World War II
Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!
March 02, 2011
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Once upon a time
There was a writer
Who wrote only in rhyme
And made children’s reading brighter
_____________________________
He wrote of a grinch and a cat
And green eggs and ham
We know his stories down pat
They’re simple, not glam
_____________________________
Dr. Seuss was his name
Of course, it was fictitious
But his creations were wonderful,
Funny and ridiculous
Dr. Seuss was the nom de plume of Theodor Seuss Geisel, born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Although his Dr. Seuss stories are well-known, Geisel’s credits are substantial beyond his books for the learning-to-read set.
Geisel was a member of filmmaker Frank Capra’s team for the Why We Fight series, a group of films geared to educate soldiers about the American reasons for fighting in World War II. Geisel admired Capra’s ability to connect with his fellow creators. He recalled an incident for Joseph McBride’s 1992 book Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success.
The secret of Capra is his patience. He’s always been a good teacher. I never heard him cuss anybody out or embarrass anybody. One of the reasons I love Capra is that when I arrived at Fort Fox, he gave me the tour, and the last thing he said was, ‘Here, Captain, are the Moviolas.’ I said, ‘What is a Moviola?’ He looked at me rather suddenly and said, ‘You will learn.’ The average guy would have thrown me out.
Under his Dr. Seuss pseudonym, Geisel created Gerald McBoing Boing, a cartoon character. The Gerald McBoing Boing Show aired on CBS from 1956-58 with a rather interesting evolution. Hal Erickson explains in his 1995 book Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 1993.
The genesis of Gerald was a theatrical cartoon directed by Bobe Cannon for United Productions of America in 1950. Gerald McBoing Boing was originally created by children’s poet Dr. Seuss for a phonograph record; the record sold poorly, but Dr. Seuss still thought the character had potential and took the notion to UPA. The deceptively simple story of Gerald McBoing Boing was that of a little boy whose efforts at speech resulted only in sound effects. ‘Boing boing’ was his standard utterance, but Gerald could also emulate fire sirens and machine guns.
These experiences garnered awards, prestige, and respect for Geisel. He won two Oscars for his work on Why We Fight, specifically, the films Hitler Lives and Design For Death. Also, the original Gerald McBoing Boing film earned Geisel an Oscar. Though this resume is formidable, Geisel is best known for his work in the children’s literary arena as Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss books are cornerstones of children’s libraries. They offer a cure for children’s reading blues through stories told in rhyme. Beginning with And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, his literary debut in 1937, Dr. Seuss adhered to the principle of educating through entertaining. He stayed true to his vision.
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.
To name but a few of Dr. Seuss’ offereings:
The Cat in the Hat
Hop on Pop
Green Eggs and Ham
Horton Hears A Who
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Yertle the Turtle & Other Stories
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
In the mid-1960’s, Dr. Seuss stories expanded to a new vista -- television. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas was his first special. It debuted on December 18, 1966 and soon became a perennial favorite during the yuletide television season. According to George W. Woolery’s book Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-87, CBS paid $315,000 for Grinch, the highest price for a cartoon special at the time.
CBS’ airing of Grinch in ’66 followed the previous year’s debut of another soon-to-be holiday standard. A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on CBS on December 9, 1965.
Geisel’s Dr. Seuss offerings on television also found critical acclaim. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who first aired on CBS on March 19, 1970 and won a George Foster Peabody Award. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982) and Dr. Seuss’ Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977) won Emmys.
Geisel added to his trophy shelf in 1984 with the Pulitzer Prize.
Theodor Seuss Geisel died on September 24, 1991 at the age of 87. To say that his legacy has a wide appeal would be a terrific understatement. Consider that even the prototypical popular culture antithesis of 1990’s political correctness referenced Dr. Seuss.
