www.presidentreagan.info/speeches/omaha.cfm

Omaha Beach, Normandy

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President Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984. Normandy, France.
Address at the U.S.-French Ceremony at Omaha Beach, Normandy on the
40th Anniversary of D-Day.
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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.