One of my favorite books is Stephen Ambrose’s Band of Brothers. He writes about a company of paratroopers during World War II, following them from D-Day to the end of the war.

They land on Utah Beach in complete chaos, push through Europe, almost freeze that winter, help liberate Dachau, and take Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest retreat in Austria.

The book reads like a novel. Lots of fighting, heroism, and insane sacrifice. 150 percent casualty rate.

But it was all real. A scene of their D-Day drop from the HBO series is at the bottom. Men flying into combat, scared, hoping not to die. But, they were willing to liberate a continent. The s*** starts to hit the fan at 3:00 in the video.

My best wishes to all this 4th of July. My prayers for the memory of fallen soldiers and for the safety of current ones in harm’s way. How can we ever thank you?

I think freedom is something we take for granted until it is taken away.