The recent string of dry and warm weather we have experienced no doubt has many area residents looking ahead to a summer full of activities and the chance to relax and enjoy time with family and friends.

Before we get to that point, though, there are a couple of important anniversaries that need to be noted this weekend. Both have touched the lives of everyone across the region, one happening at the international level and one at the local level.

Saturday is the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which marked the beginning of the end of World War II. With that landing that took place on the beaches in Normandy, France, Allied troops were able to continue their mission of defeating Adolph Hitler and the Nazi and Axis forces.

It was a day that is remembered as a true turning point in history — and it came during a time where there was no gray area. The choices were stark — there was a clear sense of good vs. evil, democracy vs. world domination, freedom vs. oppression.

Decisions made leading up to that invasion were difficult. Military leaders knew that casualties and the loss of life would be great. At the same time, they knew the sacrifices were necessary if Hitler and his forces were to be stopped.

Those who fought and survived the battles of World War II in general, and D-Day in particular, are old men now, and hundreds die each day. According to several estimates by many organizations, of the 16.4 million Americans who served during World War II, there are somewhere between 40,000 and 50,000 who are still alive, and they are passing away at a rate of about 140 a day.

According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, the last of the World War II veterans will die in the early part of the 2040s.When that day arrives and that veteran finally claims his or her own place of peace and quiet, they will take the last of the firsthand memories, leaving the telling of the battles solely to the historians. That’s why it is so critical that their service is remembered.

One way to show that we have never forgotten and remain thankful for the sacrifices that were made is to once again read the words Gen. Dwight David Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe, issued in a simple dispatch that was delivered to his troops before the beginning of Operation Overlord:

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark on the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere will march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!

Good Luck! And let us beseech the blessing of the Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

••••••••

Sunday marks another important milestone — it is the 220th anniversary of the Western Herald newspaper.

Started by William Lowry and John Miller on June 7, 1806, in a small house on North Third Street, that paper, through a series of mergers and changes in ownership, would evolve into the Herald-Star in the later part of the 19th century.

It has a history that is as rich as the history of the Tri-State Area. When the two publishing entrepreneurs launched their newspaper, Ohio had been a state for just a few years, and the creation of West Virginia was more than 50 years away. The Western Herald of 1806 covered events in what was then the Western frontier of the United States, a country which itself was less than a month from turning 30.

During the next 220 years, the Herald-Star would become one of the most influential publications in our region. Through it all, through the many changes in owners and publishers, through the many editors and countless reporters, writers, production personnel, salespeople, composing room workers, pressmen, photographers, office workers and distribution personnel, the news has always made it from downtown Steubenville to your hands.

Technology has changed the way we get our news. While there is still a place for the printed edition, we’re now able to access news from anywhere almost as quickly as it happens, thanks to our smart devices — and it is likely you are using one right now to read this column.

No matter what platform you use to get your news from, the mission of our staff really has never changed: We stand up for the freedoms that journalists must enjoy to preserve freedom in our nation, to ensure that voters are properly informed before they head to the polls, to be sure that government isn’t running roughshod over people who support it — or, more important, oppose it — or that people aren’t ignoring the rules and laws of the community and society in which we live.

We’ve been here to record the milestones of the lives of millions of people. We’ve helped share the good news, including the birth of children, high school and college graduations, marriages and anniversaries, new businesses that have opened and promotions that have been achieved. Sadly, we also have chronicled the sad events in many lives, including deaths.

The Herald-Star and its predecessors have helped shape Steubenville, watching as it grew and changed, standing guard as it experienced the ebb and flow that has come with advances in technology.

On June 7, the Herald-Star will mark its 220th birthday as a continuously published newspaper, certainly one of Ohio’s — and the nation’s — oldest.

The hope is that everyone reading this, on any platform, will recognize that achievement, as well as yourselves, the readers who make up the communities and live the lives we find interesting enough to write about, to learn about, to laugh about, to be entertained by and are motivated to preserve.