Local opinion: They were not suckers and losers

You should not go to the killing fields of France to honor the American war dead unless you are prepared to absorb and accept the depth of the connection between America and France — the hallowed ground of the Americans who permanently reside beneath the crosses. June 6 should be carved deep into the collective American memory, but not just the Battle of Normandy, which began on June 6, 1944. June 6, 1918, should also be a day of collective remembrance because that day (according to the publication “Marine Parents”) marks the beginning of the Battle of Belleau Wood, a battle won by US Marines at a horrific cost of 8,000 to 9,000 casualties and more than 1,800 deaths. The burden of the crosses from both numbered wars has been transferred to NATO and to all who are willing to accept the heavy burden of sacrifice in the defense of democracy and freedom against fascism and tyranny.

There is a burden if you go to Normandy to see and walk the hallowed grounds — the fields of carefully manicured lawns where glistening white crosses blanket the green in perfect alignment, in rows so numerous counting would be difficult. There is respect and solemnity in the perfect military symmetry, order, enormity, yet anonymity of the tombs — following the horrible disorder and senselessness, yet necessity, of both individual and collective sacrifice. Can you carry the heavy burden of respect if you go to Omaha Beach to reflect on the difficulty of establishing the beachhead from which to launch an assault against a torrent of enemy defensive fire? Can you shoulder the burden of meaning and insight if you go to Utah Beach to spot the position of the USS Bayfield as it launched those who would be among the ubiquitous white crosses of Normandy?

There is the peril borne of compulsory reflection if you go to the American cemetery or the American monument near the village of Belleau about 100 kilometers northeast of Paris — the battle site renamed “The Wood of the Marine Brigade.” To go, to see, to walk among the crosses, and to reflect exacts the heavy price of recognition that the American crosses of World War I intersect with the crosses of World War II, just as the causes of World Wars I and II are inextricably linked. The burden of the crosses is the commitment to forever protect the hallowed ground from fascism and tyranny. This is the commitment of NATO.

How could anyone possibly respect the crosses unless part of the sacrifice lying in hallowed ground beneath is transferred to the living also to fight against today’s tyranny? We can respect the crosses by helping Ukrainian democracy prevail against Putin’s seizure of Ukrainian sovereign territory. We can respect the crosses by repudiating the white supremacy autocratic movement in America that sullies and tries to destroy the sacred values of democratic self-governance. The burden of the crosses is to be willing to die to prevent the latest forms of fascism at home.

Do not turn away from the crosses as a former president did when he called them “losers.” The American dead in Normandy paid the ultimate price to enable the former president the freedom to disrespect them. But we do not have to respect him by electing him once again to do what he has vowed to do— to weaken or even destroy NATO, the collective security edifice birthed by the sacrifice of those who lie beneath the crosses of Normandy.

Do not turn away from the crosses of the American dead in the killing fields of World War I as a former American president did when he called them “suckers” for having given their lives. This from a man who avoided being drafted into military service by fabricating “bone spurs” in his feet as a disqualifying medical condition. The press reported that the president declined to go to the battle site of Belleau Wood, where hundreds of American Marines lost their lives because a light rain had begun to fall and would affect the president’s hair. The press also reported that he lied when he later defended his decision by saying that there was no helicopter or other means of transport to the battle site.

I will not vote to elect a president who sullies the crosses with the labels of “suckers” and “losers.” I think veterans should reflect on the burden of the crosses before they vote. The survival of NATO is worn on the crosses of Normandy and Belleau Wood.