Rendezvous with Destiny - June 6th

Family Photo of "Les Braves" at Omaha Beach in Normandy - Memorial Day 2017

I created this sculpture to honour the courage of these men:
Sons, husbands and fathers, who endangered and often sacrificed their lives in the hope of freeing the French people. - Anilore Banon

     Since the surgery in February to replace the tumor-filled vertebrae with a ceramic cage, plates and screws I have slowly but steadily recovered. There were days I wondered which direction I was going and should I give up the fight... but it never seemed like a good day to give up so I kept going. 

     This led to us planning another trip, this time to France. We were on the Normandy Beaches on Memorial Day. What an amazing place. We were overwhelmed with the courage shown and sacrifice given by these young men. Each person, doing their part, mattered. I just wanted to share my gratitude on this June 6th for their example on June 6th 1944, 73 years ago. Thank you for your gift to freedom's cause.

     Because of melanoma, I cannot see the future and do not know my rendezvous with destiny. I cannot know my path.  I don't know how many good days I will have so I enjoy every one with my sweet family and friends. This quote stood out in my mind as I contemplate the similarities between myself and those courageous soldiers leaving the boats to take the beach.

“We do not know or seek what our fate will be. We ask only this, that if die we must, that we die as men would die, without complaining, without pleading and safe in the feeling that we have done our best for what we believed was right.”

“Oh Lord, protect our loved ones and be near us in the fire ahead and with us now as we pray to you.”

All were silent for two minutes as the men were left, each with his individual thoughts. Then the Colonel ordered, “Move out.” 

— Lt. Col. Robert L. Wolverton, commanding officer of 3rd battalion, 506th PIR.

and destiny took over...

This picture of silhouettes as a memorial to the fallen soldiers helps me visualize just how many lives were lost that day.

https://weather.com/news/news/9000-fallen-soldier-silhouettes-etched-normandy-beach-make-moving-d-day-memorial-pho

I loved this quote which so beautifully states the importance of each person doing their job in World War II. It still applies today as we move forward in our duties and responsibilities. No job is too small or unimportant. 

On 19 August 1942, its first commander, Major General William C. Lee, read out General Order Number 5:^[16]

The 101st Airborne Division, which was activated on 16 August 1942, at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny.

Due to the nature of our armament, and the tactics in which we shall perfect ourselves, we shall be called upon to carry out operations of far-reaching military importance and we shall habitually go into action when the need is immediate and extreme. Let me call your attention to the fact that our badge is the great American eagle. This is a fitting emblem for a division that will crush its enemies by falling upon them like a thunderbolt from the skies.

The history we shall make, the record of high achievement we hope to write in the annals of the American Army and the American people, depends wholly and completely on the men of this division. Each individual, each officer and each enlisted man, must therefore regard himself as a necessary part of a complex and powerful instrument for the overcoming of the enemies of the nation. Each, in his own job, must realize that he is not only a means, but an indispensable means for obtaining the goal of victory. It is, therefore, not too much to say that the future itself, in whose molding we expect to have our share, is in the hands of the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division."