[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 82 (Thursday, May 29, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H4920-H4921]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    SEVENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Brownley) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BROWNLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay my 
respects to the Greatest Generation of American heroes by honoring our 
courageous veterans of World War II, in particular, those who took part 
in the Normandy landing on June 6, 1944.
  On that historic day, 160,000 Allied troops landed on the 50-mile 
stretch of beaches along the Normandy coast, commencing the largest 
amphibious assault ever of continental Europe. Their mission was clear: 
to gain a foothold from which to fight Nazi Germany and defeat Adolf 
Hitler.
  With more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft, the Allied forces 
succeeded, but 9,000 patriots were killed or wounded in battle. The 
bravery and heroism of those Americans and our Allies when they stormed 
the French coastline was most definitely the turning point of the war. 
And they could not have done it without the extraordinary work of the 
Seabees.
  During World War II, around 175,000 Seabees were staged directly 
through Port Hueneme and Ventura County. The Seabees, who were 
recruited for their civil construction skills, laid the groundwork for 
D-day.

                              {time}  1100

  On that historic day, the Seabees were among the first to go ashore, 
as members of the naval combat demolition units. Working with the U.S. 
Army engineers, they destroyed the steel and concrete barriers that the 
Germans had built along the Normandy coast to forestall an amphibious 
landing. Coming under fire at dawn, whole teams of Seabees were wiped 
out by the Germans, but their fellow servicemen continued their life-
threatening task of planting all of their explosive charges. Because of 
their heroic actions the charges went off as planned, blowing huge 
holes in the enemy's defense.
  But the Seabees' contributions to D-day didn't stop there. After the 
Allied fleet arrived on the coast of Normandy, Naval Construction 
Regiment 25--a team of around 10,000 Seabees--moved their pontoon 
causeways to create a beachhead from which the Allied infantry could 
land ashore.
  Then, after the unheralded yet no less heroic work of the Seabees was 
complete, our troops and tanks went ashore, took back Normandy, and 
drove the Germans inland.
  We remember and honor those heroes who gave their lives for us, and 
we thank the brave men and women who

[[Page H4921]]

served our country, returned home, and helped the U.S. become the 
indispensable leader of liberty and freedom.
  Many of us have family members who fought in World War II, including 
my uncle Pete, who served in the Army. Of the 16 million Americans who 
served in World War II, just over 1 million of them are still alive, 
with around 93,000 in my home State of California.
  Seven decades later, we are rapidly losing this Greatest Generation, 
so it is of the utmost importance that we continue to show our 
gratitude and appreciation for their sacrifices by recording their oral 
histories, with Honor Flights, and by ensuring that they live their 
final years with dignity and respect--and we shall never forget.
  As a Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I am committed 
to ensuring that the 20 million veterans in the United States receive 
the care and benefits they have earned and deserve--for everyone who 
donned the uniform, from the World War II generation to the post-9/11 
generation.
  I thank the World War II veterans in Ventura County and across the 
country for the sacrifices they and their families made to serve our 
great Nation, and for protecting our liberty and freedoms, our 
democracy at home, and our allies abroad.
  The example their generation has set for us of coming together as a 
Nation with a common purpose is one we continue to aspire to today and 
one my colleagues and I on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee 
emulate as we seek the best possible care for our veterans.

                          ____________________