Posted on 05/29/2004 7:22:40 PM PDT by wagglebee
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is no doubt the most eloquent testimonial to the courage of American soldiers ever penned by a U.S. president. But Ronald Reagan's words on June 6, 1984, are likewise profound and beautiful.
President Reagan was speaking at the World War II Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument, which overlooks Omaha Beach in Normandy. It was the 40th anniversary of the attack made by the 2nd Ranger Battalion led by Lt. Col. James E. Rudder up the steep cliffs at the beach on that momentous day. Loss of life was very high.
"We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty," said Reagan. "For four long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. ...
"The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers on the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up.
"When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. ...
"Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here," Reagan said to the elderly men who had come from their homes in the United States to mark this anniversary. "You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you.
"Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here?
"It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.
"The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next.
"It was a deep knowledge - and pray God we have not lost it - that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.
"You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.
"All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.
"The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They thought -- or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact -- that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.
"Something else helped the men on D-Day: their rock-hard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. ..."
I remember that as though it was yesterday...I also remember him reading a letter written by a daughter of one of the vets and trying not to break down while he read it. Very, very emotional.
More than a touch. She discussed her preparation of that speech in some detail in her first book, "What I Saw at the Revolution."
Was just trying to figure how much was his and how much was Peggy's, just from the writing style.
Whoever wrote it Reagan wouldn't have said it if he didn't agree with it. And the outcome of his words was spectacular!
Amen and God bless RR
I agree totally. Noonan quickly became a rising star in the White House. It was partially his turf war with the young writers like her that results in buchanan getting the boot from the Reagan White House.
RR PING!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.