June, 6, 1944. D-Day. The Normandy invasion. The beginning of the end
of World War II, and one of the most storied days in American military
history. Today we celebrate not just the 60th anniversary of the event,
but the lives of those who perished on the shores of Normandy and those
who lived to fight for freedom in the days, weeks and months ahead. We
are grateful for their sacrifice, their courage and honor, and for those
who followed in Korea, Viet Nam, the Gulf War and now, Iraq. But more
than anything else, we should be grateful D-Day occurred during a more
innocent time in America. If World War II had been fought in today’s climate
of political correctness and covered by our current military-hating national
media, things would have been quite different. In fact the story of D-Day
might have read something like this…
June 6, 1944. -NORMANDY- Three hundred French civilians were killed and
thousands more wounded today in the first hours of America’s invasion
of continental Europe. Casualties were heaviest among women and children.
Most of the French casualties were the result of artillery fire from American
ships attempting to knock out German fortifications prior to the landing
of hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops.
Reports from a makeshift hospital in the French town of St. Mere Eglise
said the carnage was far worse than the French had anticipated and reaction
against the American invasion was running high. “We are dying for
no reason,” said a Frenchman speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Americans can’t even shoot straight. I never thought I’d say this,
but life was better under Adolph Hitler.” The invasion also caused
severe environmental damage. American troops, tanks, trucks and machinery
destroyed miles of pristine shoreline and thousands of acres of ecologically
sensitive wetlands. It was believed that the habitat of the spineless
French crab was completely wiped out, threatening the species with extinction.
A representative of Greenpeace said his organization, which had tried
to stall the invasion for over a year, was appalled at the destruction,
but not surprised.
“This is just another example of how the military destroys the environment
without a second thought, ” said Christine Moanmore. “And it’s
all about corporate greed.
” Contacted at his Manhattan condo, a member of the French government-in-exile
who abandoned Paris when Hitler invaded, said the invasion was based solely
on American financial interests. “Everyone knows that President Roosevelt
has ties to big beer,” said Pierre LeWimp. “Once the German
beer industry is conquered, Roosevelt’s beer cronies will control the
world market and make a fortune.
” Administration supporters said America’s aggressive actions were
based in part on the assertions of controversial scientist Albert Einstein,
who sent a letter to Roosevelt speculating that the Germans were developing
a secret weapon, a so-called “atomic bomb.” Such a weapon could
produce casualties on a scale never seen before and cause environmental
damage that could last for thousands of years. Hitler has denied having
such a weapon and international inspectors were unable to locate such
weapons even after spending two long weekends in Germany.
Shortly after the invasion began reports surfaced that German prisoners
had been abused by Americans. Mistreatment of Jews by Germans at so-called
“concentration camps” has been rumored but so far, remains unproven.
Several thousand Americans died during the first hours of the invasion
and French officials are concerned that uncollected corpses pose a public
health risk. “The Americans should have planned for this in advance,”
they said. “It’s their mess and we don’t intend to clean it up.”
I’m glad the soldiers who fought and died so bravely on D-Day and throughout
World War II did so decades ago. In the 1940s war was hell, but at least
our troops didn’t have to fight the folks back home.
| A 2004 VERSION OF THE BEGINNING OUR INVASION OF THEN HITLER’S EUROPE D- Day 2004 This op-ed piece appeared |