The Fallen

Every war has casualties. Every battle has casualties. Some have more than others. Some have very few. But all casualties, no matter which side they are on, are terrible. For those of you that do not know, September 21st is International Peace Day. As this blog focuses on telling true war stories, it would be a shame to not speak of peace in at least one post.

This year for International Peace Day, a group of people from Sandinyoureye and Peace One Day came together to create a work of art commemorating The Fallen of the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 1944. For every casualty of this single day, they drew a soldier in the sand along the beach of Normandy.



Using the stencils shown above, some 9,000 bodies were drawn in the sand. According to the site, even that is a conservative estimate. Of the casualties that day, 3,000 were French civilians, 2,000 were German soldiers, and 4,414 were Allied forces. If two of those words above did not cause you to pause and ask yourself why, let me say them again. The casualties that day were 9,000.

Why do we insist on losing so many lives in such a short period of time? Is war a last resort or a first response? Which should it be? Can we ever achieve peace one day?



"On Peace Day we quietly and harmoniously drew 9,000 people in the sand so that people can understand the loss with their own eyes. This was a quiet day with a very loud statement. The message of the Fallen is now travelling the globe, those people that lost their lives are no longer with us but on Peace Day 21st September 2013 they spoke." Jimmy Wardley

Throughout history, mankind has fought each other. Every side of every war has experienced casualties. Whether it is the 9,000 lost on D-Day, the 46,286 lost at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, or the approximately 1,600 casualties of the Battle of Mogadishu, every loss is bitter.

All images from The Fallen 9000 Gallery