Today we celebrate the landing of Allied (I said Allies because the US did not act alone) troops on the beaches of Normandy to start the end of the Nazi war machine’s domination of Europe.
Veterans gathered Friday in Normandy to mark the 81st anniversary of the D-Day landings — a pivotal moment of World War II that eventually led to the collapse of Adolf Hitler’s regime.
Along the coastline and near the D-Day landing beaches, tens of thousands of onlookers attended the commemorations, which included parachute jumps, flyovers, remembrance ceremonies, parades, and historical reenactments.
Many were there to cheer the ever-dwindling number of surviving veterans in their late 90s and older. All remembered the thousands who died.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commemorated the anniversary of the D-Day landings, in which American soldiers played a leading role, with veterans at the American Cemetery overlooking the shore in the village of Colleville-sur-Mer.
The June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion of Nazi-occupied France used the largest-ever armada of ships, troops, planes and vehicles to breach Hitler’s defenses in western Europe. A total of 4,414 Allied troops were killed on D-Day itself.
“The heroism, honor and sacrifice of the Allied forces on D-Day will always resonate with the U.S. Armed Forces and our Allies and partners across Europe,” said Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, deputy commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. “So let us remember those who flew and fell.
“Let us honor those who survived and came home to build a better world. And let us ensure that their sacrifice was not in vain by meeting today’s challenges with the same resolve, the same clarity of purpose, and the same commitment to freedom.”
https://apnews.com/article/france-dday-anniversary-normandy-77034f1e01fac2bda85d4518832ce5c6
While most Americans are celebrating the assault that lead to VE Day…..veterans are gathering to protest….protesting the slicing of benefits to veterans that served this country faithfully (which is more than Donny and his band of merry gangsters ever did)….
Veterans across the United States will gather on June 6, 2025, to protest the Trump administration’s cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the slashing of staff and programs throughout the government. Veteran-led protests will be held at the National Mall, 16 state capitol buildings and over 100 other venues across 43 states.
Veterans are disproportionately affected by federal cuts, in part because they make up only 6.1% of the U.S. population but, because of “veterans preference” in federal hiring, they compose 24% of the 3 million federal workers facing mass layoffs under the Trump administration.
Veterans also depend on comprehensive, free, federally funded health care through VA clinics throughout the country. But that care is deteriorating due to cuts, rule changes and return-to-work policies that make it impossible for many VA workers to effectively provide care.
Looming cuts to the VA may cause an irreversible blow if the VA stops providing comprehensive care to veterans and, instead, pushes veterans into seeing doctors in private practice.
This is not the first time that veterans have engaged in mass mobilization. Veterans groups in the U.S. have successfully mobilized for centuries, crossing traditional political divisions such as race, class and gender. They are powerful messengers, and their actions in the past have helped secure back pay and pensions for veterans, a Social Security and welfare system for U.S. civilians, and foreign policy changes to end wars abroad.
I’m a scholar of law, social movements and veterans benefits. Here’s a brief history of veterans’ campaigns that illustrates how veterans developed their political clout and effectively advocated to protect themselves, and many others, from harmful federal policies.
More thoughts on why the vets have decided to go it alone…..https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/06/bonus-army-d-day-protest-veterans-affairs-donald-trump/
History shows us that veterans have had to fight for the promises that the government gave them to get them to enlist and fight their wars….once the vets were used up the guarantees and promises were soon forgotten by the government and the country.
I say kudos to me fellow veterans that refuse to roll over and play dead…..like so many Americans have done.
They deserve every ounce of benefits and probably a lot more.
I hope that this protest will be the spark to a wider movement as the veterans did for the anti-war protests of the 70s.
+++Note: This will be my only post today for another trip to the Cancer Center is due….yet another scan and meeting with a doctor…..I will be checking back ever so often to see how things are going…..I will be back tomorrow with more stuff. Thanx for all your understanding and support.+++
I hope every one of my friends here on IST has a wonderful weekend….and always….Be Well and Be Safe…..
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”