Death on a Beach
On a visit to France last week I visited some of the sites of D-Day. More American soldiers died on the first day of that massive invasion than have died in eleven years of war in Afghanistan. Twenty-seven war cemeteries in the region hold the graves of 110,000 dead from both sides, for June 6, 1944, marked only the beginning of a vicious month-long battle for Normandy.
Today the battlefields seem like overgrown golf courses, with open expanses of grass and wild flowers interrupted by shallow depressions—not sand traps, though, but bomb craters. Some of the thousands of concrete German bunkers survived the bombers’ aerial assault, and crouched inside them you can imagine the scene as a teenage soldier rubbed his eyes the morning of June 6, 1944 and looked out at a massive flotilla of 6,000 ships disgorging troops and tanks on the beaches of Normandy.
Some of the soldiers had sloshed around in a historic English Channel storm for 72 hours before landing, jammed together shoulder-to-shoulder on flimsy landing craft and puking their guts out. By the time they hit the beaches, said one general, “They would have taken on the entire German army single-handed rather than get back on one of those ships.” In a scene captured in the movie Saving Private Ryan, they jumped from their boats to fall on a beach littered with war debris and the dead bodies of their comrades. Smoke bombs all but obscured the view, perhaps a mercy as the Germans trained artillery, machine guns, and grenade launchers on the exposed strip of sand.
A stark granite column rises atop one of the most picturesque sites of Normandy, a sheer hundred-foot cliff that Army Rangers climbed in the face of withering fire in order to seize German artillery. As the Rangers attempted to scale the cliff, some using ropes and some clawing their way up bare-handed, German snipers leaned over the edge and picked them off one by one. Of the 225 who began the assault, 90 survived to take the German positions—only to find that the artillery had been moved and replaced with decoys.
Following a friend’s advice, I visited not only the famous American cemetery, with its rows of white marble crosses and Jewish stars marking the graves of 9,387 American soldiers, but also one of the German cemeteries—less dramatic, more somber, holding the graves of some of the 77,000 Germans who lost their lives. Touring through Europe, you face constant reminders of the centuries of bloodshed: the Hundred Years’ War, the Second Hundred Years’ War, the Thirty Years’ War, the Wars of Religion, the Crusades, two World Wars, the Balkans’ Wars, the Norman Conquest, Napoleon’s wars. Restored forts and castles preserve the scenes, museums tell the stories, cemeteries mark the outcomes. Some, like World War II, are commemorated as “good” wars: brutal and destructive, yes, but necessary to restrain a greater evil. Others seem petty, absurd, ridiculous.
“When we have overcome absence with phone calls, winglessness with airplanes, summer heat with air-conditioning—when we have overcome all these and much more besides, then there will abide two things with which we must cope: the evil in our hearts and death.” Nicholas Wolterstorff wrote those words in his poignant tribute Lament for a Son. On the battlefields of Europe—and not just Europe— those two things converge.
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16 responses to “Death on a Beach”
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About Philip Yancey
For Yancey, reading offered a window to a different world. So, he devoured books that opened his mind, challenged his upbringing, and went against what he had been taught. A sense of betrayal engulfed him.
I’ve thought a lot about Obama’s comment in his Nobel address that “Nonviolence could not have halted Hitler’s armies.”(A speech that I think a lot of evangelicals could respect) It’s a very difficult thing to grasp. Because on the one hand, our religion does call us to be peacemakers. Yet I really don’t know what other way there was with Nazism. My Grandfather was in D-Day. He died when I was seven. I’ll never really process what he went through. He certainly never spoke to me about it, or even my mother. Yet I call him a hero. Especially when I see footage of the Camps and can’t help but think that only the Allied Victory prevented the Nazis from completing the barbarous slaughter of an entire race of human beings.
