President Biden delivered a speech in Normandy on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, urging allies to help Ukraine defeat Russian aggression.
On a solemn day in late November 1943, an unlikely coalition of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin finalized an agreement that would change the course of the war. The plan set in motion in Tehran was for a large-scale operation called Overlord, which would take place the following spring and become known as D-Day.
Allied forces engaged in the Overlord operation, landing and storming the Normandy beaches on D-Day. Each year, we commemorate the enormous stakes of the Normandy invasion and the courage of the men who participated. Eisenhower, who led Overlord, never stopped realizing the full extent of what he was asking his men to do, and FDR never wavered in his belief that it was the right course.
On the evening of the invasion, Americans tuned into their radios to hear their president praying for the success of the mission. His plea to the heavens acknowledged the knowledge that this all-out effort would make or break the war effort.
D-Day would become known as the battle that changed the course of the war and saved Democracy. We commemorate it still, even as the numbers of D-Day veterans continue to shrink. For younger generations, D-Day might seem distant and abstract, but it is ever-present because vigilance is always needed.
President Ronald Reagan's 1984 speech at Pointe Du Hoc on the 40th anniversary of D-Day served as a sober reminder of how enduring the struggle for freedom is. Despite the great efforts and successes of the Allies, Reagan pointed to the Soviet stranglehold on Eastern Europe as a reminder that the fight for freedom was far from over.
Reagan understood the need for constant vigilance over our precious freedoms. He famously said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free."
Reagan's commitment to freedom was evident in his stance against the Soviet Union, which he called "the evil empire." His unflagging stance through many difficult negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has been credited with helping bring the Soviet Union to its end point.
In the final year of his presidency, Reagan accomplished a remarkable feat for the time; a visit to Moscow, the heart of the Soviet Empire. While there, he gave a speech at Moscow State University, standing before a massive statue of Lenin. Reagan saw it as an opportunity to speak to the next generation about the rewards of living in a free society.
Eighteen months later, the Berlin Wall fell, and two years after that, the Soviet Union was dissolved. However, the fight for freedom is never truly over.
Today, we face new threats on the global stage and a contentious political environment at home. On the anniversary of D-Day, we are reminded once again of the price that has been paid by our countrymen and others for freedom.
Speaking to a gathering in Normandy to commemorate the day, President Biden said, "The men who fought here became heroes—given an audacious mission, knowing the probability of dying was real. But they did it anyway, knowing without a doubt there are things worth fighting for"—among them, freedom, democracy, and America.
Let’s ask ourselves: What role can each of us play in protecting our freedoms? What does vigilance look like for our era? How can we individually and collectively play a role in securing the freedoms won for us by the brave men who fought at Normandy?
