President Franklin Delano Roosevelt asks the country to pray on the morning of June 6, 1944.
“They fight not for the lust of conquest, they fight to end conquest.”
On June 6, 1944, 156,000 American, British, Canadian, and French troops began “Operation Overlord” to liberate Western Europe from Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. Known as D-Day, this day ultimately ended with Germany’s surrender on May 8, 1945.
The soldiers on D-Day landed on 50 miles of beaches code-named Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and Omaha in the Normandy Region of France. By day’s end, approximately 4,500 Allied soldiers were killed and thousands more wounded. On Omaha Beach, American casualties numbered over 2,000.
The individual stories of D-Day are too numerous to list. There were incredible acts of bravery. Americans faced a formidable German army that was fighting from entrenched positions. But after brutal combat, Allied soldiers succeeded in establishing a beachhead. Their success led to more months of combat and hardship for American soldiers, but it also led to the liberation of millions from the great evil of Nazi Germany. All Americans need to appreciate this sacrifice.
9,387 American soldiers are buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial overlooking Omaha Beach in France. These soldiers died on D-Day or subsequent missions.