American troops participate in a remembrance ceremony at Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, France, on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
POINTE DU HOC, France — A few hundred service members and other guests gathered near a famed 100-foot cliff in Normandy on Wednesday, where 80 years ago, one of the most daring and dangerous missions of World War II took place.
The ceremony at Pointe du Hoc was one of the many held this week in northern France in the run-up to the anniversary of D-Day on Thursday.
Organizers say the events are aimed at ensuring that the heroics and horrors of the war are remembered, especially as the number of living veterans and others able to give first-hand accounts dwindles.
“The veterans of the battle honored at this monument behind me are no longer with us,” head of U.S. Central Command Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said at the cliffside ceremony. “(They) passed the responsibility for defending freedom and liberty on to us … a responsibility to remember.”
President Joe Biden is expected to underscore the themes of remembrance and unity during a speech at Normandy American Cemetery on Thursday. Presidents Emmanuel Macron of France and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine also are expected to attend.
At other commemoration events this week, military leaders have drawn parallels between the autocratic regimes of Nazi Germany and Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which continues to wage its invasion of Ukraine.
But the moment at Pointe du Hoc on Wednesday focused squarely on those called on by their leaders to fight.
Soldiers with the 75th Ranger Regiment participate in a ceremony at Pointe du Hoc, in Normandy, France, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
The head of U.S. Central Command, Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, speaks at a ceremony at Pointe du Hoc, in Normandy, France, Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Maj. Justin Wright, a spokesman for the 75th Ranger Regiment, which participated in the Pointe du Hoc event, said soldiers took away a lot from the experience.
“Coming out here and feeling the terrain, feeling the weather, seeing what it might have been like reminds you why we work so hard every day: so that all of this never happens again,” Wright said.
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, Allied forces attacked by land, air and sea in what remains the largest amphibious invasion in military history.
It was a turning point of the war, allowing American, British and Canadian forces to establish a foothold on the shores of Normandy from where they advanced to help liberate Nazi-controlled Europe.
The mission carried out by Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc was critical for the invasion’s success.
High upon the cliffs between Omaha and Utah beaches sat a German battery of 155mm guns that could reach American forces arriving by sea at both beaches, potentially preventing their advance.
Soldiers with the 2nd Ranger Battalion were tasked with ascending the steep cliff walls with the help of rope ladders and destroying the enemy positions on the top. The 5th Ranger Battalion would follow to reinforce them.
After two days of fighting, about 100 soldiers from each unit were dead, nearly 250 were injured and a few dozen were missing.
People gather on the beach at Arromanches-les-Bains, France, to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)
Ceremonies for fallen service members have marked the week. But some events, ranging from parachute landings to fireworks shows, have provided moments of celebration and levity.
Army veteran Gemma McGowan drove near Pointe du Hoc in a mock vintage military vehicle Wednesday alongside someone dressed in a mascot suit of a soldier, referred to as Sgt. Hero.
“We get a lot of enjoyment out of remembering history and for us, that’s fun,” McGowan said. “But it’s definitely not a party atmosphere. It’s remembering. And it’s important.”
Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, the current Miss America, was among the more high-profile visitors to Normandy this year. Eight decades after the D-Day invasion, she said while visting the Normandy American Cemetery that it was still important for Americans to learn about the war and the price that was paid for freedom.
“It’s hard to understand that when you don’t have the education and the understanding surrounding not only D-Day, but all past and present missions,” Marsh said.
Eighty years ago, Kenneth B. Smith, now 99, was a petty officer on the USS Satterlee, which supported soldiers of the 2nd Ranger Battalion as they ascended Pointe du Hoc.
On Wednesday, he received a standing ovation at the ceremony honoring the troops who died during the mission all those years ago.
“I just hope they stay alert,” Smith said on the sidelines of the event, referring to the younger generation. “And that they try to make sure that we don’t have any more wars.”