Yet, also, how strange that God loves those Germans who also died at Normandy. And in God’s Kingdom they may indeed take a seat at the table while many of the self-proclaimed righteous may not. There are so many inconvenient truths for us to confront in the New Testament. Which is why as I grow older I get more weary of making absolute truth claims about Christianity, because I know my own Christianity is too far from perfect to judge the faith of others. My understanding is that Bonhoeffer agonized over whether to join in the assassination plot over Hitler. It isn’t for any of us to say whether he made the right call. He did what he felt his faith called him to do. In the end, I think only God can judge us on the choices we make. As someone who generally favors nonviolence, I’ve nonetheless argued in person and online with others in defense of voting for Obama in spite of his prosecution of the war on terror. I know deep down that drone attacks are not what God’s ultimate desire for the human race is. But we live in such a violent, imperfect world, and everyone compromises on some level. I think our real call in the faith community is to try to model peace and grace in our own lives.
As a visiting nurse I used to provide care for a man who was on the ship, then on the beach and in the line of fire. He lost friends, he suffered injury, and he made it home alive. Fifty years later as he retold the story of his brave action I provided personal care that allowed no pride. I saw not a man stripped of dignity as he was dying, but a brave man facing the battle, once again. This just seemed like a great place to say I remember, Richard, you have a place in my heart always.
I am a 90 yr old WW2 veteran. I appreciate very much the comments made above. It
makes me feel that it was all worth it. Even though I flew as a lead navigator in B17s over Germany and may have had it easier than most (8th Air Force casualties were the highest of any other combat unit – on the ground or in the air), I rarely think of it any more. What I do think of constantly is the grace God has give me for a life beyond compare. A life of service to those in need which is something I like to do.
He tests me constantly, teaching me perseverance. My background was mostly agnostic, engrossed as I was in finding answers through science. But after my late wife died, I met a lady who told me how distraught she was one day and parked her car and cried aloud in her msiery, details of which I won’t go into. Suddenly she said the car was filled with light and a voice declared “I am with you always even until the end of days.” Baptists were somewhat of a joke to me, but I suddenly became one.
Why did that impress me? For the first time in my life I met someone whose integrity I respected. Science gave no solace but God’s intervention did. Now that’s GRACE!
Having just read an unsigned acrltie critical of your latest book, and as I am personally completing Whats so amazing about Grace I want to thank you for the insights you have shared. Particularly I want to thank you and Mel for openly describing what were very difficult times in your lives, so that others can prepare their hearts to show grace. I would also like to encorage you to continue taking on the hard topics and shareing your viewpoint. In particular if you feel the holy spirits leading I would like to see you write about the phenomenon of Marriage and the functional Christien home. There is so much available to describe the dysfunctional but very little aimed at how to do it right.
Hi Philip
I recently started getting into your books after a recommendation from a pastor. I am based in London, UK and was wondering if you would consider coming to London to speak or take a Q&A session? I know a number of people who would love to hear you talk about your ideas and books.
Thanks
Busola
WW2 gets me every time – what a cataclysmic struggle that was! My dad, thankfully, didn’t have to board the landing craft – ground crew in the Eighth AF. He did run from V-2s, though. He saw B-17s return with 4000 bullet holes in them. To this day, I will read the obit of a WW2 vet. Some of their stories are unbelievable. Sad that so many young people on all sides never had a chance for much life. On another note, I just finished your book “The Jesus I Never Knew.” Thank you for sharing your journey to know Him in such a disarming way. I am better for having read it. If you had to add a chapter, what else would you say about Him?
Almost everything about war (necessary and otherwise), makes me feel ill. When considering the theology of a battlefield, I wonder what traditional Christian chaplains are supposed to tell the mostly young soldiers, as they step “for God and Country” into harm’s way. I mean REALLY! At that point, the thinking soldiers will “love” the traditionalist God only out of shear terror. Not ideal, even if sometimes effective. Universalism would be nice, if only it were substantiated by Scripture… So if the concept of Conditional Immoratality is biblical, (and Phil, I think you know it is…), then for Christ’s sake, can we find a way to teach it to soldiers?
Olá Philip,
Seu livro ” Para que serve Deus”, tem ajudado a muitos de nossos irmãos aqui no Brasil. Faço parte de uma missão que trabalha com humanização hospitalar, somos palhaços em hospitais. Lá dentro do hospital vemos pessoas que fazem essa pergunta frequentemente,
Para que serve Deus?
