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June 06th, 2012

6/6/2012

"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." -Winston Churchill

On the morning of June 6, 1944, the Allied Expeditionary Force landed on the shores of Normandy, France, bringing the Western Front to Fortress Europe.

While all of the some 160,000 Allied troops are heroes to be remembered, some of the most impressive were the men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. These men came ashore on the right flank of a 6,000-yard stretch of beach situated between Vierville and Colleville code named "Omaha." Here the 2nd Ranger Battalion assaulted a place called Pointe du Hoc. Atop one hundred foot high sheer and overhanging cliffs sat a German fortification designed to house a coastal battery of six-155mm Howitzers.

Unknown at the time, the Germans had moved these guns a mile and a half inland to protect them from Allied Air Force raids and Naval bombardment. Nonetheless, the fortifications gave the Germans an excellent defensive position from which they could harass then Allied troops massing on Omaha Beach.

Despite a heavy German defense, the men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled these cliffs, driving the Nazis and their French collaborators from their bunkers and fortifications.

These were and are True Heroes. To them, as well as all of the men of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, and especially those of the United States Army, Army Air Forces, Navy, and Marines, and the wives, parents, and children of those who served, let me extend my sincere and profound gratitude.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank you.
William K Elliott

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

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June 05th, 2012

6/5/2012

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There is Hope!
by William K Elliott

Yesterday I met a woman named Emily. I met her in a local bookstore, and my guess is that there are two things about Emily most will not be able to guess: her age, and what she was doing there.

You see, Emily is 17. Even more impressive is that she was there to (you’ll never believe this) buy books. No, really—it’s true—I swear.

Not only was she buying books, but she was buying books other than the big “teen” hits.

Frankly, I was flabbergasted.

It’s not that I don’t know of other people under the age of 80 who also read, it’s just that I rarely run into new people who fall into this category.

There’s Kandyn from down the street of course, but I know her mom—reading is big in her house. She’s also in the home-school Co-op where I teach, and where there are a number of other teens who read. Violet and Priscilla immediately come to mind, but I am sure there are others. Violet is even writing her own book. But most of the kids?

I assigned a book report for the U.S. History class I was teaching. The kids’ response? “Mr. Bill, we don’t like to read.”

The problem is, reading is at the very core of learning.

When you can read (and I don’t mean just managing to sound out all of the words on a page, I mean reading and understanding what was written), you can conceptualize. You can turn words into thoughts and pictures, and thoughts and pictures into words. It’s a skill that is vitally important, and yet it seems that a majority of people “don’t like to read.” As one researcher put it, they’re “alitterate” not illiterate. They can read, but they choose not to, and in doing so they become poor readers.

Worse, they become poor thinkers. If you cannot conceptualize, you cannot conceive of consequences unless someone else spells them out for you. If you cannot conceptualize you’re at the mercy of those who can. You’re a sheep—a cypher—totally dependent on others for the what, how, and why of daily existence.

And who really wants to be a sheep?

So kudos to Emily, Kandyn, and Priscilla. They’re the leaders of our future. I just hope they like shepherding.

3 Comments

June 06th, 2012

June 05th, 2012

There is Hope! by William K Elliott

William K Elliott

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There is Hope!
by William K Elliott