Family Gravesite of Major Richard "Dick" Winters
One of the 9,000+ graves at the US War Memorial above Omaha Beach
On June 6 we will be marking the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of the end of Nazi Germany. With the demise of Nazism came the longest stretch of peace in the history of Europe: no shooting wars between European countries since the spring of 1945.
The peace was certainly tense, and included the Balkan slaughter and atrocities, but it held. Along with millions of other Cold War veterans, I was part of keeping the Soviet Union from expanding further. And, to the surprise of everyone who lived through it, we Cold War soldiers saw the Soviet Union totter in 1989 and collapse in 1991.
NATO was at the center of the long era of peace. NATO expansion after 1991 seemed to offer more peace and stability, but now the NATO frontline states really are on the front line, not in danger of direct invasion, but of takeover through political terror, insurgency and cyber attacks.
I hope Europe remains at peace long after I am gone, but I would not bet on it. Just as nearly all of the veterans who stormed the shores of Normandy have passed on, the long era of peace that was our combined legacy is crumbling.
They won a great victory for all of us, we held the line until the Soviet Union crumbled and now we will have hope NATO holds together for our children and the future of the world.
