My Conversation with a D-Day Veteran

See and hear PFC Julian Parker’s story in his own words.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Nineteen-year-old Private First Class, Julian Parker stood in silence with his fellow American soldiers on the landing craft as it churned toward Normandy. Seventy-seven years later, he talked with me about his experiences. Continue reading

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Veterans Day Recollections

Today is the 100th anniversary of the first Armistice Day. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month was the time and date established to remember the end of World War I.

World War I was to be the war to end all wars. The philosophy of the day was that man’s upward evolution and advances in science would usher in peace and prosperity for all. We see how quickly the reality of the nature of man revealed the error of that thinking.

After World War II, Congress changed Armistice day to Veterans Day to recognize all veterans who served in war and in peace.

Today, I decided to look back in my recent commentaries and pull out some stories of veterans. These are all men of the greatest generation who served in the World War II time frame. Just click on the photo or the heading to read about them.

Bob Bright POW

Picture of Bob Bright
Bob Bright



Bob Bright turned 94 earlier this year and he is still going strong. He was shot down over Europe and taken POW by the Germans.

Two WWII Veterans Reminisce

Two WWII Vets talking and eating soup
Robert Cole (l) & Billy Forrest

My father, Robert Cole, (left) and Billy Forrest (right) were in training when President Truman dropped the atomic bombs on Japan to end the war. It is quite likely that they, along with tens of thousands of young Americans, would have died in that war had it not been for Truman’s decision.


They both went to Japan after the surrender to help Japan rebuild. Today, Japan is one of our strongest allies.

He Still Remembers D-Day

Julian Parker



Julian Parker of Cordele still remembers wading on that beach on June 6, 1944. The experience of war and death had such an effect on him that when he got home, he took his hunting rifle out to the woods and buried it.




I hope that you enjoy reading these past articles of veterans. we owe our veterans a debt of gratitude. From those who are approaching the century mark in their lives, to the men and women who have not reached the 2nd decade of their lives and are serving us today, we owe a debt of gratitude. Happy Veterans Day.

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President Roosevelt Leads the Nation in Prayer as Troops Land on D-Day 75 Years Ago

On June 6, 2019 the entire world will remember the 75th anniversary of the largest military operation in history. It was an epic conflict of good vs evil.

Thousands of young Americans who just months before were securely living in homes on farms and in cities across our nation crowded into landing craft.

The vast armada chugged toward the beaches of Normandy like a cloud of gnats on a South Georgia farm. As these brave young men stormed the beaches, they were charging into the gates of hell itself.

While the invasion was underway, President Franklin Roosevelt, in a nationwide radio address, led the nation in prayer for this undertaking. Take 5 minutes to listen. Share this with your friends and especially young students who are learning about our nation’s history.

Text of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Address and Prayer on D-Day – June 6, 1944

My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our Nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.

They will need Thy blessings. Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph.

They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest-until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and good will among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas — whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them–help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

Many people have urged that I call the Nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

And, O Lord, give us Faith. Give us Faith in Thee; Faith in our sons; Faith in each other; Faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogancies. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister Nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

Thy will be done, Almighty God. Amen.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt – June 6, 1944

Wall at Normandy Cemetery - American Battle Monuments Commission
Wall at Normandy Cemetery – American Battle Monuments Commission
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He Still Remembers D-Day

Young American soldier

“There were body parts flying everywhere.” 93 year old Julian Parker of Cordele still remembers D-Day, June 6, 1944, wading on that beach in France. He said that the Germans had two big guns that were supposed to have been knocked out before the Americans landed.

The young soldiers wading on the beach were like sitting ducks. Julian said that some thought they were being smart by huddling close together. From his point of view, that just made a bigger target. He put a little bit of distance between himself and other groups as he made his way up the beach.

After the landing he moved through France and Germany. He saw the horrors of Nazi Germany and the death camps. At one place he said that bodies were stacked up like cord wood where the Nazis had executed thousands.

Julian does not talk a lot about his experiences. A medal display in his room shows, among others, two Purple Hearts and one Bronze Star. He pointed to his head to show where he was hit one time. He said that sometimes he still feels bits of shrapnel in his body.

He did not remember what he did to get the Bronze Star. He said that they wanted to promote him on the battlefield, but he turned it down. As he put it, he told the Army that he did not want to be there to start with and just wanted to get the job done and go home.

As a young teenager, Julian lived near the Georgia coast. He was still in school when he turned 18 and was drafted. After basic training in Mississippi, he went to London, and from London took the cruise across the English Channel with 500,000 other troops to land on a beach in France.

The war had an immense impact on Julian. He said that when he returned home, he went to his house and got his old hunting rifle that he owned since he was a boy. “I took it to the woods, dug a hole and buried it. I had seen enough killing and didn’t want anything more to do with it!”

On the day those men stormed the beaches, parachuted from planes, and flew gliders behind enemy lines, President Roosevelt addressed the nation and prayed for victory. The prayer is about 6 minutes and it is worth your time to hear it.

Read or Listen to President Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer Here

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A Fraud Perpetuated on the American People

“A fraud perpetuated on the American people.”  What an irony that Senator David Perdue pointedly addressed his fellow Senators with these words on June 6, the same day that we remembered D-Day 73 years ago.

On June 6, 1944, the United States launched the most massive military undertaking in world history.  It required an unshakable resolve, monumental planning, impeccable execution, and passionate prayer.  It was a time of crisis for our nation and, with God’s care, we rose to meet the crisis.

73 years later our nation is in the midst of another crisis that is even more ominous. It is a crisis that is more sinister and threatening than even the threat of terrorism. Like a cancer on our nation, it is steadily and tenaciously destroying us from the inside.

For 14 minutes, Senator Perdue presented common sense truth to the Senate.  This was not an address filled with partisan flamboyancy. It was not an address in the late night hours to an empty room simply to have footage for campaign commercial.

It was a call for the Senate to simply do its job.  It was a call to seriously address a national debt that has grown to nearly 20 trillion dollars.  It was a call to have an honest budget process. You can watch his message in less time than it takes for a coffee break.

If you feel that you do not have time to watch it, then I’ll give you the reader’s digest version below.  But you need to watch this speech.

This is not a politician pontificating.  It is a plain spoken American exhorting his colleagues to stop serving themselves and serve the American people. Continue reading FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

D-Day Remembered

On June 6, 1944, thousands of young men from across our nation had either already suited up with paratrooper gear and loaded into an airplane to jump out over France or were on landing craft moving across the English Channel.

President Roosevelt, General Eisenhower, and a relatively few strategic planners knew what was taking place. They knew that even if there was 100% certainty of a successful mission ( and there was no certainty of success), there was also a 100% certainty that thousands of those men would never return to their homes.

Normandy Cemetery

Normandy Cemetery – American Battle Monuments Commission

President Roosevelt addressed the nation with a prayer. I invite you to take 5 minutes to listen to his prayer and read the text as you listen to this. If you have a child or grandchild, pull them aside to tell them what happened on this day. Continue reading FacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather