D-Day + 80
They came as boys
but left as men.
Their prayers cried,
please not again!!!
When war intrudes
young lives transcend.
Lives marching forth,
as others end.
With hate and vile
come enemies,
to kill and maim;
atrocities.
Can peace prevail
when hatred boils?
The soldier cares
not for the spoils.
American soldiers were never invaders or occupiers. They have always moved as liberators.
I think I was five years old on this most hisrtoric day.
The sad day, lives of history’s heros, were taken away.
Survivors in their nineties in Normandy today do salute,
4,000 young died hunting Nazis in this righteuos pursuit.
They swam, fought and climbed the white cliffs of Dover.
To assue freedom again reigned, and the war was indeed over!
6/6/2024
Today is D-Day, once a date
Evocative of war
When Allied troops invaded France
In 1944.
By land and sea and air, the soldiers
Stormed the Nazis’ hold
In Normandy, an operation
Sneaky, smart and bold.
Commemorated in the past,
Historically germane,
To younger folk, its meaning
Would need someone to explain.
As years go by, the stories fade
And though they might be taught,
We cannot bring to relevance
The wars and battles fought.
I went on my first Three-Day Pass
And rented a car with no gas
The Shore Patrol came
And said, "What? No dame?
Did you sell your brain to Hamas?"
Today I’m watching tennis –
It’s the Open set in France –
And while I cheered my favorites
As they won and could advance…
It struck me that it’s D-Day
And in 1944,
The Allies, under Ike,
Attacked the Nazis in the war.
They stormed the beach at Normandy
In a surprise attack.
Though many died, the tide was turned,
The enemy turned back.
In France right now, the focus
Is on what is current news –
The Covid curfew and the players
Giving interviews.
But on the beach at Normandy
Some veterans still met
To honor those who gave their lives
Whom we should not forget.
They all happened just in a day,
All: birth, going forth, heyday,
Wedding day, D-day, all in a day.
They all happened just – in a day,
For he wanted truth with no delay,
Either it’d bring heyday or D-day —
Sniffing at a one he started his day,
The one that his daddy did slay,
In a duel that happened on highway.
All warned him not to go astray;
He told not to let go this foul-play,
Yet to help him to go headway.
He went headway, straightaway —
While sticking to his quest all day,
And he found the one that did slay
His dad, but it dawned his D-day,
For in him he found that prey —
Who all family bonds did betray.
All these happened, just in a day,
In Sophocles’ well-known – play.
*A 3rd Place* in the following contest (judged on Sept. 16, 2020)
All In A Day Poetry Contest
Sponsor: William Kekaula
it cause deep pain
Eyes rain
Now things had change
It was insane
This we say know your friend
There price to pay
Never Again D-DAY
For the ones we lost
over cast gray cold
we were young
strong bold
the waves tore us to shreds
as the foam on the
beach head
turned red
the rain was hot as
the sun
tearing flesh apart
even our guns
this was not a walk
in the park
the sand was a rusted red
while we climbed over brothers
that were already dead
to reach an unforgivable goal
to liberate a people we did not know
as we strolled on a beach
in Normandy, France
not a word was said
just tears from the past
you could feel the heaviness of the
ones who were lost
of the brave who paid the ultimate cost
Some came by air
Some came by sea
They fought and died
So we could be free
The 6th of June 1944
Normandy a place in France
Operation Overlord or Neptune
Thousands took their last stance
Parachutists and gliders and
boats of all size
Thousands of soldiers met their demise
156,115 allied soldiers took part this way
75 years ago on D DAY
The beaches to name a few were called
Omaha, Utah, Juno and Sword
The largest allied beach invasion to date
So many died because of fate
10,500 allied casualties in one day
Fought for our freedom all I can say
Respect, hats of sir where it's due
I and others will remember you
REMEMBER RESPECT
day we'll never forget
my eyes mind or wet
am glad to say
we came a long way
since so many had to pay
i REMEMEBER D-DAY
D DAY June 6 a repost remembered
Lost in France,
Resting 'neath a simple cross,
Just name,nationality and rank;
Giving of life,was his loss.
At home,
A breaking,aching heart;
A sweetheart's pain;
Her emptiness was another's gain.
In memory fading go
As echoing years slip by,
And still her tears flow;
Vivid yet her anguish sigh.
Forgotten,forfeit and for what?
freedom frailties,fragile,
Such ideas still beguile;
T'was ever thus,a peasant soldier's lot.
Seventy Three years ago today,
The war in Europe turned our way.
Through the waves, they came in waves
Through the waves, young strong Braves.
Across the beaches, under some withering fire,
They were unstoppable, their mission was dire.
Taking back from the enemy, the land,
Taken by soldiers of the Fatherland.
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword,
The beaches where the Allies, of one accord,
Taken while the enemy were caught off guard.
They had fell for the ruse of another backyard.
British, American, Canadian and many more,
Surprised the enemy when they came ashore.
The battles raged, many died but none in vain,
They stopped an Evil from winning once again.
Lest we should ever forget.
© Dave Timperley 6th of June 2017
Lost in France,
Resting 'neath a simple cross,
Just name,nationality and rank;
Giving of life,was his loss.
At home,
A breaking,aching heart;
A sweetheart's pain;
Her emptiness was another's gain.
In memory fading go
As echoing years slip by,
And still her tears flow;
Vivid yet her anguish sigh.
Forgotten,forfeit and for what?
freedom frailties,fragile,
Such ideas still beguile;
T'was ever thus,a peasant soldier's lot.
D-Day June 6, 1944
And in the coming carnage there arose
prayers of humbled heroes - frightened pose
beseeching all the gods that turned blind eye
for death is death even when heroes die.
So did they, on this day, assault the beach
procure for us a goal they’d never reach.
Peace blows over memories white washed stone
to honor those who fought and died alone.
John G. Lawless
6/6/2017
A place where peace should reign, yet terror grows.
A paradise where blood and children lie.
A beach where young boys played and now men die,
with liquid crimson waves that evil sows.
The cliffs now bow and weep and look below,
where from their shoulders cast a deadly tide.
A peaceful nighttime vista now belied
by daylight's bloody battle of the foes.
As dreams replace the din that's all around
and life drips slowly there into the sand,
it's faith and God and love that now surrounds
these ever grateful souls that have been found.
Brave comrades in this fate so proudly stand
to be delivered now where they are bound.
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