In Memoriam
1911
2004
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At
the U.S.-French Ceremony at Omaha Beach on the 40th Anniversary
of D-Day
President
Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984. Normandy, France.
We
stand today at a place of battle, one that 40 years ago saw and
felt the worst of war. Men bled and died here for a few feet of
- or inches of sand, as bullets and shellfire cut through their
ranks. About them, General Omar Bradley later said, "Every
man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero."
Some
who survived the battle of June 6, 1944, are here today. Others
who hoped to return never did.
"Someday,
Lis, I'll go back," said Private First Class Peter Robert Zannata,
of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion, and first assault wave to
hit Omaha Beach. "I'll go back, and I'll see it all again.
I'll see the beach, the barricades, and the graves."
Those
words of Private Zanatta come to us from his daughter, Lisa Zanatta
Henn, in a heart-rending story about the event her father spoke
of so often. "In his words, the Normandy invasion would change
his life forever," she said. She tells some of his stories
of World War II but says of her father, "the story to end all
stories was D-Day."
"He
made me feel the fear of being on the boat waiting to land. I can
smell the ocean and feel the sea sickness. I can see the looks on
his fellow soldiers faces-the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty
of what lay ahead. And when they landed, I can feel the strength
and courage of the men who took those first steps through the tide
to what must have surely looked like instant death."
Private
Zannatas daughter wrote to me, "I don't know how or why
I can feel this emptiness, this fear, or this determination, but
I do. Maybe it's the bond I had with my father. All I know is that
it brings tears to my eyes to think about my father as a 20-year
old boy having to face that beach."
The
anniversary of D-Day was always special to her family. And like
all the families of those who went to war, she describes how she
came to realize her own father's survival was a miracle: "So
many men died. I know that my father watched many of his friends
be killed. I know that he must have died inside a little each time.
But his explanation to me was, You did what you had to do,
and you kept on going."
When
men like Private Zannata and all our Allied forces stormed the beaches
of Normandy 40 years ago they came not as conquerors, but as liberators.
When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the
forests of Belgium and Luxembourg they came not to take, but to
return what had been wrongfully seized. When our forces marched
into Germany they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people,
but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to
bee free again.
We
salute them today. But, Mr. President [Francois Mitterand of France],
we also salute those who, like yourself, were already engaging the
enemy inside your beloved country-the French Resistance. Your valiant
struggle for France did so much to cripple the enemy and spur the
advance of the armies of liberation. The French Forces of the Interior
will forever personify courage and national spirit. They will be
a timeless inspiration to all who are free and to all who would
be free.
Today,
in their memory, and for all who fought here, we celebrate the triumph
of democracy. We reaffirm the unity of democratic people who fought
a war and then joined with the vanquished in a firm resolve to keep
the peace.
From
a terrible war we learned that unity made us invincible; now, in
peace, that same unity makes us secure. We sought to bring all freedom-loving
nations together in a community dedicated to the defense and preservation
of our sacred values. Our alliance, forged in the crucible of war,
tempered and shaped by the realities of the post-war world, has
succeeded. In Europe, the threat has been contained, the peace has
been kept.
Today,
the living here assembled-officials, veterans, citizens-are a tribute
to what was achieved here 40 years ago. This land is secure. We
are free. These things are worth fighting and dying for.
Lisa
Zannata Henn began her story by quoting her father, who promised
that he would return to Normandy. She ended with a promise to her
father, who died 8 years ago of cancer: "I'm going there, Dad,
and I'll see the beaches and the barricades and the monuments. I'll
see the graves, and I'll put flowers there just like you wanted
to do. I'll never forget what you went through, Dad, nor will I
let any one else forget. And, Dad, I'll always be proud."
Through
the words of his loving daughter, who is here with us today, a D-Day
veteran has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any
President can. It is enough to say about Private Zannata and all
the men of honor and courage who fought beside him four decades
ago: We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always
be prepared, so we may always be free.
Thank
you.
[Posted
June 9, 2004]
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images courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation,
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