Today marks the Sixty Ninth anniversary of the invasion of France by Allied forces. The young men who threw themselves against fortifications and men manning “Fortress Europa” are mostly gone now. They defeated the Nazis and liberated Europe, then they went back home and lead their lives. Every day there are fewer and fewer of them and every year it seems that fewer members of the following generations remember what they did and the sacrifices the entire nation made to rid the world of tyranny.

That’s a shame, because sacrifice and effort such as that should never be forgotten.

We should also remember how narrow was the margin of victory. The initial landings on Omaha beach were disastrous and for hours the issue was in doubt. A defeat on Omaha would likely have required withdrawing all of the troops and the Germans would have stopped the invasion.

The beaches were held, the Germans were defeated, and eleven months later, Europe was free. Or at least half of it was free, but that’s a story for a different day.

For today, let’s remember the courage of the young men who risked everything to free Europe.