Memorial Day is always a special one for me. In fact I consider it the most precious of the “secular” government declared holidays. It is for me as spiritual and soul-moving as Christmas and Easter (sans Santa and the Bunny). Yesterday I was able, through the gift of my travels and cameras, to have a solemn remembrance and reflection at Omaha Beach and some of the other Normandy beaches. Particularly moving is the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

1944, two days after the landing, the U.S. 1st Army established the temporary cemetery, the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. After the war, the present-day cemetery was established a short distance to the east of the original site.

Like all other overseas American cemeteries in France for World War I and II, France has granted the United States a special, perpetual concession to the land occupied by the cemetery, free of any charge or any tax. This cemetery is managed by the American government, under Congressional acts that provide yearly financial support for maintaining them. The U.S. flag flies over these granted soils.

From this view, I am at a loss for words at the thought of human carnage and death that colored this sand and water red seventy-two years ago. As the clouds parted on an impossibly heavy overcast day, and this rainbow shone, I am reminded that good does conquer evil in the end.

Thank you to everyone and their families who sacrificed on these beaches to bring peace to Europe and the world. Thanks to all who sacrificed through the ages and continue to do so to this very day, to keep our nation and way of life free and alive!