Le Monument aux Morts - National D-Day Memorial

Le Monument aux Morts, created by sculptor Edmond de Laheudrie (1861–1946), was dedicated on May 16, 1921 in memory of the forty-four men of Trévieres, France, who died in World War I.

During the Normandy invansion, shrapnel or a round struck the head of the figure and removed her face below the upper lip and most of her throat.

The statue at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, is a recausting of Laheudrie's sculpture. This recasting preserves the World War II damage that still disfigures the World War I original still standing in France.

According to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation, this statue's prominent placement in Edward R. Stettinius Jr. Parade, the component of the National D-Day Memorial that symbolizes the journey from the hedgerows of Normandy to the new frontlines of the Cold War, "delivers a sober lesson on the transcience of victory and the fragility of peace."

Election Day!

It's election day. Pray for God's guidance. Consider carefully the stands of each of the viable candidates. Vote for the one whose platform more closely conforms to the directives of scripture.

Our salvation is not found in politics. But we must not ignore the importance of our civic duty and the impact of the Christian faith upon our votes.

God bless America!

Obama's advice - Vote McCain

The day is here. Go out and vote for McCain—now.

Tribute to Eisenhower

The D-Day Memorial is a tribute to the day the Allied Forces breached the European defenses of Adolph Hitler's war for world domination. I'm afraid that our nation does not remember this day and I'm afraid that we have forgotten our tremendous debt of gratitude that is owed to the soldiers who stormed these beaches and turned the tide of the war.

The pictures in this post are of the statuary presenting busts of the United States generals and advisers. The focal point of this grotto is the large domed tribute to General Eisenhower. The statues and busts in the memorial are 125% of life size, so the 5'2" Eisenhower is shown at 7 feet tall. The impact this man had on the outcome of the war makes me think that his statue is a bit too small, even at this enlarged size.

Underneath the domed roof over Eisenhower's head is a tiled representation of the D-Day invasion planning map. Looking at this map and the statue of General Eisenhower and considering the sacrifice made by the young men who were willing to sacrifice themselves in order to stop the spread of evil in the world is truly a moving experience.

D-Day: It is hard to conceive the epic scope of this decisive battle that foreshadowed the end of Hitler's dream of Nazi domination. Overlord was the largest air, land, and sea operation undertaken before or since June 6, 1944. The landing included over 5,000 ships, 11,000 airplanes, and over 150,000 service men.

After years of meticulous planning and seemingly endless training, for the Allied Forces, it all came down to this: The boat ramp goes down, then jump, swim, run, and crawl to the cliffs. Many of the first young men (most not yet 20 years old) entered the surf carrying 80 pounds of equipment. They faced over 200 yards of beach before reaching the first natural feature offering any protection. Blanketed by small-arms fire and bracketed by artillery, they found themselves in hell.

When it was over, the Allied Forces had suffered nearly 10,000 casualties; more than 4,000 were dead. Yet somehow, due to planning and preparation, and due to the valor, fidelity, and sacrifice of the Allied Forces, Fortress Europe had been breached.

From the D-Day Memorial tour brochure

Read my wife's post about The Bedford Boys.

Aiming at the wrong target

This morning as I booted my computer and prepared for the day's work, I turned on the TV to watch the morning's news. One of the reports this morning discussed the fact that a liberal talk show host has called for Joe the Plumber to be killed [video - caution—profanity laced].

I was amazed at how far someone would take their political ideology. But even more I was shocked that someone would target the entirely wrong person in their political anger. If you really hate John McCain, why turn against Joe the Plumber, whose only fault was that he asked a political candidate a question and got an answer?

John 12:9-11

When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

Then I opened my bible to begin my devotions and I read John 12, which contains the verses in the callout box. The chief priests really hated Jesus. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, which had brought some celebrity status to Lazarus. People were coming to the Jesus rallies to see Lazarus. So the chief priests, who hated Jesus and didn't want people to believe him, turned their sights on Lazarus. Lazarus had not raised himself from the dead. We have no record of Lazarus preaching the gospel to any great extent. But he was under the threat of death because his very existence caused people to be interested in Jesus' teachings.

I guess things have not changed so much.

Be sure to vote tommorrow. But remember not to get your sights focused on the wrong target. This world (and this nation) is not our home. We should vote and we should choose the man who will be best for our country and whose policies most closely parallel scriptural mandates. But we cannot put our hope in a political candidate.

My hope is in the Lord
Who gave Himself for me
And paid the price for all my sins
At Calvary

National D-Day Memorial - Bedford, Virginia

Yesterday our family visited the National D-Day memorial in Bedford, Virginia. Bedford is very close to Lynchburg but is more rural and surrounded by higher mountain peaks. It's a beautiful small town with wondrous character.

We visited Bedford in September [post about Bedford] during their Centerfest Fall Festival and were impressed with the beauty of the town and the friendliness of the people who live there—all 6,000 of them. Well, we didn't actually meet all 6,000 of them, but the ones we met were great and very hospitable.

So why was a town of 6,000 residents chosen to host the National D-Day Memorial?

Bedford proper may be seen in the background

Our tour guide explained to us that on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), nineteen young men from the town of Bedford died storming the beaches. In 1944 Bedford had fewer than 3,000 residents, so the number of soldiers from Bedford who died on that day were the most per capita deaths from any one town in the United States. For this reason, Bedford was chosen as the location for the National D-Day Memorial. The gorgeous natural surroundings are an additional reason that this memorial is so beautiful.

I'm going to post a bit more over the next few days and share a few more photos with you. I'll also provide some links to the National D-Day Memorial web site so you can plan your trip to this outstanding memorial.

Blog Header - November 2, 2008

Today's blog header was taken during our family's summer vacation in 2007. We stayed at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and this photo was taken from in front of our room. This is the largest of Disney's seven resorts and is absolutely wonderful. There are many cabins situated around a very large lake (the lake shown in the blog header). There are seven swimming pools plus a large pool at the town center.

We were treated like royalty there and although the resort is the largest Disney resort, it never felt crowded. In fact, it seemed very quiet and peaceful all the time.

If you ever get a chance to take an extended vacation at Disneyworld, consider staying at one of their resorts. The prices are great and the location can't be beat, since you're already right there at Disneyworld. We didn't go back to our car a single time after we arrived until the final day when we packed up to leave. It's a wonderful family time.

Quotes to consider this election season

From the blog WI Catholic Musings, where I found the letter from Holocaust survivor Lori Kalner, here are some quotes that we should all ponder as we head toward Tuesday's elections.

"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
—George Santayana

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
—Edmund Burke

"Better be despised for too anxious apprehensions, than ruined by too confident security."
—Edmund Burke

And one more quote—this time from the wisest man in the history of the world, King Solomon:

Proverbs 21:1   The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

An uneducated electorate

Raisin' McCain - John Rich