Remember D-Day

Today is the 70th anniversary of D-Day in World War II. It was this day in 1944 when Allied forces invaded northern France, and was a turning point toward an Allied victory.

D-day is the event that sent 160,000 Allied troops to a French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy. It remains one of the deadliest war conflicts in our nation's history.

In one of the more inspirational and historical messages of a generation, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, told the men, "The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. ...

"I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory! Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."

As we reflect today on those words, we pause to honor the thousands of men who fought the Nazis 70-plus years ago. We say thanks to those who are still among us; they are reaching their twilight years, and there are fewer and fewer D-Day survivors remaining today.

One local tie to D-Day was a brave pilot named Seth McKee. He went to high school in Cape Girardeau and has many friends and family still in the area. McKee, 97 now, was recently interviewed for a lengthy story in The Arizona Republic; he retired in Phoenix some years ago.

McKee, still married to his wife Sally for 73 years, was a young reserve lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Air Corps at the time, and he led a group of 40 P-38 fighter planes, providing cover for the troops below, according to the article. He is a retired four-star general who is the highest ranking survivor of the D-Day invasion in the U.S. He met several U.S. presidents in his time in the military, and was particularly close to President Richard Nixon, who considered McKee a close adviser.

In the article, McKee, who had an aerial view of the battles on Normandy, said "Everybody had their part to play, and the weakest link was how strong we were. ... Everybody, by and large, did a magnificent job." According to the article, McKee figured that of all the pilots under his command, only about 40 percent completed their tours. The rest were either shot down or turned in their wings, unable to take the stress. "If you're afraid to die," he told The Arizona Republic, "you can't be a fighter pilot in the war."

That is the type of bravery that saved the world from the Nazis. We owe a great deal of gratitude to these brave soldiers.