I'm not even going to designate this as "Off Topic", because I think it's that important.
I'm 60, and ever since I was a little kid it was impressed upon me that D-Day should be honored as one of the most important days of the year. This impression was instilled in me by my father, and he wasn't even a veteran. He was asked to stay home and farm during WWII.
I always take pause on D-Day to envision what those brave soldiers were asked to accomplish that day. I can't imagine being asked to jump off rocky boats amid all kinds of gunfire, knowing full well that that many of them would never see the sun set that evening.
I often wonder if I would have been strong enough to do what these brave men were asked to do, and I can't imagine that I could have been.
I edited a story written by Dewayne Rahe, an ISU grad and DVM from Dyersville, in the last issue of Our Iowa Magazine titled "The Discovery of Sgt. Rahe". It was a story about an Iowa soldier from New Vienna who wrote a "goodbye" letter to his parents the night before a battle about a month after D-Day. He had a strong inkling that he would not survive the next day's battle, and he was correct. It was the most heart-wrenching and powerful story I've had the privilege to work on in my 7 years at the magazine.
The story meant so much to me, because I admire greatly what the American military has meant to our country over the years...especially those who stormed the beaches of Normandy and all who fought in WWII.
The Greatest Generation....God bless all those who rest in peace today, and those who lived to witness this beautiful morning in Iowa.
I'm 60, and ever since I was a little kid it was impressed upon me that D-Day should be honored as one of the most important days of the year. This impression was instilled in me by my father, and he wasn't even a veteran. He was asked to stay home and farm during WWII.
I always take pause on D-Day to envision what those brave soldiers were asked to accomplish that day. I can't imagine being asked to jump off rocky boats amid all kinds of gunfire, knowing full well that that many of them would never see the sun set that evening.
I often wonder if I would have been strong enough to do what these brave men were asked to do, and I can't imagine that I could have been.
I edited a story written by Dewayne Rahe, an ISU grad and DVM from Dyersville, in the last issue of Our Iowa Magazine titled "The Discovery of Sgt. Rahe". It was a story about an Iowa soldier from New Vienna who wrote a "goodbye" letter to his parents the night before a battle about a month after D-Day. He had a strong inkling that he would not survive the next day's battle, and he was correct. It was the most heart-wrenching and powerful story I've had the privilege to work on in my 7 years at the magazine.
The story meant so much to me, because I admire greatly what the American military has meant to our country over the years...especially those who stormed the beaches of Normandy and all who fought in WWII.
The Greatest Generation....God bless all those who rest in peace today, and those who lived to witness this beautiful morning in Iowa.
