The Longest Day

The Longest Day really does star everyone. And it really does have its moments of wit, of poignancy, of terror and of pride. It's quite lengthy but definitely worthy of a few hours' time.

I watched The Longest Day last weekend and I was reminded of my favorite scene — actually, it has moved up to take a place among my favorite scenes in any movie:

Just before the guns of the Allied armada took to fire, a series of officers address their pre-invasion troops. In the movie, the last to speak before the shooting match was a Frenchman who solemnly described the battles already undertaken in Africa and other parts of the world. Then, even more soberly, he said, "Today we fire at our homeland. This is the price of freedom."

Cut to motors turning gun turrets and adjusting for windage and elevation. And ... then ...

Explosions from the breeches of cannons, flames from the muzzles, incessant shelling on the beach, the likes of which no man had ever seen before.

A French civilian, living with his wife directly in the line of fire, is awakened by 16-inch gun shells landing in his back yard, by earth flying up and then down on him, by his entire house and property being shaken in the face of the destruction. Having lived under Nazi rule for years, the man (ignoring his wife, who insists on them seeking shelter) digs his French flag out of hiding, opens his window and starts waving the banner and singing at the top of his lungs.

* * *

My grandfather was in the Navy during World War II, aboard he destroyer escort USS Sanders. During one battle with the Japanese navy, a Kamikaze plane struck, sending shrapnel and probably flames showering into the air ... and then back down.

Grandpa carried tiny pieces of that metal in his forehead and his elbow for the next 40 years. And he made out better than a lot of guys.

Many times in my life I've heard that we're "lucky" to live in such a free, prosperous country as America. I've even furthered that notion myself (in my younger days) but have since realized its folly.

Yes, we live in the greatest, freest, wealthiest nation in the history of the world. But luck did not have a single thing to do with it.

Our nation is great and prosperous because it is free, and it is free — not because of some random stroke of chance — because great men and women before us made it so.

Grandpa and his generation destroyed the Nazi and Japanese empires. And they did it with courage, steel and the sacrifice of their own comfort, safety and (in many cases) future — not with the rabbit's foot in their pocket. Many generations before theirs did similar. Americans have won freedom in battle, not in a lottery.

* * *

The D-Day anniversary each year is the fashionable time for honoring the veterans who won World War II. The logistics of that invasion are mind-blowing, even when compared to today's world of unlimited communication. And the logistics pale in comparison to the profound courage from the individuals involved.

For your enjoyment, I've included a short clip from The Longest Day. (And for the uninitiated: John Wayne's character had suffered a leg injury, he was not simply insisting upon being chauffeured across the European Theater for his own luxury.)