I Thought I Had Failed—Until I Realized ALOHA Had Gone With Me
I Thought I Had Failed—Until I Realized ALOHA Had Gone With Me
By Creig Lam
My bucket list included seeing the beaches of Normandy where Allied troops stormed ashore on June 6, 1944 to begin the liberation of Europe, which had been suffering under the jackboot of Nazi Germany since June of 1940.
I was and still am impressed by the level of sacrifice that was demonstrated by soldiers of the United States, which numbered no more than 1.6 million on December 7, 1941, the day that Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and drew the United States into a war that would encompass the world. By D-Day, on June 6, 1944 the US Army had swelled to 7.9 million globally. It had grown by 6.3 million soldiers in the three years between the attack on Pearl Harbor and D-Day, and that didn’t include massive increases in the Navy and Marines!
I was part of a choir that was invited to open the commemoration ceremonies on June 6, 2026 in Saint Mere Eglise, the first town liberated by US paratroopers in the early morning of D-Day. Our reception there was wonderful. The French living in Normandy still remember the sacrifice by American troops that led to their liberation from Nazi oppression. Our tour took us also to Utah and Omaha Beaches, where (especially at Omaha Beach) our troops suffered heavy losses against a fortified enemy firing down from bluffs on exposed men making the landings.
Another place that we visited was Point du Hoc, a point jutting out into the English Channel with 100 foot cliffs midway between Utah and Omaha beaches (see video of the bay taken from where the German emplacements were located). The Germans had built reinforced concrete bunkers for five inch artillery guns that could fire upon our troops landing on both of the US landing beaches, and so those fortifications had to be destroyed by US Army Rangers who were called upon to land at the base of those 100 foot cliffs, scale them using ropes, and overcome the defenders at the top of those cliffs, who were firing down on them the whole time. Prior to the landing, US battleships fired 14 inch guns into the German positions and the pits dug by those shells are still visible today (see video). Of the 225 men that engaged in that attack, only 90 were available for service when the attack concluded, a 70% rate of attrition. We walked through the battleground in silence, in awe and appreciation of the sacrifice which took place there. It was difficult not to weep.
At the American Cemetery located above Omaha Beach 9,389 US military dead are buried. Row upon row of soldiers, most of whom made the supreme sacrifice during the Battle of Normandy. We had the names and grave locations of five men from Hawaii who lost their lives in that battle and we were successful in finding their graves and placing lei on their crosses. One of those soldiers was a nineteen year old ‘Iolani School graduate.
I was convinced in the time leading up to leaving Hawaii for France that I was on a mission as an ambassador of ALOHA to France from Hawaii. I have been blessed to share with our audiences in Hawaii the true meaning of ALOHA and I was sure that I was going to be bringing the same message to France (my thoughts were that France needs ALOHA badly). As it turns out, France DOES need aloha badly, but I had zero opportunities to share ALOHA in that way (speaking at a concert). I felt that I had failed in my mission, even in spite of the impact of the Normandy visit.
I believed that I had failed, that I had let God down because I fully believed that I had made ZERO impact as far as ALOHA was concerned.
Until I attended the conference on “The Other Side of Church”. That conference walked me through experiencing God’s ALOHA for me all over again. I could feel His gaze all over me, eyeball to eyeball, and His smile communicated His delight in me and His joy in having me with Him….all the time!
I realized that I had misunderstood the assignment! As His son, He wants me to enjoy the moment, and that ALOHA went with me anyway, whether I got to communicate it or not!
What’s next, Lord?
About the Author
Creig Lam
