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My father’s serviceonD-Day80years ago –thehorror,thesheer hellofcrossingthesand that morning – was all somethingofan abstraction to me. That changed when I saw”Saving Private Ryan,” Steven Spielberg’s masterful, shocking film depictingthehorroroftheOmaha Beach landingsandthegrueling combat that followed.
Suddenly, I could picture it: At just 18 years old, my dad landed withthefirst wave at Utah Beachandfought forthenext month, until a German bullet pierced his helmet, entering his skullandnearly killing him.
I called my father – by that point retired from a half-century career in dairy distribution – fromthelobbyofthemovietheater, enquiring how he had done it: How did he leave that landing craft facing imminent death? His simple answer was, “It was my duty, son.”
Members of an American landing unit help their comrades ashore during the Normandy invasion. (Louis Weintraub/Pool Photo via AP)
Patriotic values had always been a partofour family. Butthenotionofduty – so calmanddevoidofself-interest – seemed almost unreal.
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I pressed him further,andhe wenton: “I wasn’t going to let downtheguy to my right, ortheguy to my left, or Gen. Roosevelt intheboat aheadofme.” His conceptionofduty, it was clear, consistedofan unwavering commitment to service above self. No exceptions.
It was serviceandsacrifice like my dad’s that led to his generation rightly being labeled “thegreatest.” Butthey are nottheonly generation who can embody this ideal. In fact, a renewed commitment to service above self is an antidote tooneofthegreatest troublesofour present age: how to bringthelessonsofthepast forward with us,andlearn fromthem.
VideoREMEMBER D-DAY AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY, EVERY DAY
Americans today are more disconnected from our history, more dismissiveofits lessonsandless appreciativeofits gifts than ever.Theeffects are grave: we’ve become more fragmented, entitledandblind totherisksofa world run amok.
A key effectofpursuing service above self, however, is an appreciationoftheserviceofothers – andtheserviceofthose who came before. This gratitude is deeper than sentimentality: it allows us to understandthetollofwarandthevalueofpeace. It urges us to connectthepast withthepresentandtake part intheongoing battle between freedomandtyranny.
Gratitude also helps weave togetherthefabricofour nation. Though my family came to America from England following World WarI, I’m indebted to centuriesofAmericans who served this country to make it prosperousandfree,thegreatesttheworld had ever known.
American medics render first aid to troops wounded in the initial landings on Utah Beach, France, June 6, 1944. (PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
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Ioften think aboutthescoresofpatriots who fell inthefields surrounding my home in Pennsylvania during George Washington’s defeat attheBattleofBrandywine in 1777. What werethey thinkingoftheir sacrificeandthegenerations to follow?
One might grant thatD-Dayandother great sacrifices were laudable, but complain inthenext breath thattheworld is much more complicated today. In a worldofmurkier morality,they say, such selfless devotion is no longerthemodel to follow.
Tothecontrary, murky areasofmorality are not new. How couldone better describethecircumstancesofthewounded young menoftheGerman Wehrmacht, whom my father guarded as prisoners yet cared forandbonded with?
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower talks with American paratroopers on the evening of June 5, 1944, as they prepared for the Invasion of Normandy, in Berkshire, England, June 5, 1944. (Underwood Archives/Getty Images)
D-DAY BATTLE SITES EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD SEE AS EPIC INVASION FASCINATION DRAWS MILLIONS TO NORMANDY
Thedifference betweentheir situationandmy dad’s,ofcourse, wastheprinciplesofthenation for whichthey were fighting.
America isandhas always been imperfect, but that’s allthemore reason to roll up our sleevesandget to work. Preserving, improvingandsharing our cultureoffreedomanddemocracy requires immense sacrifice, greatandsmall.
Thetangible threats America faces, moreover, are momentous. AssecretaryoftheNavy, I had a front-row seat to assessthemilitary capabilitiesofChina’s People’s Liberation ArmyandNavy. Simply put, we’ve never been in a situation where a near peer competitor is as strongandwell-equipped.
American soldiers leave a landing craft under fire, on D-Day, June 6, 1944. (Roger Viollet via Getty Images)
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Onanniversaries like this, when you walk throughtheimpeccable military cemeteries cared for bytheAmerican Battle Monuments Commission, it’s natural to wonder if America is capableofthat depthofserviceanddevotion today. I have no doubt, though, that our younger generations are capable.Theyoung troops with whom I hadthehonor to serve alongside in Iraq, displayedtheresilienceoftheir predecessors daily.
But before it comes time to put aside internecine quarrelsandface a common enemy, I hope Americans remember this:thepast matters.ThestoryofD-Dayisthestoryofyouandthenation you’re living in. As such it isalwaysthetime to do your dutyandput service above self.
Ambassador Kenneth J. Braithwaite served as the 77th U.S. secretary of the Navy following a career as a U.S. naval officer, attaining the rank of rear admiral.
