The picture above is titled “Into the Jaws of Death.” It was taken during the D-Day invasion in World War II as American soldiers waded into the meat grinder of Omaha Beach, which was heavily fortified by the Nazis.
What do you think these soldiers were thinking? What do you think they fought and died for? It's absolutely essential that we remember.
Today, on Memorial Day, we remember and honor the nearly three million American soldiers who have died since the American Revolution. Flags will be flown at half-staff starting at dawn, then raised briskly to full-staff at noon where they will fly for the remainder of the day.
Nazi Germany is remembered as one of the most horrific regimes in our lifetimes, but it has plenty of company in the annals of human history. Tyrants have exercised autocratic rule since mankind first organized governments and will continue to do so for as long as they’re permitted to, as they do now in places like Communist China and North Korea.
America stands for freedom, above all else. Despite our imperfect realization of that ideal, we are forever dedicated to striving toward a more perfect union to secure the blessings of liberty. Without eternal vigilance, and without courageous warriors willing to plunge headlong into the jaws of death, those who seek to rule by force will always subjugate those who seek only to live their lives.
Though the overreach of government officials across the country has paled in comparison to the atrocities of the Nazis, it’s nonetheless a step along a dark, dangerous path.
If we're to properly honor our fallen soldiers this Memorial Day, we must remember not only that they died but why they died and commit to ensuring they did not die in vain.
