Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406060064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Well, I tell you I hope we never see another one," said Norfleet, 76.
But how can we make that happen?
Norfleet and others interviewed about their experiences 50 years ago on D-Day couldn't answer - at least not definitively.
Norfleet, one of the Roanoke men who landed amid the bloodiest fighting on D-Day at Omaha Beach, subscribes today to the isolationist doctrine that many historians believe contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler and to World War II.
"Why in the world does the United States have to stick its business in everybody else's business?" Norfleet asked, echoing sentiments that many people in this country shared in the years before the war and still share today.
If the country is attacked, he believes everybody should take up arms in defense. Otherwise, somebody else's war is just that: somebody else's war and somebody else's problem.
Murphy Scott, 74, doesn't completely agree. Scott also witnessed the horror at Omaha Beach. He lost his two best friends in the invasion - one killed by sniper fire as he stood near Scott. And the image of the beach the morning after D-Day, when the bodies "looked like logs that had washed up on shore," stays with him.
Scott believes thousands of lives could have been spared if the country had been better prepared for war, and he offers two reasons. First, much of the equipment and weaponry he saw carried into battle by fellow soldiers was outdated and outmatched by the Germans'.
Second, the four years it took for the United States to catch up to the Germans in building a sizable army were years the Germans had to prepare for an invasion.
A quicker response would have been less bloody and ended the war sooner, Scott said. Or it may have prevented it. "You always have to be prepared for war, even though you hope you don't have to use it," he said.
On a smaller scale, John Talton of Radford talked about appreciating life more. He acknowledges that the sentiment is a cliche, but he says that doesn't make it less true or important.
Talton, 74, dodged death on Omaha Beach from dawn to dusk and into the next day. He has never forgotten. "I appreciate a day more, just getting up and seeing the sunshine. That has stayed with me for 50 years."
At the same time, he has been disappointed with the direction the United States has taken. "I don't know why the Japanese control our economy," Talton said. "I think we had a chance to really lead the world . . . and I think we threw it away."
For that, he blames the nation's leaders. But his disappointment runs deeper. He now sees a country of "crybabies" more interested in personal handouts than in personal sacrifice. For that, he blames the people.
"I don't know what has happened to our can-do attitude," he said.
His advice to future generations: Get that attitude back.
Roy Stevens also talks of sacrifice. Stevens, 74, is one of the two living survivors of the famous unit from Bedford, which suffered more D-Day deaths than any other community in the country. His twin brother died in the invasion.
But he said Bedford's sacrifice, as tragic as it was for those who perished and for their families, was for a worthwhile cause. Fifty years ago, the lines between right and wrong were clear. Stevens knew he was on the side of righteousness.
If there is a lasting lesson from the stories he and others tell about D-Day, he said, it must come from their shared sacrifice. His advice is nothing new, either, but again, that doesn't make it any less meaningful.
"Don't be afraid to fight for what's right," he said.
"If I had to do it again, I'd do it again. The free people of the world deserve that much."
by CNB