Andrew Dice Clay reworked Dr. Seuss poems in his stand-up comedy routine and his first starring film role as the title character in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. Additionally, Reverend Jesse Jackson cited from Green Eggs & Ham rather than the Book of Samuel on the Weekend Update segment of the September 28, 1991 broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
So in conclusion
We can say
We’d enjoy Dr. Seuss stories
Any day
_____________________________
While we eat
Before we sleep
As we walk
A hill that is steep
_____________________________
Dr. Seuss stories are
Better for children than shows on a television station
Because they’re written for them
To use their imagination
david@davidkrell.com
Once upon a time
There was a writer
Who wrote only in rhyme
And made children’s reading brighter
_____________________________
He wrote of a grinch and a cat
And green eggs and ham
We know his stories down pat
They’re simple, not glam
_____________________________
Dr. Seuss was his name
Of course, it was fictitious
But his creations were wonderful,
Funny and ridiculous
Dr. Seuss was the nom de plume of Theodor Seuss Geisel, born March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Although his Dr. Seuss stories are well-known, Geisel’s credits are substantial beyond his books for the learning-to-read set.
Geisel was a member of filmmaker Frank Capra’s team for the Why We Fight series, a group of films geared to educate soldiers about the American reasons for fighting in World War II. Geisel admired Capra’s ability to connect with his fellow creators. He recalled an incident for Joseph McBride’s 1992 book Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success.
The secret of Capra is his patience. He’s always been a good teacher. I never heard him cuss anybody out or embarrass anybody. One of the reasons I love Capra is that when I arrived at Fort Fox, he gave me the tour, and the last thing he said was, ‘Here, Captain, are the Moviolas.’ I said, ‘What is a Moviola?’ He looked at me rather suddenly and said, ‘You will learn.’ The average guy would have thrown me out.
Under his Dr. Seuss pseudonym, Geisel created Gerald McBoing Boing, a cartoon character. The Gerald McBoing Boing Show aired on CBS from 1956-58 with a rather interesting evolution. Hal Erickson explains in his 1995 book Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 through 1993.
The genesis of Gerald was a theatrical cartoon directed by Bobe Cannon for United Productions of America in 1950. Gerald McBoing Boing was originally created by children’s poet Dr. Seuss for a phonograph record; the record sold poorly, but Dr. Seuss still thought the character had potential and took the notion to UPA. The deceptively simple story of Gerald McBoing Boing was that of a little boy whose efforts at speech resulted only in sound effects. ‘Boing boing’ was his standard utterance, but Gerald could also emulate fire sirens and machine guns.
These experiences garnered awards, prestige, and respect for Geisel. He won two Oscars for his work on Why We Fight, specifically, the films Hitler Lives and Design For Death. Also, the original Gerald McBoing Boing film earned Geisel an Oscar. Though this resume is formidable, Geisel is best known for his work in the children’s literary arena as Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss books are cornerstones of children’s libraries. They offer a cure for children’s reading blues through stories told in rhyme. Beginning with And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, his literary debut in 1937, Dr. Seuss adhered to the principle of educating through entertaining. He stayed true to his vision.
I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.
To name but a few of Dr. Seuss’ offereings:
The Cat in the Hat
Hop on Pop
Green Eggs and Ham
Horton Hears A Who
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Yertle the Turtle & Other Stories
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
In the mid-1960’s, Dr. Seuss stories expanded to a new vista -- television. Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas was his first special. It debuted on December 18, 1966 and soon became a perennial favorite during the yuletide television season. According to George W. Woolery’s book Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-87, CBS paid $315,000 for Grinch, the highest price for a cartoon special at the time.
CBS’ airing of Grinch in ’66 followed the previous year’s debut of another soon-to-be holiday standard. A Charlie Brown Christmas premiered on CBS on December 9, 1965.
Geisel’s Dr. Seuss offerings on television also found critical acclaim. Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who first aired on CBS on March 19, 1970 and won a George Foster Peabody Award. Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat (1982) and Dr. Seuss’ Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977) won Emmys.
Geisel added to his trophy shelf in 1984 with the Pulitzer Prize.
Theodor Seuss Geisel died on September 24, 1991 at the age of 87. To say that his legacy has a wide appeal would be a terrific understatement. Consider that even the prototypical popular culture antithesis of 1990’s political correctness referenced Dr. Seuss.
Andrew Dice Clay reworked Dr. Seuss poems in his stand-up comedy routine and his first starring film role as the title character in The Adventures of Ford Fairlane. Additionally, Reverend Jesse Jackson cited from Green Eggs & Ham rather than the Book of Samuel on the Weekend Update segment of the September 28, 1991 broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
So in conclusion
We can say
We’d enjoy Dr. Seuss stories
Any day
_____________________________
While we eat
Before we sleep
As we walk
A hill that is steep
_____________________________
Dr. Seuss stories are
Better for children than shows on a television station
Because they’re written for them
To use their imagination
A Lesson in Brevity
February 02, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Military communications exemplify brevity.