O momento da enfermidade é um momento em que por mais que todos te amem, jamais poderão vivê – lo com você.
Lendo seu livro posso abrir os meus olhos para com maravilhoso é poder ser alcançado pela graça de Deus e entender que minha missão alcança lugares que jamais imaginei. As pessoas tem sede de Deus!
Peço a Deus que continue abençoando sua vida e te inspirando a escrever seu coração nas páginas dos seus livros. Que Deus te dê muito mais do que os olhos podem ver!!!!
Mr. Yancey,
Your book “What is so amazing about Grace” is causing me to rethink my rejection of Christianity. I am one of those you mention who turned away from the Christian faith because I saw more hate than Christ in it. After 9/11 when people in the name of religion killed innocents (I am speaking of both sides) I have not set foot in a church, except for weddings and funerals. Your book is refreshing and makes me think that I maybe confusing religion with Christ. I am still in the midst of it.
I have a hard time with your concept of repentance though – I do not understand why human beings are innately sinful. It is hard for me to look at my baby niece and see her as sinful. However, I just want to conclude by saying that you are the first evangelical teacher that is making reconsider my position. Thank you.
Philip:
I’m actually writing in response to ‘What’s So Amazing About Grace’. A fellow church member just loaned her copy to me, and in six days I’d read it cover to cover. Rarely does a book capture my waking moments, conversations throughout the day, and then help guide me into sleep as your thoroughly captivating book. I laughed and cried my way through its pages, nodding in agreement, groaning and grimacing during certain passages. We share the same conservative background and attendance at church educational institutions. What we have to unlearn or relearn in the days beyond is monumental, especially when believe we have the truth. Has the truth set us free? Has our living of a Christ-filled life allowed others to see their way to freedom? Your thoughtful inclusion of material from so many sources acquired on your personal and professional journey allowed me the freedom to ask our educational leader if we could use your book as study material in the fall. I know it’s been a number of years since the book was published. But please know that the stone thrown in the ‘pond’ has continued to ripple, spreading important truth in all directions. Thank you for sharing so much of your personal journey, giving so many others permission to remove the mask and become real. May God continue to use you as His inspired vessel.
from ” Tears of the Sun”
Evil will win when good people don’t care
It doesn’t seem to matter what our political beliefs are, when it comes to WWII, we all seem to tear up when it comes to thinking about the sacrifice that our fathers and grandfathers made. It seems that we, as a country, had no choice but to get into that war. Hitler and his allies made it clear that their goal was total world domination. The Nazis were intent on creating a world with only those people that they deemed worthy. While the Holocaust was horrible, and reason enough to enter the war, it was becoming clear that the Nazis would not stop with genocide of one group of people only. There were many groups of people whom the Nazis were intent on destroying. Gypsies, the handicapped and disabled, homosexuals, among many others were victims of concentration camps. I am very proud of my father for being a part of that war.
Having said that, we must always guard our own hearts. As individuals, at some point in time, the Nazis were just like everyone of us. We are all human. We can be lead astray. If we are not careful, our hearts can become hardened, and we can harbor evil. We must always be on guard to allow the light of Jesus to guide us. What is it that He wants us to do or think. Mercy and compassion and love should always be our objectives.
Were you at Point du Hoc? That is where, if I’m not mistaken, President Reagan gave his speech honoring the Boys of Point du Hoc in June, 1984.
Funnily enough I re-watched “Saving Private Ryan” last night on tv- I cannot recall a film that seemingly captured the stark reality of war so much or the moral dilemmas that go with it.
The issue of whether there is ever a “good war” is certainly a tough one.
And don’t think Satan parades these facts before our Lord constantly: “See? Do you really want to help these bloodthirsty vermin?”
Very moving Mr. Yancey. This make that stupid Chick-Fil-A thing and all the other petty stuff going on new seem most ridiculous. Keep up the good work.