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I'm going to offer a slightly dissenting opinion on this.
D-Day has not and will not ever be forgotten. All you're seeing is that younger and younger generations are desensitized to what happened. It's like the great battles of the Civil War. We learn about it, but there's no direct connection so it's history to us. And we don't make a big deal each year.
To somebody who was (or knows somebody who was) a part of D-Day, it's more real and alive. To my generation and further generations, it's a past event. And while we'll hold big remembrances for the big anniversaries, we don't "celebrate" or make a big deal out of it each year. Right now, we're entering the 150th anniversaries for events of the civil war. You can bet there will be events (especially where I live) dedicated to remembering the negative and positive aspects of the Civil War.
Another example of desensitized history would be Kristallnacht. Next year will be the 75th anniversary. That's a "big" year. Will I hold vigil for it this year? Probably not. Next year will be a different story. It doesn't mean that the event isn't important (note: I'm Jewish by blood) - it's that we live in the present and not the past.
If we held vigil for all events (good or bad), we wouldn't have time to live in the present.
Last edited by gallowsCalibrator; 06-07-2012 at 08:39 AM..
I'm going to offer a slightly dissenting opinion on this.
D-Day has not and will not ever be forgotten. All you're seeing is that younger and younger generations are desensitized to what happened. It's like the great battles of the Civil War. We learn about it, but there's no direct connection so it's history to us. And we don't make a big deal each year.
To somebody who was (or knows somebody who was) a part of D-Day, it's more real and alive. To my generation and further generations, it's a past event. And while we'll hold big remembrances for the big anniversaries, we don't "celebrate" or make a big deal out of it each year. Right now, we're entering the 150th anniversaries for events of the civil war. You can bet there will be events (especially where I live) dedicated to remembering the travesties (and positive aspects) of the Civil War.
Another example of desensitized history would be Kristallnacht. Next year will be the 75th anniversary. That's a "big" year. Will I hold vigil for it this year? Probably not. Next year will be a different story. It doesn't mean that the event isn't important (note: I'm Jewish by blood) - it's that we live in the present and not the past.
If we held vigil for all events (good or bad), we wouldn't have time to live in the present.
Interesting response. Though I told my teenage sons yesterday (June 6) was the anniversary of D-Day, even for a WWII buff like me it is somewhat obscure in the past. No one in my family was there; nobody I know was there. So for me D-Day is a historical event, not a personal one.
I'm going to offer a slightly dissenting opinion on this.
D-Day has not and will not ever be forgotten. All you're seeing is that younger and younger generations are desensitized to what happened. It's like the great battles of the Civil War. We learn about it, but there's no direct connection so it's history to us. And we don't make a big deal each year.
To somebody who was (or knows somebody who was) a part of D-Day, it's more real and alive. To my generation and further generations, it's a past event. And while we'll hold big remembrances for the big anniversaries, we don't "celebrate" or make a big deal out of it each year. Right now, we're entering the 150th anniversaries for events of the civil war. You can bet there will be events (especially where I live) dedicated to remembering the negative and positive aspects of the Civil War.
Another example of desensitized history would be Kristallnacht. Next year will be the 75th anniversary. That's a "big" year. Will I hold vigil for it this year? Probably not. Next year will be a different story. It doesn't mean that the event isn't important (note: I'm Jewish by blood) - it's that we live in the present and not the past.
If we held vigil for all events (good or bad), we wouldn't have time to live in the present.
There will probably be a big rememberance in 2014, that's the 70th anniversary.
Won't be too many veterans around for that, unfortunately.
I think you are very right about the veterans who survive that long.
Here is a video that shows a lot of what it may have been like except for the fact that there are pictures available from LIFE magazine that do it better. This video comes from the Army,
I happened to visit Normandy beach on June 5th, 2004 (the day before the ceremonies; we saw them setting up chairs, etc).
Anyway, at Pointe du Hoc there was an elderly gentleman who was one of the few suriviving Rangers. I believe he was 92, and his name was Walker. A group of us listened to him talk about that day so long ago, and I was indeed proud to be able to shake his hand. It truly brought history alive.
You and Ruckman just forced tears from this old man's eyes.
IIRC - My friend was in the US Army in an Armored Recon Platoon attached to the British Forces.
I would like to take a moment to remember all the German draftees that died fighting for their country. They were just guys like ours. In some cases people in the same family.
I, for one, cannot spend any time in or near swamps. I will never go back to 'Nam.
Compare the youth of the faces of the German POWs in about the 14th or 15th picture on this link. They look much younger than their guards do, to me.
I'm going to offer a slightly dissenting opinion on this.
D-Day has not and will not ever be forgotten. All you're seeing is that younger and younger generations are desensitized to what happened. It's like the great battles of the Civil War. We learn about it, but there's no direct connection so it's history to us. And we don't make a big deal each year.
...
If we held vigil for all events (good or bad), we wouldn't have time to live in the present.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucario
...
No one in my family was there; nobody I know was there. So for me D-Day is a historical event, not a personal one.
Agreed. I don't think there is a concerted effort to forget and/or make others forget, it's just that eventually even the most historically significant events fade into the past and life goes on. One day, the memory of 9/11 will fade, as well.
[there's little that can be reasonably done about it]
By that time the Germans were running out of soldiers; they were drafting younger and younger and older and older people. As well, they were conscripting POWs from conquered armies to fight for them; lots of soldiers in German uniforms who surrendered to the Allies on Normandy's beaches came from everywhere from Poland and the Czech Republic to Mongolia and Korea.
The Greatest Generation earned their names that day.
Yes! They truly are great. Salute to the countries greatest.
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