think that we were the only ones there on D-Day? Do you disagree with me when I say that if America, all by itself, tried to invade France, we would have lost?
Everyone and every nation that took part in D-Day, including America, was exceptional. It is not, as some have said, anti-American to think otherwise.
Very, very well stated! Thank you for for answering and not including that I'm anti-American for thinking WWII was an allied victory too.
Along with a great many men and women, we provided what a lot of countries could not and just what was needed at the time, industrial strength. We could build truck and tanks and ships and weapons and airplanes and ammo etc., far faster and in much greater quantities then the Axis powers could. A strength I doubt we could provide today. We just don't have the industrial capabilities we had then.
As for when there will be a "WAS" I think we are already on that path. America is just not an empire country and I don't think the bulk of Americans think so either or want it to be. I just don't think we were ever meant to be. Empires are too big , unwieldy and expensive and I think most Americans wish we would spend some of that money at home, instead of on more war and weapons systems. I think that's why getting out of the Middle-East is so popular and why so many people think invading Iraq was a mistake.
Trying to be an empire lead to the collapse of the Soviet Union, because they constantly were over reaching and their possessions were far to vast to afford and control.
America was just one among many?! Lol. Some people have no sense of history or scale.
Do YOU think we could have won the invasion of France (D-Day) by ourselves? Do you think that? Do you really think that? The truth is we would have been blown off from the beaches, back into the water and we would have lost.
That the many other countries that had men fight and die by the tens of thousands were just there to serve coffee and doughnuts to our troops while they did all of the fighting? Learn some history and get some perspective. We were but one of many allies that made victory possible in the invasion of Europe.
America was just one among many?
Consider the source. He's an ignorant fool.
Dumbshit will believe any piece of anti-american b.s. you put in front of him.