It’s hard to believe that the liberation of France began seventy-five years ago today. It is even harder to believe that, at the time, the Normandy invasion was a risky and unpopular proposition.
The Normandy area was about as far from England as the Allied forces could go and still receive the full benefit of air cover. So, any major problems in this area would be almost impossible to work around. Furthermore, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was never too keen on the whole idea. He preferred additional operations in Italy. He believed that was the best way to contain communism, which he saw as a bigger threat than the Nazis. Churchill also wanted to protect Britain’s lifeline to the Middle East and India.
Still, the British, American, and Canadian soldiers who stormed the beaches had a job to do. The fact that we remember very little about the pre-D-day controversy is a testament to how well they did that job.
A Weatherford criminal defense attorney obviously faces none of the dangers or hardships that those heroes overcame. But they do have something in common. Criminal lawyers and American soldiers both have risky and unpopular jobs which must be done, no matter what.
A Risky Proposition
Shortly after the Nazis occupied France in May 1940, Hitler ordered workers to begin building the Atlantic Wall, a dense network of fortifications along France’s northern Atlantic coast. Four years later, the Atlantic Wall was extremely formidable in some places and almost nonexistent in others.
The American landing sectors were a good example. Opposition on Utah Beach was rather light, but Omaha Beach was another story altogether. American troops were hopelessly pinned down for several hours, and failure appeared very likely. Then a desperate colonel told his men “There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead and those who are going to die. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”
Anonymous individual soldiers, and not high-profile commanders, changed the course of the invasion and the course of the war itself.
Criminal defense attorneys face this kind of opposition, albeit from unarmed prosecutors. In every case, the state has an Atlantic Wall of lawyers, investigators, and other professionals who try to stop defense attorneys at any cost. Only the boldest of lawyers can overcome such opposition.
Unpopularity
In fairness to Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was not a big Normandy advocate either. Beginning in the spring of 1942, just after America, entered the conflict, whenever the subject came up, Roosevelt almost always tried to put off the invasion of France.
Later, in the Cold War and post-Cold War eras, American servicemembers fought a long series of unpopular wars. The 1990 Persian Gulf War has arguably been the only welcome conflict the United States has fought since World War II, and even it had limited popular appeal.
Likewise, it is not very popular to stand up for rights like the Fourth Amendment. But those D-day heroes fought and died to preserve liberties like these. So, we owe it to them to uphold these rights.
At Herreth Law, we strive to honor the sacrifice the so many women and men have made in so many parts of the world. For a free consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Weatherford, contact us today. We routinely handle matters in Parker County and nearby jurisdictions.
