Lessons of D-Day

By Tanya K. Metaksa

Tuesday, June 6, 2000, the world celebrated the 56th anniversary of
D-Day, the Allied landing on the Normandy coast of France. Prince
Phillip of England went to

Ouistreham, France to
dedicate
a monument to honor the Royal Navy sailors and Marines who lost their lives on D-Day. In the United States the opening of the $21 million National D-Day Museum in the Warehouse district of New Orleans, La., was also timed to coincide with the anniversary.

The museum is the culmination of a dream of Stephen Ambrose, the author of “D-Day” and a consultant to “Saving Private Ryan.” The cost of the museum has been underwritten by private donations and by assistance from the state of Louisiana. According to the

New Orleans
Times-Picayune,
it took some persuading to get state assistance from Louisiana’s Governor Mike Foster:

    Gov. Foster recalled that he was hesitant at first to support the museum, which was built partially with state money, when Ambrose approached him with the idea years ago.

    “Why? Why are we going to build a D-Day museum in New Orleans?” Foster asked. Ambrose replied that New Orleans was where the Higgins landing craft were built, vessels that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower once said helped make possible Operation Overlord and thus, victory in World War II. So Foster said, “OK, let’s do it.”

Millions of words have been written about that cataclysmic event and two very notable movies have been made: “The Longest Day,” based on Cornelius Ryan’s book, made in 1962 included an all star cast of among others John Wayne, Red Buttons, Henry Fonda, Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum, Peter Lawford and Robert Wagner; the Oscar winning “Saving Private Ryan” produced and directed by Steven Spielberg in 1998 and starring Tom Hanks. For anyone who has not seen either movie, they are both available on videotape. I recommend both movies.

Even after having read countless books on World War II and D-Day, having seen those two films and countless other World War II films, I truly didn’t comprehend the immense scale of Operation Overlord. It wasn’t until I went to France and spent some time on the Normandy coast that I began to comprehended the magnificence of the vision of men like Churchill and Eisenhower and the dedication of all those who took part in the invasion that led to the downfall of Hitler and the Third Reich.

In an

interview on
C-SPAN
Stephen Ambrose stated that he to had visited Normandy at least eight times. He said, “I lived there one summer. I walked every inch of the beach. I went swimming, pretending to be a soldier and charging ashore through the surf. I wanted to climb Pointe de Hoc, but I didn’t do it.”

The northern beaches of France stretch for miles. It is impossible to see from the easternmost Pointe du Hoc of Omaha Beach to the westernmost point of Sword with the naked eye. Standing in the middle between those two points the vastness is overwhelming. I couldn’t see either end on a bright sunny clear day.

Looking at what remains today of the German defenses gives credence to the tremendous obstacles that the Allied troops had to overcome. I am sure that the first 30 minutes of “Saving Private Ryan,” which vividly illustrates that “war is hell,” is not remotely as hellish as what young Americans faced landing on the beaches of Normandy.

Stephen Ambrose deserves a lot of credit for his work as a historian and his vision for a D-Day museum. He certainly is worthy of the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, which was pinned on him by Defense Secretary William Cohen. And it is fitting that nine D-Day Medal of Honor winners were on hand to mark the museum’s opening.

Yet, all this pomp and ceremony will soon be forgotten and Cohen will go back to his job at the Defense Department and a military that is in a sorry state after eight years of a Clinton administration.

The numbers tell a sad story. Fifteen years ago under the Reagan administration the U.S. Army was three times stronger in field strength: 27 Army divisions compared to 10 today. Air Force numbers are even less; 37 flight wings to 13 today; and the number of Navy warships has gone from 560 to 310. Yet those numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

Talking to those currently serving in the military gives one a new understanding of the level of frustration among service personnel. We are losing the most qualified and most dedicated in both the officer and enlisted ranks; especially those that once expected to make a 20-plus-year career of the military. These officers and non-coms don’t want to give their lives while performing peacekeeping chores in Bosnia, Kosovo or Somalia. They don’t want to be put into situations where they cannot protect themselves or their soldiers.

They don’t want to be human guinea pigs and have their lives ruined by being forced to take anthrax vaccinations. On base housing, for the most part, is old and in need of repair, while affordable off-base housing is not readily available because military housing allowances don’t match what the civilian housing market requires.

But most of all, they don’t have a clear mission. In World War II there was a clear mission: defeat Germany and Japan. Today, there is no clear enemy only shadows, and orders prohibiting self-defense.

Today, the media revels in giving credence to those that allege “atrocities” from former wars. When those allegations turn out to be fabrications, those falsely accused find their lives rent asunder with no one held accountable for the personal destruction and no help in righting the wrong: the accusatory news media has moved on to the next “hot” story and they don’t care about those they have victimized. What line officer is willing to be second-guessed in a life or death situation by some media reporter decades hence?

Thanks to people like Ambrose, Spielberg, and those involved in the D-Day museum we have come to appreciate those millions of Americans who fought and died for their country in World War II. Unfortunately for most of them that appreciation is too late.

Walking among the headstones at the beautifully manicured American Cemetery in Normandy humbled me and brought tears to my eyes. I read the headstones of young men some only 17 years of age when they died and I understood the true horror of war. Row upon row of our countrymen, most of them in their prime, were willing to give their lives so that our nation might live. Remembering their courage and ultimate sacrifice is why we, the living, build monuments and museums. The other purpose for monuments and museums is to learn from the past and not repeat its errors.

We need to appreciate and support those Americans who defend our country today. It’s way past time to stop using American military personnel as peacekeepers. It’s way past time to stop using American military personnel to be private mercenaries to divert attention from the latest peccadillo of our President. We need to rebuild not only the military infrastructure, but we need to rebuild our nation’s morals and our national morale. We need a new Operation Overlord.

It will take the same kind of dedication, planning, and perseverance that it took to pull off D-Day in 1944. We must start now, for waiting and delaying will not only cost American lives, it tarnishes the memories of those men who stormed the Normandy coast 56 years ago. They fought to keep our country strong and free for their children and grandchildren; we can repay the debt by maintaining that strength and freedom for our children and grandchildren.

Tanya K. Metaksa

Tanya K. Metaksa is the former executive director of the National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action. She is the author of "Safe, Not Sorry," a self-protection manual, published in 1997. She has appeared on numerous talk and interview shows such as "Crossfire," the "Today" show, "Nightline," "This Week with David Brinkley" and the "McNeil-Lehrer Hour," among others. Read more of Tanya K. Metaksa's articles here.