Every June 6 for many years, no matter where I might be, I would make a respectful phone call to my wife’s Uncle Chuck. I simply wanted to let him know that I was thinking about him on the anniversary of the most important day of the 20th century — D-Day, June 6, 1944 .

As a young man on that fateful day, Uncle Chuck parachuted into Normandy, France with the 82nd Airborne Division and fought desperately to protect American troops that had just landed on the beaches.

Had the D-Day invasion failed, World War II would have been indefinitely prolonged, further magnifying the forthcoming death and destruction. But on this decisive day the Allies successfully secured the beachhead on the French coast that enabled the final climactic drive to victory against Nazi Germany.

On May 8, we celebr

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