As the nation marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the last American survivors of the Normandy invasion are mostly men in their 90s. What they and others did on June 6, 1944, will forever be a milestone in history.
Those who fought their way onto the beaches in France during World War II were part of what is called the "Greatest Generation," a apt term now applied to the era of our parents, grandparents or great-grandparents.
We owe the veterans of D-Day an enduring debt.
At the direction of President Franklin Roosevelt, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied commander, and other long-gone leaders, they helped to build the modern world that we live in so many years later.
Our lives would be far different today if Nazi Germany and fascism were not defeated on the ground in Europe in the 1940s by the forces of democracy.
To begin that mission, troops from the United States, Britain, Canada and other allied nations combined on D-Day in the biggest seaborne invasion ever launched and the greatest military campaign ever fought.
The assault across the stormy English Channel by over 150,000 troops, nearly half of them Americans, was supported by almost 7,000 ships of all types.
Operation Overlord targeted a 50-mile stretch of the heavily defended coast of Western France.
Following the deployment of airborne troops, U.S. soldiers attacked Omaha and Utah beaches. The British assaulted Gold and Sword beaches; and the Canadians did the same thing at Juno Beach.
The fate of Allies on D-Day wasn't certain.
The site of the invasion had to be a surprise. There were 55 German divisions in France. No more than eight allied divisions could be transported in the first 24 hours.
This was done at a bloody price.
On what has been called "The Longest Day," the casualty toll for the Allies included nearly 4,500 dead — with just under 2,500 Americans among them.
Some of the dead are buried under rows of white crosses near the beaches and fields where they were killed.
To commemorate those who died 70 years ago on D-Day, June 6, 1944, world leaders were to join in Normandy in a solemn tribute — a salute to the fallen whose courage and bravery shaped history.