D-Day Ethics

On October 21st I was fortunate enough to visit the Normandy beaches where D-Day occurred some seventy-two plus years ago on June 6. I read up on it in advance and mentally prepared for the visit to Arromanches-les-Bains, where the Mulberry artificial harbor was placed, Omaha Beach where the greatest casualties were endured, and the American cemetery. But the visit far exceeded my expectations in terms of the sacrifice of the soldiers and the high value placed on duty in combat. We walked through the bunkers that were inhabited by the Nazi soldiers on Omaha Beach some four years before and imagined how they must have felt when the invasion began. We looked down at the cliffs which the American soldiers had to come up in order to begin the the ground invasion. We heard the story of of that day, and the long fighting that continued through June and beyond for that space. It was all very surreal.

I cannot imagine being an American soldier on D-Day. Especially if you were on the front lines of those coming up the cliffs you must have known you could be a sitting duck for the Germans. What a test of duty ethics (deontology) that must have been. I am sure there were cases of those who did not obey orders and do what they were asked to do. But these largely very young soldiers were willing to give up their lives for their country-- and for the cause of freedom.

On the other side the Nazi German soldiers must have included those who wondered whether the cause was worth their life. Perhaps they were brainwashed, as we have come to believe. If from an early age on they were brought into this great cause to give honor back to Germany then they may have simply accepted their plight. But still it was a test of their will to hold that foreign ground in France away from family and homeland for four years. When they were suddenly accosted, most of their lives went down without living a full life.

When you think about it military service is a test of whether one follows the position of duty at every cost or not. Being a person who grew up in the sixties and seventies in America, duty has often taken a bad rap. But love of country, communal identification, and being willing to put a good cause ahead of security are virtuous values of humankind under ordinary circumstances. Although one would have wished that particularly German pastors, leaders, and people had stood up to their crazed leader Adolf Hitler, the rest of them-- like American soldiers and Allied soldiers everywhere were just doing their duty.

We hope that in our day and age we will not ask our young people to climb cliffs like at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France. Although any warfare today will be far less hand to hand, the dilemma of love of country and love of life is one that is most difficult for human beings.

On this Veterans Day eve, I am thankful for all those who gave their life at Normandy and throughout time to insure I would be free. I hope and pray that all warfare like World War II will be avoided in years to come.

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!