CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
A few weeks ago, I was sitting on a first sergeants panel at the NCO Professional Enhancement Seminar class and one of the students asked, "What one thing made the biggest impression on you during your career?"
As I listened to the other first sergeants' answers, I tried to narrow my answer down to just one thing. When it came around to me, I was stumped. Instead, I asked the students to let me think about it and I would make it the subject of my next article.
It is difficult for me to choose just one thing from an 18-year career, but if I had to, I would say my temporary duty assignment to Normandy. Let me explain. While stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany, the unit I was assigned to participated in the Normandy Invasion re-enactment every year. I missed the 60th anniversary in 2004 and my chief knew I was disappointed. When the time came to prepare for the 61st anniversary, he called me and told me the trip was mine. The fact I was going to Normandy was no big deal to me -- it was just another TDY to another town in another country. What was a big deal was what I experienced while I was there.
We only had three days to get there, prepare the aircraft, accomplish the mission and get home. Time was definitely a factor. In the end, we overcame the time constraints and experienced all we could while accomplishing the mission without a hitch. From St. Mere Eglise, to the pill boxes of Utah Beach, to the crater-laden grounds of Point Du Hoc, the history in Normandy is everywhere you look.
The local residents are a big part of that history. It amazed me how much they loved and respected the Americans in uniform. It was as if we'd just liberated the region that day. They lined up to have their picture taken with us and get our autograph. They refused to take our money and showered us with gifts. Truthfully, it was all very overwhelming, but their reaction to our presence made me think of the sacrifices made by all those who came before us.
The highlight of the trip was when we went to the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer and Omaha Beach. While standing on this now peaceful spot trying to imagine the chaos of that day in 1944, I received a tap on the shoulder. It was a gray-haired man wearing a blue jacket that read "William Walsh, 2nd Ranger Battalion." He invited us across the street to a little cafe to join him and a group of D-Day veterans for lunch. We sat and talked for hours about that day in history and what they went through -- no scripts, no rehearsals, no time constraints -- just American Soldiers and Airmen separated by generations, but bonded together by a love for their country. It is an experience I will never forget and forever cherish.
So what did I take away from this experience? In a nutshell, we must never take for granted the sacrifices made by those who filled the boots before us. It is their blood, sweat and tears that guaranteed the freedom we enjoy today. As Airmen in the United States Air Force, it is our duty to fight the good fight with integrity, service and excellence to guarantee the same freedom for generations to come.