Whenever I hear a person disparge history classes in school it is often based on the following: “History is just memorizing dates, places, and people. Who cares what happened long ago?”
Perhaps it was their teacher or the way the subject was taught but to Papa 1066, 1492, and 1776 represent much more than dates committed to memory. It is the event, its causations and the impact on the future that make history compelling. (However, I do plead guilty that at times I use dates as hints for the 677 passwords I must use in modern life.)
June 6, 1944 was, in my opinion, the event that has had the most lasting effect on all who are fortunate enough to presently live in free countries. That was the day the invasion of Fortress Europe started which led to the fall of fascism in Europe. It is unthinkable to imagine what America and the free world would look like if World War Two had been lost by the Allies. Less than one year after D-Day Hitler was kaput.
It may not matter if a student fails to memorize a specific date. Ball park figures can’t hurt if one makes the effort to dig for knowledge of why an event was needed, what happened, and the future it ensured. D-Day is a story of sacrifice so that others (we) could still be free and enjoy individual liberty. Look it up. Read about it. It was an enormous undertaking requiring tons of supplies, thousands of planes, ships and vehicles, tens of thousands of troops and unmatched courage. Mostly young soldiers from America, Canada and Britain waded, crawled and fought their way ashore with back packs weighing up to 88 pounds. Within five days about 325,000 soldiers were in France. D-Day led to an epic victory. It is an event that should help us appreciate the value of being free.