The battle for Vierville sur Mer was one
of the bloodiest of the war given the small area taken.
A significant percentage of American D-Day casualties
occured here. Literally hundreds of GIs died in the space
of a few hours. Many of them survived the first hour,
but were wounded. Most of the wounded from the first
wave drowned as the tide came in and they were too weak
from shock and blood loss to escape the rising water.
Their deaths while tragic, were not in vain. They
changed the course of history. In 1939 at the outbreak
of the war, the only true democracies were Britain, France,
and the United States. Because of the selfless acts of
so many brave men on the beaches of Normandy, today Freedom
is more than just a dream. Today instead of fighting
over resources and ideologies, Europe is moving closer
and closer to true unification.
World War Two began because we, the defenders of Freedom,
pursued a policy of "peace at any cost." Such a policy
always leads to war.
In order to guarantee our Freedom and to prevent
another huge
war,
it is
imperative
that
we
in the West
maintain
our vigilance and our strength so that powerful despots
as we saw in those dark days may never rise again
and threaten the values of Freedom upon which our representative
governments are founded. |
