Remembering D-Day

Today marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. More than 150,000 American and Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in a surprise invasion that began the liberation of Europe and, ultimately, ended Adolf Hitler’s tyranny.

Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagan memorialized the sacrifices of those courageous men in his famous Pointe du Hoc speech. Below is a brief excerpt.

“Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. . . These are the heroes who helped end a war. . .

“The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. . .

“Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which General Matthew Ridgway listened: ‘I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.’”

Of course, we should honor those who saved the world from such horrible evil. But this means more than just looking back in reverence. Their sacrifices should also remind us that we, too, have an obligation not to forsake what they saved for us.

This is a great message to consider as we think about what each of us can do this year as our Republic hangs by a thread and our freedom is threatened not just by external enemies but by powerful forces within that intend to rule by any means necessary.