{"id":736,"date":"2014-06-06T15:45:42","date_gmt":"2014-06-06T19:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.matthewvandyke.com\/blog\/?p=736"},"modified":"2014-06-06T15:56:45","modified_gmt":"2014-06-06T19:56:45","slug":"d-day-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.matthewvandyke.com\/blog\/d-day-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"The Anniversary of D-Day and the End of American Isolationism"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Matthew

My grandfather, US Army Sergeant Aaron Steltz, was at D-Day<\/p><\/div>\n

With each footprint they left on the sands of Normandy on June 6, 1944, US soldiers were writing the future of our country. Their mission was to march forward\u00a0towards the enemy, facing\u00a0extraordinary danger and the horrors of war as bullets flew\u00a0over their heads and their friends fell around them. There was no retreat and scarcely any refuge on the open, sandy beaches as they took endless fire from an entrenched, determined enemy.<\/p>\n

Just as there could be no retreat from the mission that day, there could also be no retreat from the responsibility that the United States had taken on that reached far beyond the shores of France.<\/p>\n

American isolationism, a\u00a0mainstay of\u00a0US foreign policy since the founding of the republic\u00a0which only gained in popularity after WWI,\u00a0came to an end on D-Day. Prior to WWII, Congress had\u00a0barred the United States from even joining the League of Nations (a precursor to the United Nations<\/a>) and had passed Neutrality Acts that codified isolationist policies as law.<\/p>\n

These policies had\u00a0only encouraged Nazi Germany’s rapid advance through Europe, and it was only after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany subsequently declaring war on the United States that our country went to war.<\/p>\n

The beginning of the end of Hitler’s reign of terror through Europe started on D-Day, June 6, 1944. My grandfather, US Army Sergeant Aaron Steltz,\u00a0was there. As his landing craft approached the shores of Normandy,\u00a0another one\u00a0nearby was hit by enemy fire and exploded. His survived, and his service in the US Army would take him\u00a0across Europe and eventually to Germany, where he saw\u00a0the horrors\u00a0inflicted\u00a0by the\u00a0Nazi\u00a0concentration camps\u00a0on the emaciated survivors who were saved by the US Army.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew

My grandfather, US Army Sergeant Aaron Steltz, serving in Europe during WWII<\/p><\/div>\n

Those camps were one of many factors that led to a permanent shift in US foreign policy following WWII. No longer would the United States sit idly by and watch other parts of the world descend into chaos and barbarity, or wait until it was nearly too late to act in the interest of national, and international, security.\u00a0A shift away from isolationist policies also became necessary\u00a0in\u00a0a new, post-war era where America needed to compete on the world stage with another emerging superpower, the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

In recent years, following the wars\u00a0in Iraq and Afghanistan, there has been a growing isolationist sentiment among the American public that is reminiscent of what occurred after WWI.\u00a0And similar to the period\u00a0after WWI, US foreign policy has shifted towards isolationism in a way\u00a0that has had a\u00a0disastrous effect on international security. The two\u00a0most notable examples are US\u00a0inaction on Syria<\/a>, which has contributed\u00a0greatly to regional instability in the Middle East and a resurgence of Al Qaeda,\u00a0and a muted response to Russian expansionism in Ukraine<\/a> that\u00a0will have\u00a0profound consequences for Europe and beyond.<\/p>\n

One of the key lessons of WWII, the consequences of isolationism, appears to have been largely forgotten. The United States cannot afford to wait until threats to international security are boiling over before taking action. Europe was nearly lost to fascism in WWII because of a timid, isolationist foreign policy that failed to provide adequate support to the French and British early in the war. The costs of action became much greater later in the war when it became necessary to save Europe\u00a0through massive\u00a0national mobilization that would bring to bear the full\u00a0might of the US military starting on D-Day, June 6, 1944.<\/p>\n

Americans should honor the sacrifices made\u00a0and the victories\u00a0achieved\u00a0on D-Day with more than ceremonies and celebrations, but also by continuing forward in the spirit of what our country accomplished on that pivotal day in world history. We must march\u00a0towards the enemies of freedom with the same courage shown by\u00a0those men\u00a0on D-Day no matter how difficult the task\u00a0or the sacrifices necessary to\u00a0preserve liberty not only for ourselves, but for others around the world. Just as\u00a0it was seventy\u00a0years ago, if America isn’t going to do it, who will? The answer remains the same.<\/p>\n

\"Matthew

My grandfather, US Army Sergeant Aaron Steltz<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With each footprint they left on the sands of Normandy on June 6, 1944, US soldiers were writing the future of our country. 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