The title of this missive comes from the motto of the 101st Airborne Division, the famed “Screaming Eagles.” The motto comes from a speech given on August 16, 1942, as the 101st Airborne Division was activated at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Its first Commanding General, Major General William C. Lee, noted that the Division had no history, but that it had a “rendezvous with destiny.” The General also said that the new Division would habitually be called into action when the need was “immediate and extreme” and that it would fall on its enemies like a thunderbolt from the skies.
No spoken word could have been truer for the men of the 101st Airborne Division. Their first combat action would be in the early morning hours of June 6th, 1944, jumping in behind enemy lines into Normandy, France. This year, I will have the privilege of jumping into one of the 101st drop zones at St. Martin de Varreville on the evening of June 5th. This was a key mission because it would open up what was called “Exit 4” for the follow-on forces of the 4th Infantry Division, who would be landing on Utah Beach. The mission went to the 502d Parachute Infantry Regiment, and they were resoundingly successful against the Nazi German coastal artillery and infantry assigned to the village.
This week, how many reflections will be upon D-Day in America? Yes, we will probably have old movies shown on Turner Movie Classics and AMC, and probably some depictions on the History Channel. I am quite sure we will have repeat showings of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan. But, will there be a national moment of reflection, and by moment I mean days, the entire weekend, to commemorate the largest ever military invasion, all done to break the chains of tyranny and to liberate an entire continent?
For these 25 young men and women heading over sponsored by YAF, this will be a memorable experience. They will stand on Utah and Omaha Beaches, see the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, and visit the American Cemetery that stands on the cliffs that overlook Omaha Beach. And they will be there when we jump from vintage US Army Air Corps C-47 aircraft that flew 81 years ago onto the St Martin de Varreville DZ.
It was not just 101st Commanding General Lee who used the phrase “rendezvous with destiny;” it was also President Ronald Reagan, who delivered an epic speech from the heights of Pointe du Hoc. I can even look at those three words and apply them to our America, since our Revolutionary War began 250 years ago on April 19, 1775. On that day when 77 men took the field of Lexington Green, there was no America; it certainly did not have a history…but it would have a “rendezvous with destiny”.
But, today, the question that stands before us is, with what destiny shall our Constitutional Republic rendezvous?
Shall it be a destiny that undermines our national sovereignty and opens our borders to violent illegal immigrants and terrorists? Shall it be a destiny where we are not judged by the content of our character but rather by the color of our skin, or any other delineating feature? Shall it be a destiny defined by dismembering our unborn children, mutilating our born children, and exposing them to perversions and sexual deviancy? Shall it be a destiny where we are no longer a proud Nation that produces and manufactures the needs of our people? Shall it be a destiny that disregards merit in exchange for collectivism and predetermined standards of equity…equality of outcomes instead of equality of opportunity. Shall we rendezvous with a destiny that embraces the same tyranny and control of the individual as the men of June 6th, 1944, sought to defeat?
The 25 students from YAF going on this trip will be more than capable of deciding with what destiny they want America to rendezvous. Perhaps we should have more of our college and university students take a trip to Normandy, stand upon that hallowed ground and ponder their destiny, and that of America. I would prefer federal government grants of taxpayer dollars for that purpose instead of supporting college and university campuses importing radical extremists, Islamic jihadists, and others who incite violence against our Nation and its citizens. When students get a chance to see the faces of the people who live today in Normandy, and how they revere our men who jumped from the skies like thunderbolts and hit the beaches…maybe they will have a greater appreciation for their own Nation.
This month of June, on the 14th, is the 250th anniversary of my United States Army; it is also Flag Day. I think that is appropriate because the motto of the US Army is, “This We’ll Defend,” not a geographical piece of terrain, but rather an ideal. An ideal rooted in individual rights, freedom, and liberty and a government established by the consent of the governed…the principle of self-governance, not rule.
How shall we honor the men of the 101st Airborne Division and their motto, “Rendezvous with Destiny”? It is simple, let us endeavor to restore this Constitutional Republic as our committed destiny, no better way to regard the service, sacrifice, and commitment of those who formed The Greatest Generation.
Airborne! Steadfast and Loyal!