Service, honor, valor, and thanks

I spent several hours Saturday overwhelmed with emotion from visiting the D-Day Museum, which is now the National World War II Museum, in New Orleans. We owe so much to the men and women of that generation. I will be forever grateful for the hell which they endured so that I could live in a better world.

Here's an excerpt from the entry shown on the right, from the diary of Sidney J. Montz:

Hit line of departure, first & 2nd wave practically on the beach. All Hell broke lose from the beach, some boats hit by 88, they are on beach & going in. We are near beach & 88 opened up on the boat on our right & almost hit us. Some boats hit land mine, lucky we landed because much more we would have sunk, water still rough. Jumped out in waist deep water about 500 or 600 yds from sea wall, the longest I have ever seen in my life, M.G., mortar, & artillery fire around us, finally in shallow water & able to run, had to miss all types of obstacles in & out the water. Picked up six rds. of 81mm amm. on the way, it seemed as though we would never reach sea wall. Men being blown up & hit all around me. You could hear them scream, it was horrible. Finally hit sea wall, stopped to get a blow & bearing, Gen. Roosevelt walking around telling everyone to clear beach or they would be killed.

The items in the photo below belonged to First Lieutenant Walter S. McIlhenny (that's McIlhenny, as in you've undoubtedly eaten his family's Tabasco sauce), who was in the First Marine Division. The dent in his helmet was caused by a Japanese officer. McIlhenny surprised the man on Guadalcanal. The Japanese soldier grabbed the first weapon at hand, that sword, in its scabbard, and hit McIlheney on the head. As he was falling, the American lieutenant shot and killed the Japenese officer before passing out, to awake on a stretcher with his dented helmet and the sword beside him. Here's a portion of the citation he received with his Navy Cross:

In a frontal assault upon a strongly fortified enemy position, nine casualties were suffered. Lieutenant McIlhenny organized a volunteer party to advance and evacuate the wounded. ... Armed only with a rifle, and while under heavy enemy mortar and machine gun fire, h e silenced a machine gun nest and covered the advance and withdrawal of the rescue party. After ... completing his mission ... he returned to a vantage point close to the enemy lines and, despite enemy sniper fire, furnished information necessary for fire control until ordered ... to leave his observation post.

America has been blessed with an abundant supply of such men. One of those men is the father of Greg Sullivan (Sippican Cottage). I wasn't sure whether I was going to post about my D-Day Museum excursion until I woke up and read Greg's post this morning and felt the always-amazing synchronicity of the world around us. Greg's father was a ball gunner on a B-24J Liberator during the War, and he recently visited the last Liberator still in flying condition at an air show. Please read Greg's recounting of the visit; it brought tears to my eyes. His father may ask for nothing, but we owe him everything. Thank you, Mr. Sullivan, and may God be with you and all your comrades in arms.