Eighty Years Ago America Led the DDay Invasion

We became a superpower on that day.

My father left, my Uncle Joe right. My aunt, their sister in the middle, my grandparents in rear. (Author’s photo)

June sixth will be the 80th anniversary of DDay, and likely the last major anniversary we will have veterans of that day still with us. One of those veterans is my Uncle Joe. He turned 99 three weeks ago and he is growing ever more frail.

Recently, I’ve seen several interviews with veterans of DDay, most of whom coincidentally happen to be 99. They all have several things in common. They don’t seem to think they did anything extraordinary that day. I often questioned my father and my uncles, there were four brothers in the family, all of whom served, about their war experiences. Generally, I came away with few if any answers.

I can’t imagine how they would respond if they were still here today, all are gone except for my Uncle Joe, the youngest, if anyone thanked them for their service. One thing that was always apparent to me when talking with them was that none of them thought they had done anything special. Almost everyone they knew was drafted or enlisted. Why would the fact that they accepted their draft notices and followed their orders be viewed as noteworthy?

I know my father didn’t want to go. He was nineteen, drafted in his last semester at The University of North Carolina. He reported when told, I have his draft notice…