Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.) was the 16th Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and is an Operating Executive at The Carlyle Group. His is the author of several books, including Sea Power: The History and Geopolitics of the World’s Oceans.
I think of being at sea on Memorial Day in the North Atlantic in 1994, headed to an anchorage off the beaches of Normandy to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day. I was a young Navy Commander newly installed as captain in destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52). The average age of my crew was around 20, like the young men who in 1944 stormed the beaches of France half a century earlier, where too many would make the ultimate sacrifice — from Utah Beach to the Pont Du Hoc to Omaha Beach. After the commemoration we were headed to the Balkans and then to the troubled waters of the Arabian Gulf.
Knowing we’d soon be anchored off those storied D-Day beaches, we spent time on that Memorial Day learning about the courage, honor, and commitment of that Greatest Generation. We hoped that if combat came our way we could make the same level of sacrifice that they did, little knowing at that time that the future would indeed hold the challenges of 9/11, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Each generation faces its moments of challenge; and each seeks to meet them with brave hearts for the nation.
Every Memorial Day, we have a chance together to remember all who have met the challenge with honor, whatever the conflict. That Memorial Day at sea on the rolling waters of the North Atlantic always sticks in my mind as a kind of center point between wars of the 20th century and the conflicts we face today. I gave thanks for all who have stood and delivered for our nation.
Read more from Admiral James Stavridis (Ret.) in The Cipher Brief
