- Tuesday, June 4, 2024

When June rolls around, it means some good things and other things we should not forget.

This month marks the official beginning of summer. For most children and teachers, it means school is out. Vacationers are fanning out all over to sample this country’s remarkable breadth and beauty.

June is also the peak month for weddings in the United States, with more taking place in June than in any other month, followed by August, September and October.

On June 16, we observe Father’s Day. This day reminds us of the vital importance of fathers and their distinct characteristics, which are different from those of mothers, whom we celebrate on Mother’s Day in May.

If you need more evidence of fathers’ crucial role, try handing out Father’s Day cards at any prison. There’s great demand for Mother’s Day cards, but no takers for the Father’s Day version.

Weather-wise, in Northern states like Maine or Minnesota, June is when you actually believe there is zero chance you’ll get a frost that will doom your petunias or kill your reseeded lawn.

And on a more serious note, this year, June 6 is the 80th anniversary of D-Day, when the Allies invaded Normandy, France, at enormous cost and began liberating Europe from Hitler’s Nazi occupation.

The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, does a wonderful job year-round, commemorating this crucial event that saved Western civilization.

The town, which fittingly was called Liberty when founded in 1782, was chosen because of the Bedford Boys.

Thousands of American towns lost sons, brothers and fathers on D-Day, but Bedford (population 3,000) lost 22 young men — the worst per capita loss in the country.

Nineteen were killed in the early hours of D-Day at Omaha Beach, and three others died later. Their stories were immortalized in Alex Kershaw’s 2001 book, “The Bedford Boys: One American Town’s Ultimate Sacrifice.” About 100 other Bedford residents also died in WWII, according to the memorial.

If you’ve seen the Hollywood movie version of Cornelius Ryan’s magnificent book “The Longest Day,” one vignette is hard to forget. The Allies, who had committed 156,000 ground troops from the U.S., Canada, Britain and France for the invasion, sent 1,200 aircraft that dropped 15,000 paratroopers behind enemy lines the night before.

One of them, U.S. Army Pvt. John Steele of the 82nd Airborne Division, had his parachute snagged on a church steeple in the French village of Sainte-Mere-Église. Portrayed in the movie by Red Buttons, he plays dead and prays the Germans won’t see him. He is captured but escapes four hours later to rejoin his division as it takes the town. The real-life Steele was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Visitors can glance up and see a parachute hanging from that steeple, with a mannequin representing Pvt. Steele. Because of the weather, it has to be replaced periodically at great cost, and instead of being the original green, it is white so people can see it better.

Col. John Seffern, a friend of mine who lives partly in Texas and partly in Maastricht, the Netherlands, has funded it out of his own pocket for years. A decorated Air Force flyer and airline pilot, now retired from both, he feels it’s important to mark the tremendous sacrifices made by the men of D-Day.

In recent years, Tim Niehaus, president of the Miami Corp., a company that makes longer-lasting material for the chute, has lent a hand, along with Texas Guardsman Travis Millhouse.

June 19, now celebrated as Juneteenth, is a federal holiday. It marks the day in 1865 when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned about the Emancipation Proclamation and their new freedom.

As June unfolds in America, you might notice that instead of red, white and blue, many businesses and other institutions display rainbow flags in every way imaginable. That’s because if they don’t, they could provoke the wrath of the most intolerant and aggressive so-called civil rights movement in our history.

This is the one insisting that children be exposed to drag queen story hours, that some of the children be drugged or surgically mutilated to “become” the opposite sex, and that all children must be given graphic sex education regardless of parents’ beliefs.

There has been considerable pushback lately, such as Bud Light’s disastrous loss of sales over its transgender influencer and Target’s pullback of some store displays of pride merchandise.

I doubt the Los Angeles Dodgers will repeat last year’s absurdly evil feting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of men dressed as nuns who spew hatred and obscene abuse on Christianity and Catholics in particular.

Perhaps the blush is off the “woke” rose, and we can get back to honoring the things that deserve honoring each June, such as God’s institution of marriage, fathers, emancipation, and the patriotism and sacrifice of the men of D-Day.

Next time we’re confronted with the latest corporate cave-in or see a pretend church proudly display a rainbow, we might do better by glancing up to see if the real thing is spanning the heavens.

That’s the one with the timeless message that God keeps his promises.

• Robert Knight is a columnist for The Washington Times. His website is roberthknight.com.

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