Essay 24-C: D-Day: The American Soldiers And The Founding Documents

Essay Read by Constituting America Founder, Actress Janine Turner

In the midst of a fraught and glorious year, as a great battle approached, the commanding general addressed his army. It was August 23, 1776, less than two months after the Declaration of Independence. The British enemy had landed on Long Island, and General George Washington reminded his men the principles that were at stake in the Revolutionary War. “Remember officers and Soldiers,” he told them, “that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty—that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men.” 

In 1787, the people of the United States adopted the Constitution with the explicit intent to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.” It is fitting that General George Washington, talking to an army of common soldiers, expressed the principles of the Declaration in what would become the language of the Constitution. The purpose, violence, and cost of war are terrible and wonderful lenses, magnifying and clarifying who men and nations really are.

Generations on, romantic memories have come to obscure a historical truth about the American fighting man in World War II. At the time, they hesitated to describe why they fought in terms of high principles. When asked, they responded with banalities:”I’m here to finish the job and go home.” It wasn’t that they were cynical, not deep down, but that they had become cynical of talking about big ideas. 

That cynicism in part came from the experience in World War I. In the First World War, President Woodrow Wilson said America was fighting to make the world “safe for democracy.” The world was made safe for democracy, but soon the Nazis, fascists, and communists came to power. And a world war came again, this time more terrible than the first. So much for big ideas.

During World War II, America’s leaders feared that their cynical men might fail the test, that the war would magnify American cynicism, at the most terrible cost. To deal with the problem, General George C. Marshall commissioned filmmaker Frank Capra to make the “Why We Fight” films for viewing by all American fighting men. “Prelude to War” opened with an appeal from General Marshall: “We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom.” The evils of the Axis powers dominated the film series until the last one doubled down on American founding principles. The men learned something, but mandatory films crammed into mandatory training far from the front only went so far. 

In the midst of 1944, the Allies prepared for the world’s greatest amphibious invasion. The commanding general addressed his army, channeling General George Washington and the ideals of a free society. It was June 6, 1944. The massive invasion fleet headed across the English Channel, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower reminded his men what was at stake. “Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force,” he told them, “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world….The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!”

In the days, weeks, and months that followed, the free men would secure a lodgment in France. They fought many difficult and bloody battles until they broke into the last strongholds of Germany itself. That war would end, but another great confrontation would ensue with the Cold War. For decades those men struggled to contain the tyranny of communism without triggering an even more catastrophic world war. 

Through it all, on D-Day and in western Europe in 1944, every bit as much as the fighting fields of 1776, Americans fought in wars defined by abstract principles. Washington and Eisenhower reminded them of the ideals expressed in the Declaration and enshrined in the Constitution. They were free men, fighting for the blessings of liberty, for themselves and all posterity.

The views and opinions presented are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense.

Thomas Bruscino is Professor of History in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations at the United States Army War College. He holds a Ph.D. in military history from Ohio University and has been a historian at the US Army Center of Military History in Washington, DC and the US Army Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, and a professor at the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies.

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