The Lasting Lessons of Leadership Taught by Soldiers on D-Day

June 6, 1944. Omaha Beach. D-Day. Normandy, France.

Almost 70 years later, Scouts from the U.S. and Europe gathered to honor the American and Allied members of the military who gave their lives during the D-Day invasion and those that survived and helped turn the tide of World War II.

As my colleague, BSA National Commissioner Tico Perez said in the video below, the Normandy camporee, through remembrance of the sacrifices made during D-Day, teaches the importance of leadership to drive and to push you beyond yourself to accomplish a greater goal – even if it’s hard or even if you may not want to. What better place to learn these lessons – of overcoming seemingly insurmountable personal and situational obstacles – than in Normandy.

Standing on Omaha Beach, speaking before about 2,000 Scouts from the U.S. and Europe who gathered to commemorate the D-Day landing the last weekend in April, I couldn’t help but think of how many soldiers – many of whom were not much older than those Scouts in attendance – gave their lives so that we may live in freedom. It took a tremendous amount of leadership, bravery and perseverance to turn that tide.

I hope our Scouts realize that, too.

I was honored to be at the Normandy Camporee, organized by the Transatlantic Council, and to take part in the memorable events on and around Omaha Beach.

The projected images from the War Department’s archives; the music from the University Choir of Lower Normandy; the three French jets flying over Omaha Beach and the fast patrol boat Broadsword making a sweeping turn at the waterfront all combined for a touching memorial to the brave soldiers who died that day – and for a moving tribute to teach a new generation of Scouts what it means to be a leader.

And I couldn’t help but think of the generations of young men and women who served their communities, then went on to serve their country, and made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, whether it was in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, or in more recent conflicts.

We owe those brave soldiers a great deal, and are proud to know that we continue to serve their country in our capacity as the Boy Scouts of America and to teach future generations those lessons of leadership that they will carry with them into adulthood.

God bless them all.

Wayne