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"It's unimaginable to make such a sacrifice for my freedom, for my son's freedom," said Jean-Philippe Bertrand. "You hear about it on the news and you see the pictures. But once you're here and you see the reality and the sacrifice that has been made for our beautiful country -- I wanted to make the trip once in my life to thank all these people to whom we owe so much."
Bertrand used these words to describe why he was visiting Normandy on the anniversary of D-Day last week to an Associated Press reporter -- and they are words that reflect a sentiment we believe we all should contemplate, not just on D-Day's anniversary but every day.
"I could hear the gunfire, machine guns, bombing aircraft, men screaming, shouting, men giving orders," Marie Scott, a World War II veteran who at the age of 17 relayed messages from troops on the ground to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, said, according to the AP article. "After a few moments of horror, I realized what was happening ... and I thought, well, you know, there's no time for horror. You've got a job to do. So get on with it. Which is what I did."
Nine thousand Allied soldiers were killed or wounded in D-Day's first 24 hours. About 2,500 Americans sacrificed their lives during the invasion. The U.S. military would see around 407,000 lives lost throughout World War II.
The terror and chaos of the landing at Normandy -- and the willingness of men and women, many just months out of high school -- to rise above it, to accomplish a pivotal victory over the Axis and its evil ideology is something we believe needs to be remembered. The willingness to serve and to sacrifice both at D-Day and elsewhere needs to be honored. As we have editorialized in the past, our nation needs to demonstrate a greater commitment to its veterans. Our nation needs to prioritize their needs and it needs to honor their sacrifices more frequently and more fully.
As Jean-Philippe Bertrand said, we all owe these men and women so much.