When General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union to defeat the Confederacy in the Civil War in 1865, he sent a telegram to Edwin McMasters Stanton -- Secretary of War.
General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia today on terms proposed by myself.
Eighty years later, Dwight David Eisenhower found himself in a similar situation as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II. Upon victory in the European Theater, Eisenhower avoided grandstanding.
The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945. Signed Eisenhower.
david@davidkrell.com
Military communications exemplify brevity.
When General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union to defeat the Confederacy in the Civil War in 1865, he sent a telegram to Edwin McMasters Stanton -- Secretary of War.
General Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia today on terms proposed by myself.
Eighty years later, Dwight David Eisenhower found himself in a similar situation as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II. Upon victory in the European Theater, Eisenhower avoided grandstanding.
The mission of this Allied Force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945. Signed Eisenhower.
Reagan's D-Day Speech
June 06, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Today marks the 65th anniversary of D-Day -- June 6, 1944.
D-Day was an extremely significant turning point of World War II. The name "D-Day" is a military code name for the day the Allied forces executed Operation Overlord -- the invasion of the beachheads in Normandy, France. The code names for the beaches were Utah, Omaha, Sword, Juno, Gold.
To mark the 40th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 1984, President Reagan gave one of the all-time greatest speeches at Normandy, famously known as the Boys of Pointe du Hoc speech. Peggy Noonan was the speechwriter.
From a storytelling standpoint, Noonan's words vividly recreate the circumstances of D-Day, detail the bravery of the Allied soldiers, and capture the sentiment of ending war.
From a technical standpoint, Noonan's words reflect a classic technique throughout the speech -- write in threes. It's a lesson in speechwriting.
Below is a copy of the speech. I have bolded the words and phrases that appear in a trio.
==============================================================
We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers—the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.
Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your "lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor."
I think I know what you may be thinking right now—thinking "we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day." Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren't. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.
Lord Lovat was with him—Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, "—Sorry I'm a few minutes late," as if he'd been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he'd just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland's 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England's armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard's "Matchbox Fleet" and you, the American Rangers.
Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge—and pray God we have not lost it—that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.
You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought—or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.
Something else helped the men of D-day: their rockhard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: "Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do." Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.
When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.
There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall plan led to the Atlantic alliance—a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.
In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They're still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose—to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.
We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.
But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.
It's fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.
We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.
We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee." Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.
Thank you very much, and God bless you all.
david@davidkrell.com
Today marks the 65th anniversary of D-Day -- June 6, 1944.
D-Day was an extremely significant turning point of World War II. The name "D-Day" is a military code name for the day the Allied forces executed Operation Overlord -- the invasion of the beachheads in Normandy, France. The code names for the beaches were Utah, Omaha, Sword, Juno, Gold.
To mark the 40th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 1984, President Reagan gave one of the all-time greatest speeches at Normandy, famously known as the Boys of Pointe du Hoc speech. Peggy Noonan was the speechwriter.
From a storytelling standpoint, Noonan's words vividly recreate the circumstances of D-Day, detail the bravery of the Allied soldiers, and capture the sentiment of ending war.
From a technical standpoint, Noonan's words reflect a classic technique throughout the speech -- write in threes. It's a lesson in speechwriting.
Below is a copy of the speech. I have bolded the words and phrases that appear in a trio.
==============================================================
We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.
The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers—the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.
Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.
These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your "lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor."
I think I know what you may be thinking right now—thinking "we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day." Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren't. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.
Lord Lovat was with him—Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, "—Sorry I'm a few minutes late," as if he'd been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he'd just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland's 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England's armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard's "Matchbox Fleet" and you, the American Rangers.
Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge—and pray God we have not lost it—that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.
You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought—or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.
Something else helped the men of D-day: their rockhard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: "Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do." Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.
When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.
There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall plan led to the Atlantic alliance—a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.
In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They're still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose—to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.
We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.
But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.
It's fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.
We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.
We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: "I will not fail thee nor forsake thee." Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.
Thank you very much, and God bless you all.