Crusade in Europe.

The post title is the name Dwight D. Eisenhower gave to his wartime memoirs.

And tomorrow will be the anniversary of the bold gamble the Western Allies made to begin the liberation of Europe.

The American army of June 6, like the nation that sent it forth, was an imperfect force. It was green, in many respects equipped with inferior materiel and it came as a liberating force from a nation that practiced segregation and ran internment camps.

There are those who see America as nothing other than a racist imperial monstrosity from the moment Europeans set foot in North America. They are influential, and feted with endowed chairs and prestigious literary prizes. If they get their way, the last clause of the fourth sentence in this post will be all that is remembered of the brave men who fought and died under the Stars and Stripes that day. 

That should not be the case. No, the sins of the past can't be glossed over with rah-rah apologetics. To do so is a lie. 

On the other hand, from a perusal of the hate-blasts from the elites a puzzled reader would be confused as to why Nazi Germany warred with America instead of the two being stalwart companions in hatred. 

Someone steeped in real history would see why that is ludicrous. Someone indoctrinated will take it as a matter of course.

The American soldier of 1941-1945 was a man from a flawed society. But that society was one that always held the promise for reform and renewal, even if said promise has guttered close to extinction at times.

But segregated America learned from the War, and within a generation set itself firmly on the path to recognize all men as created equal. An irredeemable society would have done no such thing.