Posted on 06/05/2004 3:29:53 PM PDT by wagglebee
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 Zannata's 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.
Amen
Thank you for posting this. Chris Wallace mentioned this speech, and said there wasn't a dry eye in the audience when he finished. I didn't remember it.
Unfortunately, it turns out the french weren't included in that 'we'.
I was there standing with him on that day. I was Sergeant, a member of the 4/325 (509th) Airborne Combat Team (Paratroops) standing in formation representing the U.S. that day at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy - Omaha Beach basically. We were part of the 82nd Aiborne Division back then and President Reagan had asked that we be part of the representation. He called us his "Paratroopers in Italy" and referred to us in that light several times over the years in various comments.
After the speech he went out of his way to come over and walk down the rows and shake our hands while troops from other countries looked on in awe as their leaders went straight to groups of power brokers - Ron came to us - his boys serving overseas.
This is a sad day even though we were all prepared for this ... he was truly a great man.
It would be difficult to explain, difficult for anyone to imagine, the feeling of emotion that swept over those of us there with him that day as he read those words. IMHO it is one of the greatest speeches of all times.
God Bless him and his family. What a gentleman he was.
Russ Perry
Lexington, SC
Thank you for sharing that story. It was wonderful.
Thank you, Sir, for your heroic service, and for the beautiful recollection.
Anyone know where the speeches can be heard? I was lving in West Germany during the years of all of his important speeches, and the Gerries always dubbed him into German. So, I've never heard him speak, except in little snatches in news retrospectives, such as were played tonight.
I think you can buy cds at B&N, etc. I'm sure a lot will come out in the next few weeks.
Thanks for the tip. That's what I'll do. I think I'll wait for the DVDs. At the time, I was living in West Germany, and I never got to hear him speak. The Gerries would always dub over his voice. So, 20 years later, I'll be seeing him speak for the first time.
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