We’ve seen a lot of coverage of this 80th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history, Operation Overlord, wherein thousands of brave men stormed the beaches of Normandy and began the process of kicking the crap out of the Third Reich. It was one of the most important days in modern history.
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We Americans weren’t surprised when our president made, as my British friend would say, a complete dog’s breakfast of his speech. Nor was it terribly surprising how cynical American politicians tried to leverage this day to their political advantage, some of them with statements that would embarrass Narcissus.
There was a bright spot, though. In Ver-sur-Mer, France, at the Thursday morning British event recognizing British heroes, King Charles III spoke, and his presentation, demeanor, and message could not have differed more dramatically than the American president’s appearance.
The King addressed an emotional crowd at the British national commemorative event on Thursday morning in Ver-sur-Mer, France, where he shared his “profound sense of gratitude” to those who served in the Second World War.
Veterans could be seen wiping their eyes with tissues as the King paid tribute to the “remarkable wartime generation” at a memorial containing the names of the 22,442 servicemen and women under British command who died on D-Day.
“How fortunate we were, and the entire free world, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other Allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test,” he said.
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The King spoke evenly, remarked only on the events of 80 years ago today, and gave credit only to those men who made the landing. There was no self-absorption that one sees in elected officials, no attempts at a lateral arabesque off the topic of the day to speak of something else for political benefit – as Joe Biden did by suddenly, inexplicably switching topics to talk about Russia.
Previously on RedState: Biden’s Handlers Wanted a ‘Gipper Moment’ in Normandy, What They Got Was a Disaster
Hillary Clinton Makes Disgusting and Vile D-Day Post
Enough Already: Blinken Compares Biden to D-Day Heroes in Dreadful Comment
The King continued:
On the beaches of Normandy, on the seas beyond, and in the skies overhead, our armed forces carried out their duty with a humbling sense of resolve and determination, qualities so characteristic of that remarkable wartime generation.
Very many of them never came home, they lost their lives on the D-Day landing grounds or in the many battles that followed.
Americans, of course, have no truck with the idea of hereditary nobility – our ancestors fought a bloody revolution to kick that kind of thinking out of our country. We want nothing to do with kings, dukes (of Earl or anywhere else), earls, or nobles of any kind. But our British cousins seem content to keep their royals, and that’s their choice.
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Even so, there’s no reason not to recognize the dignity and presence King Charles showed on this day. After speaking, he spoke to the few remaining ancient veterans of the British Army who were there on that day 80 years ago, and as he sat later, listening to a few of the old British veterans tell their stories, he seemed emotionally moved by their accounts.
Americans have no desire for our own kings, nor should we. We don’t hold people in any special esteem simply because they were born into a certain family. But King Charles III showed one thing very clearly on June 6th, 2024: He demonstrated more class, more dignity, more respect for the men of Operation Overlord in this one short speech than Joe Biden has done in his entire lifetime.