On July 21 the movie Dunkirk will be released in theaters and it has the potential to be a good one.
It is a World War II film about how British forces made a massive evacuation from the mainland of Europe in the spring of 1940.
The setting was in the early stages of the war in France. German armies were closing in on the British, who would soon have their backs against the English Channel with no way of escape. Once that happened, the British could potentially be wiped out.
Dunkirk, a port city located on France's northern shore, became the congregating point for the British and her allies from Belgium, Poland, and France. The Dunkirk story tells of the retreat of the British and her allies, and the heroic evacuation effort that followed.
But Dunkirk is also a story that set the stage for a conquering Allied return.
The theme of such a return is one that is seen more than once in history.
During the American Revolution in the late 1700s, France assisted the American colonies, and the French General Marquis de Lafayette worked closely with General George Washington.
In 1917 and 1918, America returned the favor to Lafayette and to France, by joining her side in Europe's Great War (later named World War I).
America's allegiance to France was ceremonially demonstrated a hundred years ago, when, on July 4, 1917, Colonel Charles E. Stanton of the U.S. Army visited the tomb of Marquis de Lafayette and announced the United States' resolve to help her ally.
In a symbolic gesture to provide assurance to the French people, Stanton, at the Lafayette tomb, announced, "Lafayette, we are here!"
The United States had come to help stop the tyrannical advances in Europe and to repay France for her help in America's fight for independence 125 years before.
Another important return in history was when General Douglas MacArthur followed through on his promise to come back to liberate the Philippines in World War II.
MacArthur was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942 to evacuate his base of operations in the Philippines to avoid being captured by the Japanese.
He and his family escaped to Australia, where he made a statement to the press explaining that he made the journey under the direction of the president to begin organizing and planning the American military efforts against Japan.
"I came through," he said, "and I shall return."
MacArthur's words resonated with the people of the Philippines and around the world, and on October 20, 1944, he made good on his pledge.
When American forces regained a foothold on the Philippines MacArthur and his party waded ashore from about 50 yards out. Once on the beach, the general articulated a prepared statement announcing his return.
When it comes to Dunkirk, the upcoming July 21 movie should help us understand what happened there in 1940. The movie trailer, as is often the case, gives us a good indication about what to expect.
"When 400,000 men couldn't get home," it said, "Home came for them."
And from England they did indeed come, in military boats, fishing boats, yachts, and ferries, rescuing more than 338,000 from the clutches of the advancing German armies.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the Dunkirk evacuation a miracle, and the term "Dunkirk spirit" came to refer to the ability of the British people to pull together during times of crisis.
But when Dunkirk is remembered, it should be understood that the frantic evacuation was but one chapter in the story of World War II, for Dunkirk also turned out to be the front end of one of history's dramatic returns.
Mollie Panter-Downes, a novelist who produced a column for the New Yorker called "Letter from London," wrote about how in England in 1944 the people lived in anticipation of an invasion that would take the fight back to Germany. She wrote the days were made up of "one ordinary day to the next, waiting for the great extraordinary one."
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the British did return to France, along with the Canadians, the Americans, and a handful of other allies, in the largest invasion in history.
This time when the British and her allies set foot on French soil, they would not be driven back, but would be there until the war was brought to a victorious conclusion.
When D-Day finally arrived, Panter-Downes wrote about how important the Allied return to France was to the people of Great Britain.
"For the English," she wrote, "D-Day might well have stood for Dunkirk Day."
DAVID WILSON, EdD, OF SPRINGDALE, IS A WRITER, CONSULTANT AND PRESENTER, WHO GREW UP IN ARKANSAS BUT WORKED 27 YEARS IN EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. YOU MAY E-MAIL HIM AT [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.
Editorial on 07/12/2017