Today's DAR
As Chaplain General and Executive Liaison to the Commemorative Events Committee, it was my honor to attend the 80th D-Day Anniversary Commemorative Ceremonies in Normandy, France on June 6th officiated by President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. It was also my honor to place a wreath at the statue of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander for the Normandy Invasion.
Recapping a Special Commemoration at the 80th D-Day Anniversary in Normandy
It is hard to comprehend the experiences of the 16 million Americans – many of them teenagers – who fought in the largest, costliest and bloodiest war in human history. It is harder still to comprehend the devastation of the homeland of the French people. The bombing and destruction of their homes, schools, churches, even their bridges, railways and roads.
I have been asked to describe my most poignant memories of the commemorative ceremony. Well, certainly the Missing Man Formation stirs one’s emotions to the core, the reading of the poem “The Watch” at the conclusion of the ceremony, the reading of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer, but mostly the look on the faces of the US Veterans who were present and especially those receiving honors from President Macron who presented the highest French Military Honor, the French Legion of Honor medal to eleven US Veterans, all nearing or having achieved the age of 100.
But, my most lasting memory was not one from the ceremony. It was of the French people, in the small towns surrounding Utah and Omaha Beaches, their excitement and gratitude. Although many were too young to have lived through and remembered the devastation of the war, they are very much aware that those six years of war represented an era that shaped the world today and for the foreseeable future.
President Biden described the valor of the US Forces by saying “they were brave, they were resolute, they were ready.” And I add to that, they were indeed the Greatest Generation and even after 80 years, their legacy lives on.
As a DAR member, I must say that my proudest moment had to be when President Biden recognized US Veteran Marjorie McKenney Stone. Marjorie was one of 14 Veterans seated on the platform with President Biden. She is a US Navy Veteran and served as an Aviation Machinist Mate in World War II. Marjorie is an active DAR member of the Fort Pickens Chapter, Gulf Breeze, Florida and she celebrated her 101st Birthday on July 4. We were thrilled to have Marjorie join us on National Defense Night at Congress so that the President General could recognize this treasured Daughter and honor her service to our country by presenting her with the President General’s Medallion.
It was an honor to be representative of DAR at those special ceremonies in Normandy, France in early June and to share them with our members at Congress.
