History: We remember D-Day

Long before I could knit, I was an amateur historian and the first era of history that I fell in love with was the wartime 1940's. The thought that people could sacrifice in the ways they did on the home front was so inspiring to me.

History is not a bunch of boring facts and dates--it's real people who lived and worked and loved and fought and dreamed. It's your grandparents and great-grandparents waiting for letters in the mail, hanging a star in their window, huddled around the radio for the news of the day. It matters more than you think to our current world, because the headlines of today have their roots in yesterday's stories.

Today is an important day in history. It will be remembered more publicly and universally in Europe than in America. For some reason, history is kept alive and passed on to the younger generations much more efficiently in Europe and England and Australia than it is in this country. Today is the 71st anniversary of D-Day.

D-Day was the name given for the invasion of Europe during WWII when more than 160,000 Allied troops invaded enemy-occupied France and began the push that ended the war. To remember D-Day is to remember courage, sacrifice, dedication and excellent leadership.

And of course, it is a day to remember knitters. Knitting had been an important part of home front life in WWI and during WWII, needles were once again clacking with the rhythm of hope and the assurance that every little bit helped.

A pattern from "Practical, Warm Hand Knits for Service Men, published by Fleisher Yarns.

As we remember the horrific battles fought on this day in history on those beaches in northern France, don't forget the knitters who were at home, waiting to hear news of those battles.

For more information about wartime knitting and other vintage knitting patterns check out my Pinterest board: Vintage Knitting.