The successful evacuation of an enormous number of allied troops at Dunkirk (May 27 – June 4, 1940) might well be argued to be the first serious failure of the Nazi war machine. Although dramatized last year in the movie ‘Dunkirk’ and featured later last year in the movie ‘Darkest Hour’, public awareness is extremely poor regarding those who were left behind. Although the evacuation, code-named ‘Operation Dynamo,’ successfully rescued over 300,000 allied troops, tens of thousands were left behind. These men were either executed or horribly abused as prisoners-of-war. It would be five very long years before the survivors were liberated and brought home.

Operation Dynamo was obviously hugely successful both for rescuing the bulk of the British Army and for boosting the morale of the British people. Britain would essentially ‘go it alone’ for the next year-and-a-half until the United States entered the war. Shortly after Dunkirk, President Roosevelt committed the US to providing aid but under existing law, it had to be paid for with cash. Very soon Churchill informed Roosevelt that Britain simply had no resources to pay. The Lend-Lease Act, through which the US provided war materials to Britain (as well as the Soviet Union and China) was not proposed until December 8, 1940 and did not get passed into law until March 1941. In the mean time, Hitler tried to gain air superiority with the Battle of Britain (July – Oct, 1940) and tried to extinguish British morale via The Blitz (Sept 1940 – May 1941). Through British determination and resolve, both Nazi operations failed.

We all know the Allies won and the first step in that direction was the successful evacuation at Dunkirk. However, on this Memorial Day, let us remember the terrible cost of that victory. We honor all those who fought, and especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice, on our behalf.