WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- This Sunday will mark the 60th anniversary of Operation Overlord, the code name given to the Allied invasion of France's Norman beaches, and of Europe. It was the largest invasion in the history of mankind and marked the turning point of World War II.
Operation Overlord was a monumental military undertaking that committed unprecedented resources to establish a beachhead in France from which the Allies could rid Europe of the diseases of Nazism and fascism that had claimed millions of lives. But this historic endeavor also established another beachhead in Europe, one that cemented democracy in Europe.
That day -- June 6, 1944 -- is remembered as D-Day.
The designation "D" in D-Day does not really mean anything special. For all the significance it carries, the memories it holds, the emotions it stirs and the history it conjures, it simply stands for "day." Its meaning is no greater the "H" in H-Hour.
Yet D-Day stands for a great deal more.
D-Day stands for Democracy, something that Europe would have never enjoyed, as it does now, were it not for the success of the invasion. It stands for Dedication -- for the sacrifices of the tens of thousands of young men -- Americans, British, Canadians, Poles, Czechs and yes, French, too, who gave their lives on this cold, gray, morning of June 6, 1944, on the sand and rocky beaches of Normandy.
Many of them, still in their teens, died not knowing the gentle towns and picturesque villages that lay ahead, impatiently awaiting their liberation from five years of brutal German occupation. Thousands fell before reaching the sand dunes, amid landmines, tank traps and machinegun nests, part of the Atlantic Wall -- the formidable German fortifications erected by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel -- that cut them down.
Many fell in the towns and villages with unpronounceable names for many of the U.S. and British troops that waded ashore under heavy German gunfire. Names such as Arromanches, Avranches, Bayeux, Caen, Cherbourg, Ouisterham, Ste.-Mere-Eglise and Vierville-sur-Mer and Colleville. The latter being where the remains of 9,387 American servicemen killed on D-Day rest under rows of neat white crosses or Stars of David, amid the serene surroundings of closely manicured lawns and an impressive vista of the very beaches they died assaulting.
To the invading Allied forces these beaches were simply known as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juneau and Sword.
Indeed, 60 years later, these thousands of dead are not forgotten. And it's not purely on D-Day anniversaries that we remember them. Although we only pay them tribute once a year, those of us blessed enough to live in a democracy remember them every day of our lives. Every time we cast a ballot, or exercise our right to freedom of speech, or assembly, or religion, we remember these valiant warriors. America has not forgotten them. And neither has France forgotten them, or Belgium, or for that matter any freedom loving Germans, Italians and Russians. Countries of the "old Europe" and those of the "new Europe," all remember the World War II heroes who paid the ultimate sacrifice for Democracy.
And Democracy means speaking one's mind and it means not always agreeing with one's friends and allies. Democracy means not necessarily have to be "with you," but that it does not automatically make me be "against you." It means having the option to choose. It also means disagreeing but remaining friends.
Democracy means cooperating with allies in Afghanistan and the Balkans, as French and German troops are doing, working alongside U.S. forces, or in Haiti as French and Americans soldiers are currently keeping the peace. It also means being able to disagree on other major policy issues, such as Iraq, all while remaining allies.
Democracy does not mean pouring champagne down the gutters (that is simply a waste of good wine), nor is it renaming French fries, freedom fries. Such acts are belittling the freedom the young men -- Americans, British, Canadians and yes, Frenchmen, too -- who fought on the D-Day beaches for our freedom. Freedom we still enjoy today.
This D-Day, President George W. Bush will participate alongside France's President Jacques Chirac, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, as well as Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at the anniversary ceremonies in Normandy. The representatives of former (and present) allies standing side-by-side leaders of countries that were once enemies. That is what Democracy is all about. It is about moving forward.
Bush will be greeted with protests as he arrives in Rome, Paris and the Norman coast this weekend to partake in the D-Day anniversary ceremonies. Those protesting his visit are not necessarily anti-American. They are people exercising their Democratic right to voice a difference of opinion.
This is maybe best explained by an incident that occurred in my daughter's drama class when the war on Iraq began last year. Some boys in her class wanted to put up a skit in which Chirac would be assassinated because "he hates Americans," as the boys explained it, oversimplifying a complicated political situation.
Isabelle, then only 12, yet always ready to exercise her right to free speech interrupted the proceedings telling the boys they were grossly misinformed. "The French," she said, "do not hate us. They simply disagree with the president's policy on Iraq."
Let's remember that Democracy means being able to disagree from time to time and not waste any more good champagne.
Happy D-Day.
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