Eighty Years...Will We Still Remember in Eighty More

 There seems to be a lot of attention being paid to the events that occurred in France eighty years ago today. I suppose, as it is an anniversary that ends in "0," it helps make the anniversary more meaningful. There's another reason, though. It's the last time any surviving veterans of that day will attend an anniversary that ends in "0." 

In ten years, they'll all be gone. 

That may not be entirely true. People do live past 110 on occasion. And they would have to live that long to hit the ninetieth anniversary of D-Day.

Surviving veterans will number in the tens, if at all.

My father enlisted at 18-years old in 1945. He was part of a B-17 bomber group over Germany. Earlier this year I found his crew, his planes, and the missions...information I never knew. I looked up everyone in the group. They all survived the war, but they're all gone now. I believe my father was the first of the group to go.

Because I never had the opportunity to speak to him about his time in the army, I have a connection to that war, but more in my mind...my imagination. Today, many who not only survived the hell on those beaches, but all the years since, returned to France. They survived living day to day, cheating death month after month, year after year while many of their loved ones did not.

I'm proud that my father served in that conflict as did millions of others. Whenever I see a picture of a B-17, I think of him. It's a beautiful plane...my personal favorite. It's a symbol of a price paid.

 We remember eighty years ago today. Will we remember the day in another eighty years? Few of us will be around--I certainly will not be--but I hope those living will honor the day in a way it deserves to be honored.