Several months ago, I discovered that my dear daughter Liberty had been secretly working with her mother on a surprise for me. Knowing her father’s passion for history and desire to cultivate a culture of honor, Liberty’s hope was to meet Frank Buckles, World War I’s last living American doughboy, to interview him, and to share his story with others.

Liberty watched me make The League of Grateful Sons, and she has stood beside me for ten years as I worked with the Faith of Our Fathers Project. She understands that the mission of this effort is to demonstrate our commitment to the Fifth Commandment in the context of showing honor to the heroic fathers of the World War II generation. Liberty has taken this vision into her heart, and she hoped to reach back one generation further and meet World War I’s last remaining U.S. veteran.

So, with the encouragement of her mother, Liberty spent weeks researching the story of Mr. Buckles. She then came to me with her surprise project of honor and asked if she could complete the mission by visiting this unusual man who was such an important link to our nation’s providential past.

How encouraged I was! I gave Liberty my blessing, and she prepared to make the trip with her mother and a cameraman to see Mr. Buckles.

But just days later, he died.

My dear daughter was never able to complete her mission of honor. That broke my heart. It saddened me that she was never able to meet this veteran and to speak to him about the Lord Jesus Christ.

We missed our window of opportunity with Mr. Buckles. We waited too long. . .

That brings me to June 6, 2011.

On June 4–6, Vision Forum Ministries will hold “A Final Farewell” for the last living veterans of the Normandy invasion, the largest amphibious assault in recorded history. For three days, our team will stand on Normandy’s beaches where Allied forces engaged an entrenched Nazi force on D-Day sixty-seven years ago. Old vets who were then young men will recount their stories, and we will honor them through special ceremonies of gratitude. We will say “thank you” for their brave sacrifice to defend our freedoms. Our vision includes a grand celebration, historic reenactments, and the completion of important film projects and video teaching tools that will allow tens of thousands to learn about the providence of God in Normandy.

Ten More Days to Go

We have just over ten days remaining to raise our funds for this project through our Kickstarter campaign. So far we have raised more than half of the money. Please consider supporting this effort through our Kickstarter page, where you can learn more about the specifics of this important project. If we are successful in raising $50,000 in pledges for Normandy: A Final Farewell by May 7, we will reach our fundraising goal. If we fall short even one dollar, however, none of the pledges made through Kickstarter will be realized for the project. It’s an all-or-nothing campaign, and I would appreciate your consideration to help us meet the $50,000 threshold.

Thank you for supporting us in our effort to honor World War II’s last living heroes.

To visit our official Normandy: A Final Farewell website, click here.