Letter to an Unknown Soldier

In my post about D-Day, I wrote, “In 1942 the President, along with his Joint Chiefs of Staff, coordinate strategy with the British. Winston Churchill foresees that the key to overcoming Germany is to enter France through the formidable Normandy beaches – as unfriendly as they are, they are the least heavily guarded.

Churchill orders the construction of massive beachheads that would allow ships to bring tanks, ammunition, troops and other support into France.

He begins making plans for a major Allied invasion across the channel. Hitler is prepared for an all-out invasion, but assumes the Normandy beaches will be too difficult and has his General, Erwin Rommel shore up the defenses on the Atlantic coast.

For two years the Allies plan the attack and build the beachheads that would allow them to import everything they will need for an extended war. They pinpoint the best day to attack based on the low tides (that would allow the ships to spot and avoid the mines planted by the Germans), and a full moon late in the night to have better visibility once the troops were on the ground.

In May the weather is auspicious, but it starts to turn at the beginning of June with heavy rain, gales of wind and high tides. The Allies are afraid they will have to push the invasion off for another month, which would have been nearly impossible as preparatory measures were already well underway. Finally, the team of meteorologists call for a slight improvement on June 6th, a day later than the invasion had been planned.”

* * * * *

Hearing my husband’s family stories who lived through World War II, and visiting the Normandy Beaches where the invasion that changed the tide of the war took place, gave me a passion for that piece of history. When I visited the museums, the beaches and the American cemetery, I had a lump in my throat the entire time.

In somewhat ironic timing, when Tonya from Letters For Lucas invited me to guest post on her blog for her Letters series, I decided to write a letter to an unknown soldier, not realizing the post was scheduled for the week of Memorial Day. Appropriate.

I do hope you’ll read my letter there, and then take some time to get to know Tonya. She grieved the loss of both her parents in one night from carbon monoxide poisoning, and also suffers from infertility, writing about in a raw, heartfelt way that invites the reader to commiserate, or simply to understand. Despite that, she writes beautifully and bravely, is mom to young Lucas, and she’s wonderful.

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