Meditating on that long-awaited Day of Days, Herb London of the Hudson Institute writes at American Spectator:

On June 6, 1944, the United States and its allies launched the largest air and sea armada in world history. The purpose of this mission was clear: liberate Europe from the grip of Nazi despotism.

The landings on the Normandy beaches led to unprecedented death and destruction. American soldiers leaving their amphibious landing crafts measured their life expectancy in minutes. In the first hour of battle hundreds lost their lives and in succeeding waves thousands were killed as the beaches at Omaha and Utah were soaked with the blood of young men in their teens and early twenties. . . .

I don't think we should ever apologize for what the United States has done to extricate millions from the yoke of totalitarian control. It is not arrogance to recall the limbs that were shattered and the bodies broken to set history on the course of democracy, imperfect as it is.

Before President Obama stands supinely before the G-20 again and engages in a form of national self-flagellation, I would urge him to stand amid the crosses and stars in Normandy cemetery and recall the sacrifices made by those youngsters so that he could be president of the United States and breathe an unadorned version of freedom.

In the roll-up to WWII, the German nation had invested everything in big government led by a messiah who called individuals to shared sacrifice toward something greater than themselves.  He built roads, created new automobiles, loved nature, and put people to work. Finally, after years of struggle and despair, there was hope for those treated unfairly. Change meant the people could be proud of their nation again.

The result: tyranny. The price of freedom: blood. The tyranny was always there from the beginning, for those who had eyes to see. 

When it comes to protecting human freedom and dignity under God -- rejected by secularists and liberals but which goes to heart of the American experiment in liberty -- every day is June 6, 1944. And for that kind of effort, that kind of defense, that kind of hope, that kind of love, what is required is not apology, but thankfulness and praise.