Julia was born December 7, the same day as the attack on Pearl Harbor. We didn’t plan this at all, it just happened. Our son’s due date is June 8, only 2 days after one of the most important events historically in the European theater during WWII. For those who can do math and have a knowledge of history, that date is June 6, D-Day (aka Normandy Landings, Operation Neptune, and Operation Overlord). This event has been depicted in many films, most notably the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan.
Although I’m not a history major, these two events arguably changed the course of WWII and the world as we now know it. Not only were 10-20 thousand Americans killed (per wikipedia), but the two events thrust America into WWII and into a ground war in mainland Europe (not counting Italy) - eventually changing the tide of the war. Maybe someone can correct me, but these two events are probably the biggest two single events from an American (and possibly, world) perspective in the shifting the balance of power in WWII away from the Axis. If anything, they are the two most honored and depicted single WWII events in this country in my opinion.
These events have a personal connection for us too. I served for 2 years on Hickam AFB which is adjacent to Pearl Harbor Naval Base and who's (Hickam's) shores are the entrance to Pearl Harbor. I frequently jogged along a path that followed the coastline of Pearl Harbor. Every day on my way to work and home from work I’d drive past Pearl Harbor as well. As far as D-Day is concerned, the connection is more on Stacey’s side of the family. For those of you who don’t know, Stacey’s late grandmother was a war bride from France. Her grandfather met her grandmother in France and he brought her back to Washington state. What’s important to note is that if it weren’t for Pearl Harbor and D-Day, they would have probably never met (even though I don’t know the exact details of the sequence of events). That is to say, we would have never invaded France, France would never have been liberated in a way that caused them to meet, Stacey’s mother would have never been born, Stacey would have never been born, and Julia and our future son would have never been born.
Without taking things too far, it’s easy to see how important these two events were for the world and for us in a personal context. Additionally, June 6 is also when the Battle of Midway happened which is also regarded as the most important naval battles of the Pacific campaign in WWII. These aren’t the most cheerful of topics, but what percentage of major events that change the course of history really are? I find this coincidence fascinating. What an easy segue into teaching our children world and family history. Thoughts?
(as a side note, the World Cup starts on 11 June and the U.S. plays England on 12 June, so it would be nice to not be in the hospital during this time since I’m planning on having a bunch of guys over for the game)
