Dear Editor: One of the most moving experiences I have had while traveling was a visit to the D-Day beaches on the coast of Normandy, France, where on June 6,1944, allied forces from the United States, Britain, Canada and many other nations began the invasion that would defeat Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. I cannot begin to imagine what it was like to wait on the ships in stormy weather and then to wade through the water knowing the odds against actually making it to the shore.

Those who survived the withering machine gun assaults and made it to the beaches then had to advance through Normandy knowing that Nazi soldiers could be behind any hedgerow waiting to attack. But they persevered and defeated the army that had conquered much of Europe and threatened democratic institutions on both side of the Atlantic.

Were they Democrats or Republicans? No one knew or cared. They were Americans united against an enemy who threatened our way of life. In those days politics stopped at the water’s edge, and Americans united against a common enemy. Today multiple intelligence services from all over the world have warned that Russia has plans to disrupt our democracy and the democracies of Europe. Russians have attacked our voting system and wish to disrupt the European Union.

So many of President Trump’s policies from support of Brexit to withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement complement Putin’s agenda, and the attack on our allies  at the G7 meeting in Canada is exactly what Russia wants.

It is very important that Americans, whether Democrat or Republican, contact all their elected representatives, especially Republicans, and obtain from them a firm commitment that they will support all investigations into activities that are harmful to America’s historic values and our national security.

PATRICIA KENNEY

Whitestone