Those who are true Americans and students of history will recognize the title of this missive immediately. There will be some who would read this title and think about a day without cell service. The title refers to the 1962 all-star cast movie that detailed the D-Day invasion from the Allied and German perspectives. It is a memorable film and grips the viewer without the added Hollywood effects of "Saving Private Ryan." This week marks the 82nd anniversary of Operation Overlord, the largest military amphibious operation in history, the Normandy invasion. It was something that everyone knew had to happen: the invasion of Europe to dislodge and ultimately defeat Nazi Germany. And to this day, the people of the Cotentin peninsula remember and honor the sacrifices of those who gave their lives for their liberation.
For the third year in a row, I will be going to Normandy for the D-Day remembrance. It is special to me as a veteran who served in combat with the First and Fourth Infantry Divisions. It was the First Division that was given the mission of taking Easy and Fox sectors of Omaha Beach, also known as "Bloody Omaha." The Fourth Infantry Division had the mission of Utah beach, and it was famously led ashore by the son of President Teddy Roosevelt, Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., a man stricken with arthritis, but he came ashore carrying his service pistol and cane. I am also a U.S. Army Master Parachutist and served with units that can be traced to airborne and glider artillery units that jumped into the Normandy drop zones.
For the past two years, I have jumped into the same DZs from C-47 aircraft that dropped our paratroopers eight decades ago. Last year, I dropped into St. Martin de Varreville, just inland from Utah beach, which was secured by Pathfinders of the 101st Airborne Division. Unfortunately, I will not be able to jump this year due to hip replacement surgery last December. Regardless, there is something special about being in Normandy for the D-Day remembrance, and something even more special for me.
For the second straight year, in conjunction with the Young America's Foundation, I will be taking 25 campus conservative student leaders to Normandy. Some of these young men and women have never been out of the country. Imagine this being your first trip outside the continental United States. I recall last year's trip and the emotional impact it had on these students, especially when they got to see and shake hands with men who had hit those beaches and drop zones, as well as those who scaled the sheer cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. They stood there near the place where President Ronald Reagan gave his "Boys of Pointe du Hoc" speech, and participants reenacted it. They got an opportunity to touch history, legacy, and experience the men who were members of our "Greatest Generation," as Tom Brokaw would name them. When those students set foot on Omaha beach, walking upon that hallowed ground in Dog Sector, where the Rangers and 29th Infantry Division were brutally savaged by German machine gun and mortar fire, there was not a dry eye. The students had the humble honor of laying a wreath at the American cemetery that overlooks Omaha Beach, again, not a dry eye. And yes, they got to see something that many Americans never will: old paratroopers, members of the Round Canopy Parachuting Team, dressed in period World War II uniform, jump from C-47 aircraft at 1300 ft onto a historic drop zone, and learn about the history of the battle fought there from local Frenchmen.
But what impressed the students the most was the reverence that the people still had for America and the men who fought there. When you see an entire French family, husband, wife, and two sons, clad in period World War II U.S. Army uniforms, walking along Utah beach, stop, and render a salute out towards the English Channel. When they saw all the vintage World War II U.S. Army vehicles filling the streets. When they saw the banners lining the streets of towns like Vierville, with the pictures of Americans who had lost their lives. They were united with American history and American exceptionalism.
As I write this, I wish that I could take not just these 25 outstanding young constitutional conservative student leaders to Normandy. I wish that I could take those students who were marching and protesting on our college and university campuses in support of an Islamic terrorist organization. I wish that one day, I could take those students who believe that socialism is a better form of governance than the free market capitalist economic system that we have. I wish that I could take students who despise and hate America to Normandy to walk the streets with young people who, with a smile, will say, "I love America, thank you."
June 6, 2026, is a day that will come and go here in America. I would even go so far as to say D-Day will receive less than two minutes of news coverage on some media outlets. You know, why celebrate the triumph of the imperialist American Army? The remembrance of D-Day on the Cotentin peninsula lasts an entire week with festivals, parades, and immense, solemn celebrations. The people of France had been under Nazi occupation for four years to the month, June 1940. Finally, the Allied forces came to their rescue. I think it would behoove students who go around castigating their political opposition as "Nazis" to hear from descendants of those who lived under the oppression of the Nazis, which stands for National Socialists.
I am once again looking forward to this journey. I will never forget my first trip to Normandy, which was for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. I jumped into the Batterie Azeville drop zone, and I recall looking down from under my parachute canopy at the crowd gathered below. As soon as I landed and began to retrieve my parachute harness and canopy, I was swarmed by young boys and girls who hugged me and said Merci beaucoup. I had a pack of U.S. flag stickers that I put on them, and they stood at attention, proudly accepting them.
I remember meeting SSG Ray Lambert, Omaha Beach veteran with the First Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Regiment, the same unit I served with years later in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Ray passed just days before his 100th birthday. Men such as Ray, those who participated in D-Day, whether American, British, Canadian, French, Polish, or Dutch, deserve our increased devotion for which they gave, and were willing to give, the last full measure of devotion. Lest we forget what they did.
Steadfast and Loyal.
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