[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 68 (Tuesday, June 6, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        56TH ANNIVERSAY OF D-DAY

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                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2000

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to take this opportunity to bring to 
the attention of our colleagues that today, June 6th , marks the 56th 
anniversary of the D-Day invasion, known as Operation Overlord.
  It was 56 years ago today that a miracle of liberation began. On that 
morning, democracy's forces landed to end the enslavement of Europe. 
This miracle took place on the shores of Normandy, as 150,000 troops 
engaged in the largest amphibious invasion in history. Some historians 
have gone so far as to acclaim the liberation effort as the greatest 
military invasion in the history of mankind. Regardless of the label 
placed on the invasion, the D-Day invasion unarguably 2 represents a 
noble effort to uphold democracy and free mankind from the evils of 
oppression and tyranny.
  Operation Overlord did not represent the selfish interests of one 
nation. Rather, it was a humanitarian effort that required the 
unification of soldiers from many nations. American, British, French, 
and Canadian soldiers united in a fight for freedom and liberation of 
not only a nation but of a multicultural, diverse continent. Rallied by 
this universal goal, General Dwight D. Eisenhower told his troops: ``We 
will accept nothing less that full victory.'' Victory for Eisenhower 
and the allied troops was not just to win, it was to uphold and give 
back the unalienable rights that Nazi tyranny stole from the people.
  The attainment of such a goal did not come without sacrifice. 6,600 
Americans were killed and many more wounded.
  Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate that all Americans should join in 
honoring the lives that were sacrificed in that noble battle to 
facilitate an environment in which oppression and tyranny do not 
prevail.
  Accordingly, I urge all of our colleagues to join in paying tribute 
to this red letter day in history.

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