From the S&S archives: Daughter of D-Day veteran kept a promise made by him

OMAHA BEACH, France — President Reagan's voice broke with emotion Wednesday as he told of a woman's promise to her late father to visit the graves of his comrades who died on D-Day 40 years ago.

"Through the words of his loving daughter ... she has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any president can," Reagan said in an address to 3,000 veterans and special visitors at the American Military Cemetery here.

Lisa Zanatta Henn had written the president, saying she was coming to see the graves because her father, Peter Robert Zanatta, a veteran of the invasion, had died of cancer eight years ago and was unable to keep his promise to his comrades to return. Zanatta was a private first class and part of the first assault wave to hit Omaha Beach 40 years ago.

Quoting her letter, Reagan read: "'He made me feel the fear of being on that boat waiting to land. I can smell the ocean and feel the seasickness. I can see the looks on his fellow soldiers' faces — the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty of what lay ahead ... 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.'"

After the ceremony, Reagan went to Henn and received a kiss.

Reagan made his three-minute address from the foot of the monument at the cemetery overlooking the beach. He praised the men who landed at this bloodiest of beaches and gave their lives for the freedom of the Western world.

"Men bled and died here for a few feet or inches of sand as bullets and shellfire cut through their ranks," Reagan said.

"President Lincoln once reminded us that, through their deeds, the dead of battle have spoken more eloquently for themselves than any of the living ever could. We can only honor them by rededicating ourselves to the cause for which they gave a last full measure of devotion."

Looking out over almost 10,000 headstones, Reagan ended with a promise: "We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may be always free."

He arrived at the cemetery at 3:20 p.m., by Marine helicopter from ceremonies at Pointe du Hoc. Upon his arrival, he visited the memorial chapel and laid a wreath at the grave of Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who landed on D-Day and died a few days later of a heart attack.

French President Francois Mitterrand and his wife arrived shortly after. The Reagans and Mitterrands walked 100 yards through a corridor of French airborne and U.S. Army 1st Inf Div soldiers. The U.S. Army Field Band from Washington played at the ceremony.

American veterans, who began arriving at the cemetery gates at 9 a.m., gathered around the reflecting pool at about.1 p.m., where they waited nearly three hours to hear Reagan's speech.

Among the dignitaries at Omaha Beach were: Secretary of State George Shultz; Gen. Bernard W. Rogers, commander of the U.S. European Comd; Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., and Rep. Sam M. Gibbons, D-Fla. Both Thurmond and Gibbons are D-Day veterans.