D-Day

Today is the 66th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy by Allied troops in World War II. It is an anniversary that seems to have largely gone unnoticed and unremarked by most.

I was looking forward to watching a Band of Brothers marathon somewhere on TV today between the Red Sox game and the Celtics-Lakers tonight. No such luck. SPIKE ran a Band of Brothers marathon on Memorial Day. I guess that was enough for them. Today they are running a UFC Unleashed marathon. The History Channel? They are celebrating the sacrifice of Ice Road Truckers with an all day marathon instead of celebrating the likes of Dick Winters and the men of Easy Company.

I know that Band of Brothers tells just a small part of the overall story of D-Day and I would be happy to watch Saving Private Ryan on TBS but instead they are celebrating Will Ferrell's contribution to world freedom. Turner Classic Movies or AMC? Instead of The Longest Day or The Big Red One - they're showing Old Yeller and Kill Bill: Volume 2.

Why don't have have my own copy of Band of Brothers you ask? Well I did. My wife got it for me for Christmas when it was first release. I lent it to a friend who lent it to his dad who lent it to who knows who.

So instead my plan will be to grab my copy of Stephen Ambrose's Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest and read through it while smoking a Padron cigar. My own individual way of honoring those who gave their full last measure of devotion so that we could enjoy the freedom to ignore their contributions 66 years later.