Independence Day

Well, Independence Day has come and gone, so this post is a bit belated, but so was about half of my personal celebration, so I don't feel too guilty. I viewed (for the first time), the film Ike: Countdown to D-Day (starring Tom Selleck) last night and I was impressed overall with the quality and message of the film. My biggest gripe was the very negative portrayal of Gen. George Patton, whom I admire despite his admitted character flaws. Other than that, however, I enjoyed the depiction of Gen. Eisenhower's masterful coordination of the D-Day invasion. It reminded me of a couple of very important things about a war effort such as the one in the European theater. First, as "Ike" stressed in the film, such an effort requires that one commander exercise supreme authority over the planning and timing of the operation. Without such authority, as the film showed very well, the D-Day operation would have dissolved into chaos with warring generals and egos bickering over methods and power. Second, such authority must be exercised with great tact. Eisenhower wisely refused to allow his name and face to be paraded before the world, knowing that if he was to exert any control over the many generals under his command, he could not compete with them for public attention. Countdown also showed the blend of exerting operation authority and allowing input from subordinate commanders that is and was necessary for military success. Third, I was reminded of the fact that a commander in wartime is often a lonely man. "Ike" had friends in several of his subordinate generals, but he was alone in bearing the weight of making his final decisions regarding the execution of the invasion. And he was also alone in bearing not only the responsibility for the results, but also the responsibility for the thousand of lives that he was sending into harm's way.

To many today, war is, sadly, just a game, or even just a threat or method to be used to impose one nation's will on another. But as Countdown showed, it is much more than that. As Gen. W.T. Sherman put it, "War is hell." It is hell for the private who bleeds on the ground, and it is hell for the general who bears the responsibility for sending him there. Countdown shows this well, but it also shows that such hell is still sometimes necessary. As Eisenhower said several times in the film, Europe needed to be freed, and despite the sacrifice incumbent upon such a decision, he was willing to make it for the greater good.

This Independence Day weekend, let us all remember that freedom is truly never free. My thanks and prayers go out to all those who sacrifice to defend it.