Remembering the D-Day heroes
June 6 is the 81st anniversary of D-Day. On the 50th anniversary, I flew to Paris by myself and took a train to Normandy. Using high school French, I asked the only man on my train car for directions. He invited me to lunch at his house to meet his dad, a member of the French Resistance. After lunch, they took me to the train station, and I headed northwest.
I met some Frenchmen who took me to the drop zone, where I saw World War II paratroopers jump from C-47s and land at my feet. A family invited me to stay in their manor in Carentan.
Next, I hitched a ride to Omaha Beach. Because of the badge I had representing my WWII veteran dad, I was invited to sit with the D-Day veterans. President Bill Clinton asked all the D-Day veterans who could stand to do so. The heroes of D-Day stood all around me! A lifetime memory.
DANIEL F. KIRK, KENNESAW
Veterans march to protest VA cuts
Today, June 6, I’ll be joining veterans from across Georgia and the country on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. We’re marching to defend the institutions that have long served us — and to push back against devastating cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA isn’t perfect, but it’s a promise our country made to those who served. The proposed cuts would gut that promise: closing clinics, cutting jobs and reducing access to care for veterans in Georgia and beyond.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about accountability, service, and making sure the country we served keeps its word.
Veterans know what it means to show up — and on June 6, we’re showing up to demand better for those who wore the uniform.
CHRISTOPHER PURDY, ATLANTA
Pamela Hemphill is a profile in courage
Let’s face it, folks: One person out of about 1,500 is not a significant number when it comes to showing guts and actually having a conscience. It seems that the other 1,499 Jan. 6 “patriots” are celebrating the fact that their beloved leader, a convicted felon, has graciously given them a free ticket out of jail. I hope they enjoy their undeserved freedom, and don’t live to regret what they have done — or worse, don’t plan another rampage in 2026 or 2028.
I have great admiration and the deepest respect for Pam Hemphill, who rejected President Donald Trump’s pardon for her presence at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. I only wish that more true Americans would follow her example. Too many have traded their conscience — that little voice that tells us the difference between right and wrong — for an ideology based on falsehoods, conspiracy theories and flattery for one man’s ego. Those are not the values that made America great. They are the expressions of our darkest instincts, and the rest of the free world is losing respect and trust in us. Time for a reset.
SUSANNE HOLLISTER, LILBURN
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