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On a solemn day in late November 1943, an unlikely coalition of three men sat across a lunch table in a conference center in Tehran and hammered out an agreement. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin had struck a deal that would change the course of a war that had been faltering. The plan put into action in Tehran was a massive operation called “Overlord,” to be carried out the following spring. It was the Allies’ first major confrontation with Germany in Western Europe, a high-risk venture that was necessary if they had any hope of defeating Hitler.
President Roosevelt believed that a plan to fight Hitler on European soil was essential to the war effort and worth the cost of cooperating with Stalin. Churchill was not so sure, but ultimately all three men agreed to the mission, as did Roosevelt’s choice of General Dwight D. Eisenhower to command Operation Overlord, which became known as D-Day.
As Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, the Allied Navy engaged in Operation Overlord landings. (US National Archives/AFP via Getty Images)
Every year we commemorate Normandy Day, we are once again awed by the high stakes of the Normandy landings and the bravery of the men who took part in them. Eisenhower always knew full well what he wanted from his men, and President Franklin Roosevelt never wavered in his belief that it was the right way to go.
My father landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, and the simple answer to how he did it holds lessons for Americans today.
On the night of the invasion, Americans tuned in to their radios to hear the president’s prayer: “Almighty God, our sons, the pride of our nation, have today begun a great effort, a struggle, to defend our Republic, our religion, our civilization, and to liberate a suffering humanity. Guide them straight and true, grant them strength in their arms, courage in their hearts, and steadfastness in their faith.” It was an astonishing plea to the heavens, filled with the knowledge that this all-out effort would determine our success or failure.
D-Day would come to be known as the battle that turned the tide of war and saved democracy. Though the number of D-Day veterans continues to dwindle, we still commemorate it. Soon there will be no one left with living memory.
To younger generations, D-Day may seem distant and abstract, but it is ever-present, requiring constant vigilance.On June 6, 1984, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Pont-du-Hoc, France, marking the 40th anniversary of D-Day.
![D-Day Anniversary Pointe du Hoc](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2023/05/1200/675/GettyImages-3229549.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
June 6, 1984: U.S. President Ronald Reagan delivers a speech marking the 40th anniversary of D-Day at Pont-du-Hoc in Normandy, France, the site of the Allied invasion. (Photo by Ronald Reagan Library/Getty Images)
His words were a sobering reminder of how long the fight for freedom can be. “Despite our great efforts and successes, not everything that happened since the end of the war has been happy and according to plan,” Reagan said, pointing to the Soviet stranglehold on places like Warsaw, Prague and East Berlin.
80th Anniversary of D-DAY: Another Mission to Normandy for the Greatest Generation
“Here, in this place of Western unity, let us make a pledge to our dead. Let our actions show that we understand what they died for.”
Reagan understood the need for constant vigilance against our precious freedoms. He famously said, “Freedom does not disappear in a generation. We do not pass it on to our children in our bloodlines. We must fight for it, defend it, and then pass it on to our children so they can do the same. Otherwise, we will spend our later years telling our children and grandchildren what a free America once was.”
Reagan knew firsthand the truth of his words. After World War II, the Soviets broke Stalin’s wartime promises and created a new danger: the Cold War. Once again, we were called upon to defend the free world. As president, Reagan made it his mission to fight the Soviet Union, calling it an “evil empire.” His steadfastness through many difficult negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev is credited with helping to bring about the Soviet Union’s demise.
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In the final year of his presidency, President Reagan accomplished a remarkable feat at the time: he visited Moscow, the heart of the Soviet empire. During his visit, he spoke at Moscow State University, standing in front of a giant statue of Lenin.
Reagan saw this as an opportunity to speak to the next generation and speak about freedom. With example after example, he illustrated the benefits of living in a free society, and when he finished, he answered questions from the audience, engaging in a lively dialogue. It was one of the most important moments of his presidency. Eighteen months later, the Berlin Wall fell, and two years later, the Soviet Union dissolved.
But the story doesn’t end there. Protecting our freedoms requires constant vigilance. Today, we face new threats on the world stage and a conflicting political environment at home.
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On the anniversary of the Normandy landings, we are reminded of the price our citizens and others paid for freedom. President Biden said at a rally commemorating the day in Normandy, “The soldiers who fought here became heroes. They were given a daring mission, knowing the very real possibility that they might die. But they did it because they knew without a doubt that there were things worth fighting for.” Among those values are freedom, democracy, and America.
![Biden, Macron attend Normandy landings ceremony](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1200/675/GettyImages-2155650306.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
U.S. President Joe Biden (center), U.S. First Lady Jill Biden (right), French President Emmanuel Macron (second from left), and French First Lady Brigitte Macron (left) attend a U.S. ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, or D-Day, during World War II at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach, in northwestern France, on June 6, 2024. This year’s D-Day ceremony on June 6 marks the 80th anniversary of the start of Operation Overlord, a massive Allied military operation in Normandy that changed the course of World War II and ultimately led to the liberation of occupied France and the end of the war with Nazi Germany. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Let us ask ourselves: What role can each of us play in protecting freedom? What does vigilance look like in our time? What role can we play, individually and collectively, to protect the freedoms won by those brave soldiers at Normandy?
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