Remembering D-Day 70 years later

It was a long day at the beach
as boys ran in the surf
the 6th of June in 1944
Unlike the days when they were small
and mothers watched nearby,
this beach day far from home was bloody war.

The castles in the sand they shaped
were freedom’s fortresses.
They forged a beachhead but at quite a cost.
These boys without their mothers
without thinking of themselves
found the means to dig the graves for soldiers lost.

On this poignant anniversary
as we ponder that long day,
we give thanks for mothers’ sons who dreamed of home.
And we bless the sainted memories
of those whose dreams were dashed
as they left footprints in sand and died alone.