Omaha Beach gallery of the First Division Museum at Cantigny. Wheaton, IL. Photograph by Michael Linden, Flickr.

It’s pitch black, 00:16 hours and you’ve just crash-landed near Caen. You’re in hostile territory, lost, and some of your comrades are already dead and wounded. You’re just 20 years old and have never been in combat.

So began D-Day 70 years ago today.

I can’t imagine what it must have been like.

Over 180,000 young men jumped, landed, or waded into Europe to remove the evil and tyranny that gripped much of the continent for so many years.

Those young men didn’t consider themselves heroes. They were there to do a job that needed to be done. They hoped that when the job was done, they would go home to begin their lives.

Some never made it.

You may see some increased media coverage of D-Day because of the anniversary. But there’s not many left who remember how important today still is.

We should never forget this day, nor those who did their job. I won’t.

Today is D-Day.