Have we betrayed the D-Day generation?
By: Nigel Jones (The Spectator)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Today is the 79th anniversary of D-Day, 6 June 1944, when Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy to begin the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe and the end of the Second World War. Despite the fears of prime minister Winston Churchill and others that the Anglo-American and Canadian landings would be a bloody fiasco, victory was achieved. A beachhead was secured, and the minutely planned Operation Overlord eventually secured a peaceful Europe, albeit at a fearful cost: 4,414 Allied servicemen died on that day alone.
Naturally, the steady subsequent attrition of the years means that there are hardly any survivors left from that historic day. As a result, it is we, the grandchildren and great grandchildren of that heroic generation who must mark the day and reflect on what their courage and sacrifice won for us and what we have done with their legacy.
Let us be honest: the men who stormed ashore on that day would hardly recognise the world that we have created, and would be amazed and perhaps even ashamed of the mess that we have made of their sacrifice .
They might perhaps welcome the hi-tech physical world of the internet and Artificial Intelligence that can remove wearisome chores, facilitate instant communication with the ends of the earth, and translate our thoughts into actions before they are even half formulated. But it is the more intangible values that they fought and died for that have been forgotten, ignored and even trampled on in the intervening eight decades.
The men who stormed ashore on that day would hardly recognise the world that we have created
The average D-Day soldier, if asked, would have said that they were fighting to remove a vile tyranny from the face of Europe,. Beyond that, there hope might have been to build a better society in which their children could grow up in a clean and more equitable environment than the pinched and unjust years that had produced the inhuman fascism that they were helping to destroy.
But looking around us today what do we see? Instead of a fair and democratic society responsive to human needs, we have somehow constructed an impersonal monster controlled by remote and unfeeling institutions and forces far removed from the wants and welfare of ordinary people.
Those who survived D-Day and its aftermath and returned to homes fit for heroes would have had no difficulty in defining a woman. They would have been proud rather than apologetic about their country and its past.
Many of them, in the year that saw the end of the war would have voted for a Labour party ostensibly dedicated to building a happier and healthier nation, in which people would be judged for what they were as individuals rather than on the colour of their skins or the privileges of the race that they were born into.
They would have seen nothing strange or perverse in duty or patriotism, and would have put the needs of others ahead of their own selfish desires for money and status as a matter of course.
The doctors and nurses working in the new National Health Service would never have dreamed of going on strike and putting their patients' lives at risk in selfish pursuit of an unaffordable pay rise .
Public servants from politicians to police officers would have enjoyed respect and even affection because they promoted and embodied rules and standards accepted and obeyed by pretty much everyone.
The Britain of the 1950s that we look down on for being boring at least had the virtues of cohesion and tradition. People may have known their place and revered their imperfect betters, but they did have somewhere to belong to and feel at home in rather than the deracinated wilderness we inhabit today.
The sad truth is that rather than uphold, defend and promote the values for which the D-Day generation suffered and sacrificed, we have betrayed them. The incomparable legacy that they bequeathed to us has been soiled and sold.
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Well done Nigel.
The greatest generation would on the whole feel ashamed that the country has allowed a narcissistic con man to do so much damage to our national honor and reputation. Imagine the characters in Saving Private Ryan sticking up for Donald Trump. Never in a million years.
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"Americans who died in war are losers and suckers." Donald Trump
Wouldn't the allied forces that landed there be called anti-fascists? So Vic is promoting a positive article about antifa.
Another trolling comment that adds no value
Or in real terms, another question right wingers refuse to answer.
I find clever comments that make me grin to be of great value.
No John, they would have looked at your woke society and said THIS IS NOT WHAT WE SACRIFICED FOR!
In the 1940's a figure like Trump succeeding in politics would have been considered an abomination, and you know it.
Except comment 1.1.3 is neither clever nor of any value.
No those men that landed in Normandy were American, British, and Canadian soldiers and were fighting for the rights of men. Antifa is an anti democratic group that would deny others their rights. Antifa more closely resembles those defending the beaches than those invading them.
That was the lie the left told before an election. You repeated the lie and attributed it to Trump without a link. Can you imagine if I did that?
There is no need to "imagine"...
From your lying article:
The president has repeatedly disparaged the intelligence of service members, and asked that wounded veterans be kept out of military parades, multiple sources tell The Atlantic .
On the other side people came out and put their names on the line to say that he never said anything like that in their presence:
"Make it 21 statements refuting The Atlantic’s false reporting & demonstrating @realDonaldTrump ’s respect for our nation’s heroes," Morgenstern wrote in a tweet.
The report by the Atlantic , published late Thursday, said the president called dead U.S. soldiers "losers" and dead Marines "suckers," rejected a visit to a World War I memorial in France in 2018 because he was worried about what the weather would do to his hair, and asked staff planning for a military parade to keep wounded veterans away.
Among the people coming out with denials is former national security adviser John Bolton, who has criticized Trump since leaving the administration. He has insisted that Trump's canceled cemetery visit was a "very straight weather call" and has cast doubt on Trump insulting U.S. service members at that time."
Even John Bolton who is no fan of Trump came out and said it was a lie.
Where are Goldberg's unknown sources?
Goldberg lied.
And figures like Biden, Sanders and AOC wouldn't have been elected dog catcher.
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Seems like the whole state was electing him in 46 as the results were 61.28% to 37.41% in that traditionally Blue state.
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Wasn’t Biden already a congressman during WW2?
McCarthy was trying to get communists out of government, democrats elect them to get Americans out of government.
Lol....He was born in 1942. Maybe he was born a congressman?
Wow and Kevin already has twice as many years in office than tail-gunner Joe.
So you are saying the allies were NOT anti-fascist?
No. They were not like antifa in in any way as you are implying. The allies of D-Day were fighting for freedom and the rights of men and women. Antifa does just the opposite. The use violence and intimidation to remove others rights and to create chaos and mayhem. Antifa is more like those defending the beaches of Normandy from the invading allies than those brave soldiers ever were. I find it disgusting that you would even try to compare the two in a positive way.
Biden was first elected to public office as a Democrat in 1970 as a city councilman.
No I am saying they were not anything like today's antifa group as you are implying and comparing them is disgusting
Maybe some smart cookie should invent an English to liberal translation app.
Indeed. We should collectively be ashamed.
After returning home from the war, where he served as an army officer making 'propaganda' type films for America, Hollywood director Frank Capra wanted to make a movie that summed up his hopes for postwar America. That movie was to be the classic "It's A Wonderful Life".
In It's A Wonderful Life we see the ultimate triumph of the little guy, and his friends, against entrenched moneyed interests. We see the common typical man embrace values of friendship, service to the community , and a commitment to diversity, over the call of materialism and consumerism.
Every frame of the movie examples these points.
Maybe the movie is a utopia in its conclusion, but it was the goal Capra wanted for his adopted country.
A million miles, imo, from MAGA.
In June 1990, I was honored to be part of an Army team conducting ceremonies in part as a rehearsal for the 1994, 50th Anniversary. It was a very moving experience from the beaches, the unbelievable landscape at Pointe du Hoc, Sainte-Mère-Église, and of course the American Cemetery and Memorial. The French still show their appreciation and it was great to meet the Vet's that could still make the trip.
It was one of the best Army missions that I ever had.
Off topic ...
Would liked to have seen Nigel's play 'End of the Night' based on one of my favorite writers Louis-Ferdinand Celine.
Yeah well. "What was in it for them?," said Donald Trump to Chief of Staff Kelly at Arlington National Cemetery pretty much affirms any supposed premise Vic is trying to make.