D-Day 75th Anniversary

We're in the business of celebrating heroes, and among the many heroes this nation has spawned, the veterans of the June 6, 1944 invasion of Normandy Beach hold a special place all their own.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I grew up with this date emblazoned in my mind. For as long as I can remember, June 6th was a day to celebrate the selfless courage of the men who braved all.

So, since we're in the business of creating heroes, I thought it would be appropriate today to celebrate the 75th anniversary.

CBS ran a story that included an interview with a 99 year-old veteran who was one of the first men on the beach.

This video includes touching footage of many of the Royal Marine veterans.

When we're talking craft, we often talk about needing tp create characters who are flawed and dynamic. I think these interviews are interesting because none of the men pretend to be perfect. They admit their fear, praying to God, and wondering if they'd make it. Many of them said they couldn't face the memories for many years after they returned.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~JAMES NEIL HOLLINGWORTH

So, in honor of all those who courageously fought their fears because defeating Hitler was so much more important, let us say THANK YOU. Your very lives define the word hero.

Allie Pleiter on Veteran's Day

It’s Veteran’s Day.

Professionally, I’m writing a WWI novel and I would love to be able to speak to the Great War’s long gone veterans.  My research tells me it was a brutal war. I’ve had the opportunity to read letters from soldiers that made me cry.  Still, that’s mostly academic, and I feel totally unqualified to write today’s post.   I come from a completely military-less family.  Short of a couple of my husband’s co-workers and one writer friend, I don’t even know military people personally.

In theory, every American citizen should be qualified to respect the military, to honor those in service.  An experience a few years ago, however, showed me how little I really know of the sacrifices those families make in my name.

I was hired to speak at an army base near me just after my parenting book FACING EVERY MOM’S FEARS came out.  The idea was to translate the fear-fighting tactics I’d researched for this book so that they could be used to fight the fears that plague families with loved ones in combat.  I thought it was a wonderful invitation, and I was thrilled to put this valuable information to such good use.

I was unprepared for the emotional impact of the people I met.  Wives who couldn’t bring themselves to leave home because they might miss the phone call from their husbands--the phone call that could be their last conversation.  Mothers paralyzed by the darkness of knowing their sons are in harms way, but not knowing exactly where their sons are.  Teens aware but too young to handle the continual stress of a parent in combat.  Women afraid to discuss their bone-deep fears with their husbands because “the last thing he needs to do is worry more about me at home.”  It was an awe-filled, humbling experience for me.  I left knowing just how little I knew.  I was struck silent by the huge sacrifices made to which I had never given a moment’s thought.  People have not just lost loved ones to war--I saw the lives of the living devastated by the burden of service.

You may not be able to attend a service or ceremony today, but you can stop and say a prayer for our service men and women, for their families, for those grieving a loss or those struggling with survival.  I know I will.