D-Day Landings and the Sacrifice Which Liberates

by Anne Linington⁽¹⁸⁷⁾ Red Star

This afternoon I want to think about the nature of sacrifice, both human and divine, and in particular how we remember such sacrifice.

In this week the Church celebrates the feast of Corpus Christi- the giving of Christ's body, and we will look at how Jesus told us we should remember that in what we now call communion.

Today we also commemorate the D-Day landings 66 years ago, on June 6^th 1944, and how this enabled the Allies to bring to an end the Nazi-hold in Europe.

Slapton Sands

Last night I watched a programme on the D-Day landings on Omaha beach. As it came to an end it showed a shot of the beach, and I looked from the screen to this photo propped on my bookcase. I was impressed by the similarity between the two places: One in France, the other here in England; one in Normandy, the other in Devon; One named “Omaha” beach, which along with Utah beach and the others will forever be connected with Slapton Sands by the D-Day landings.

In 1970 Ken Small a hotelier had an unexpected breakdown. As part of his recovery he began to use a metal detector on Slapton Sands. He began to recover huge amounts of war debris, and realised that a major incident had taken place there. He was told that off the beach an American Sherman tank lay under water.

Because of its similarities to Utah beach in France, Slapton Sands was chosen for “Exercise Tiger” to prepare the US forces for the D-Day landings. It took place in April 1944, under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, and became a catalogue of disasters: German E-boats patrolling from Cherbourg did open fire, but a major loss of life came about through “friendly fire”;

A ship that was supposed to provide cover was actually in dock in Plymouh for repairs; It was later found that US and British forces were using different radio frequencies, so could not communicate. And the soldiers had not received enough training in the use of survival vests or jackets. In all 946 US Servicemen died on Slapton Sands, and every one had to be recovered before the D-Day landings could proceed, just in case anyone had fallen into enemy hands and the plan compromised.

Details of the disastrous exercise were not revealed until after the D-Day landings. But lessons had been learned, which were implemented on 6^th June in France.

Ken Small made it his life's work to discover what had happened on that beach, and to raise the tank as a permanent memorial to the American soldiers who had died there. The tank can be seen at the Torcross end of the beach. Initially there was very little support for this entreprise from either the US or British governments. Ken died a few weeks before the 60^th

anniversary of the disaster and the D-Day landings.

Corpus Christi

This celebration of Christ's body is more common in the Roman Catholic Church and in Catholic countries like Poland and Spain, and South America. In these places it is often a National holiday, accompanied by processions through the streets.

In Arundel, the Catholic Cathedral has been celebrating this for the last 100 years with a carpet of flowers in the central aisle. At least two coaches went from the island to see this during the past week.

The feast celebrates the giving of Christ's body; In Anglican Churches it is more often a celebration of the institution of the Communion service, referred to as the Eucharist or Lord's Supper in some traditions.

It is remembered in the week after Trinity Sunday, on a Thursday because Jesus shared the Last Supper with his disciples on a Thursday.

In doing so he laid down how he wanted to be remembered- through bread and wine symbolising his body and his blood.

Each time Christians share communion by taking bread and wine, they are remembering that Christ gave his body and blood as a sinless sacrifice to take away the sin of the whole world. And we do this until he comes again to receive His people, the Church and reunite them with all who have died in faith.

The D-Day landings involved incredible loss of life, including those US servicemen who died at Slapton Sands. They did so to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation and to restore freedom which we have enjoyed this past 66 years.

Corpus Christi reminds us of the death of one sinless person, the third person of the trinity- Jesus the Son of God. His sacrifice is one that liberates, not from human tyranny, but from sin which separates us from God, from others and from our best selves.

The D-Day landings are remembered in many different ways, though by fewer and fewer who were actually there- those who remain are in their mid-eighties now.

Christ's death is remembered every time we take communion in His Church- and when we acknowledge personally that he died to save us.

“Saving Corporal Ryan” is the film in which the opening scenes show the landings at Omaha beach; It shows the extent the US army went to to return one son to his family when all his brothers had already died.

Jesus in coming to die for us shows us the willingness of God the Father that we should be restored to His eternal family. It shows his willingness to take human form, to live a perfect life, and to die like a common criminal on a Roman cross. Out of love- out of sacrifice in order to liberate us for time and eternity.

Article submitted Monday, June 07, 2010 & read 86 times.

Leave your comments through World Wide Bible Studies:

No comments yet.
We appreciate your comments!

20-0-0-0-0-ADSO

Most Recent