On June 6, 1944, the Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force launched Operation Overlord—the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare—to break Nazi Germany’s grip on Europe.
This monumental campaign, launched on D-Day, was forged through an unprecedented coordination of land, air, and naval power, transforming a heavily fortified coastline into a decisive turning point in World War II and one of the defining moments in the glorious history of the United States Armed Forces.
That morning, American soldiers stormed the deadly sands of Omaha and Utah beaches under a merciless storm of fire, pressing forward wave after wave through the surf and the carnage to seize the ground before them. Across every front, American warriors met the moment with unyielding resolve and extraordinary valor. At Pointe du Hoc, more than 225 United States Army Rangers scaled 100 feet of sheer rock face by rope and ladder, German soldiers hurling fire down upon them from above, fighting for every inch of cliff until they reached the top and silenced the guns threatening the invasion force below. Supported by massive aerial campaigns and over 23,000 airborne troops, American, British, and Canadian forces together secured all 5 beachheads across 50 miles of French coastline, landing over 150,000 troops by nightfall. By the end of June, almost a million Allied troops had marched through Normandy, and momentum born on those beaches carried the free world forward to the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945.
The courage displayed on D-Day came at a staggering cost. Over 10,000 Allied servicemen were killed, wounded, or reported missing in a single day, among them more than 2,500 American warriors who gave their lives to crush the forces of fascism and defend our Republic from a darkness that threatened the world. They answered the call of their country without hesitation, crossed a vast ocean, and brought the full, ferocious might of the United States Armed Forces to bear against tyranny, as this great Nation has done for 250 years.
On this 82nd anniversary of D-Day, we pay solemn tribute to America’s Greatest Generation—valiant men who rose to confront tremendous evil. Their valor on the beaches of Normandy is the eternal measure of what Americans are made of, a legacy forged in the fires of the deadliest conflict in human history and carried forward by every generation of Americans since. Today, we rededicate ourselves to preserving what they secured, standing firm in the knowledge there is no force on Earth more formidable, more just, or more unstoppable than the American warrior fighting for the cause of freedom.