June 6, 1944: so today marks 75 years ago that D-Day happened to start the end to the war in Europe that would follow 11 months later. There are so many different numbers out there; some are including leading up to, and different numbers, but the National D-Day Memorial Foundation has achieved a more accurate count, and so far they have verified 2,499 American D-Day fatalities. We do not say the 14,000 was wrong because it was laying the groundwork, which is just as important.
For over 10 years on Memorial Day we have placed grave flags on our departed members' graves, and some KIAs that have been brought back. Because the wooden staffs will break, we took 43 of these U.S. flags, and removed the broken wood to place 40 on the grave of PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom. My granddaughter, Eeva, helped. So we place 1.7 percent of the flags needed to pay respect to the 2,499 who paid the final price of freedom with their lives. I placed Colorado Springs American Legion Post 5's cover on the headstone, A photo of Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (who did his action to receive his Medal Of Honor on June 6) and items from Normandy is in the case in front. Roosevelt helped found The American Legion; he also came to Post 5 in the late 1920s.
There are a couple of warriors - Lt. Roland Jackson was KIA helping his man back to AID station on June 6, 1918. Jackson's father helped found Colorado College. There is a stained glass for Roland in the chapel of the college.
Gerald O. Young, CMH from the Vietnam War, joined the Air Force from Colorado Springs; he died on June 6, 1990.
I picked PFC Floyd K. Lindstrom, CMH from World War II. He was KIA on Feb 3, 1944, but it was not until June 6 that the Army could tell for sure he was killed in February..