Speak Your Piece: Remembering this day and heroes long gone
Once again, we honor those who fought and died on June 6, 1944 on the bloody beaches of France. Those battles led to the liberation of Western Europe. The fighters came in flat-bottomed boats and from the skies, thousands of Allied troops — Americans, Britons, and Canadians.
Today, we might want to reconnect with our historic past and commemorate all who answered the call to arms and valiantly fought to restore freedom to the continent 81 years ago. There are World War II veterans in our community, many of them actual combatants on Normandy and Omaha beaches, and airmen who went ahead to destroy the pathways, roads, and bridges of the enemy forces. We honor them for their valor and sacrifice. Those veterans I knew are gone.
Major Leslie “Les” Hadley, USAF (Ret.) was a friend of WBCB and Speak Your Piece. And on the June 6 anniversary of D-Day I think about Les, his good heart and his service to the nation 81 years ago, and in the post-war period.
Via his his radio appearances, Les collected more than a few fans who enjoyed hearing him share his experiences in the service, especially. One D-Day, Les called. While talking about growing up in Massachusetts, he said he was attending a prep school in 1943 and the war was heating up in Europe, so he decided to join the Air Force (then called the Air Corps) and “fly some planes.” He was eighteen.
By the time he was nineteen, he was a bomber pilot and assigned on June 5 to fly his B-24 Liberator over and beyond Normandy Beach. He showed me his orders on barely a scrap of paper, written in his handwriting, very small. Notably, it said June 5, the planned day of invasion, but the weather was bad and the strike was delayed, as we know. The young future officer said part of his mission was to destroy the fields, roads, and bridges leading to the beaches to prevent the enemy from bringing in materials and men.
Les said he was not frightened by the war. What courage in such a young man.
I was fascinated by his recollections and the way he modestly downplayed the danger. He accomplished plenty, and for that we should be grateful to Les and all our heroes.
A father and grandfather, he lived in Falls Township. He peacefully passed away at the age of 92 on November 11, 2017, and is buried in Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Bucks County.
Our history is punctuated by life stories and also many moving speeches, but one especially resonates with me. It was beautifully delivered by President Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of D-Day, 1984. This speech emphasizes the American idea that our nation is defined by its defense of freedom — not conquest.
On that day, Reagan addressed D-Day veterans and leaders from the Allied countries high above Normandy beach. His words rang out:
“The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge — and pray God we have not lost it — that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.”
The aging men of Normandy had lived in the storm and understood the meaning of the president’s eloquent words: “You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and the others did not doubt your cause — you all knew that some things are worth dying for. One’s country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.”
While tyrants and terrorists still roam the world, there remains the United States of America and our powerful history, defined by the pursuit and defense of liberty and freedom.
So say a little prayer for Major Les Hadley, a decorated airman, a teenager, and a friend of WBCB who proudly defended the freedoms we’re enjoying today.
Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece, from which this commentary is adapted, weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.
