We Were Soldiers

…from Tony Perkins, of the FRC:

Twenty-four years ago today, President Ronald Reagan stood above the rocky crags of Normandy, France and commemorated the largest and most significant military operation in the 20th Century. To the brave men who survived D-Day, he said,

You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? …What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love… You all knew that some things are worth dying for.

So many tales of courage from that day have been handed down through the generations like fine heirlooms, knit together in the legacy of self-sacrifice.

One of America’s greatest stories came to an end yesterday as Jack Lucas, the youngest Marine to be awarded the Medal of Honor, died of cancer. After forging his mother’s signature so he could enlist at age 14, Jack begged his superiors to let him fight. He even “stowed away aboard a Navy ship headed for combat in the Pacific Ocean.” When he explained his situation to the officers on board, they granted his wish of fighting the Japanese. It turned out to be one of the best decisions they could have made.

In a trench at Iwo Jima, Jack threw himself on two grenades to protect his squad. When one detonated, he was nearly killed. With hundreds of pieces of shrapnel lodged in every major organ, Jack underwent more than two dozen surgeries-and lived to tell about it. His Medal of Honor notes that his “inspiring action…not only protected his comrades from certain injury or possible death but also enabled them to rout the Japanese patrol and continue the advance.” He died on Thursday after losing his battle with cancer. We remember Jack, as we remember so many soldiers from World War II–with humble gratefulness.

President Reagan said it best when he looked out over Omaha Beach and told our veterans,

Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Additional Resource: Youngest Marine to get Medal of Honor dies

Also see: D-Day Anniversary: Not a Liberal in Sight