I recently had the opportunity – the privilege, really – to visit the D-Day Memorial at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. We were there on a calm day, but I could imagine the pounding waves and high winds that accompanied the 34,000 American soldiers on their amphibious assault in that bold but desperate attempt to push the Nazis out of France. Most of them were young men – boys, really, many only 19 or 20 years old. They were cold, wet, seasick, frightened – and yet they stormed the beach, as was their duty. Only about 5,000 of them survived the day.

There’s a beautiful sculpture there, with its feet in the water and its three “wings” soaring above, symbolizing hope, freedom and fraternity. The accompanying plaque says that the memorial is a “reminder to coming generations that those who died did so in defense of or shared values of tolerance and freedom.” It was that phrase that brought me to tears, as I reflected on how far away from those “shared values” our country has become.

Since both my dad and my grandfather served in WWII (although not in Europe), I grew up with a strong sense that these values are critical to who we are. I also learned that that it’s equally critical to maintain those shared values with our allies. I grieve their loss with the actions of the current administration, and I fear that it will be decades, if ever, before we recapture them.

Susan Trask
Auburn