Friday, June 6, 2014

The Pivotal Moment

D-Day! Wow, seventy years have passed. I've been in my WWII mode, looking at various excellent programs and books about the war, watching Band of Brothers, based on Stephen Ambrose best-selling book. It's a beautiful story, a true account of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles" as they were known, of the United States Army. At the time, the air corps was part of the US army.
The 6th of June, 1944, was a pivotal moment in world history. Got me to thinking about a pivotal moment in the American Revolution. At least one is the Battle of Saratoga, with General Gates of the Continental Army forcing the surrender of British General John Burgoyne and his army. Not only a huge victory for the Continental Army, but it convinced the French that the Americans could win the war! It is then that the French started sending supplies and monies to America. Were it not for this help, perhaps the War of Independence would have had a very different outcome.
Even then, the various countries around the world did not live in a vacuum. The allied victory on the beaches of Normandy was the turning point, and gave the Germans a heads-up. We would be taken very seriously that day forward; the Battle of Saratoga, only 167 years before (September 19, 1777), gave Britian a head-up. The Revolutionaries meant business. And, the rest is history!

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