[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 102 (Monday, June 17, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4101-S4102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the 
following nomination, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant executive clerk read the nomination of Katherine 
E. Oler, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate Judge of the 
Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of fifteen 
years.

[[Page S4102]]

  



                       80th Anniversary of D-Day

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, 80 years ago this month, America and 
our allies embarked on a mission that would change the course of 
history. We stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. 
Along with our allies, we formed the largest armada in world history, 
with more than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft, with the goal of 
liberating Nazi-occupied Europe and defending the free world. To our 
country's eternal gratitude, these brave soldiers succeeded in their 
mission.
  On the 80th anniversary of D-Day on June 6, I joined a bipartisan 
Senate delegation to Normandy to honor the Americans--among them, 
Tennesseans--who put their lives on the line in the name of freedom.
  Of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War II, less than 1 
percent are still with us today. So it was a special honor to meet with 
some of those brave heroes who served, and we sat together as we 
commemorated this day.
  Among them was Tennessee native Cletis Bailey, who fought to liberate 
Europe while serving in the 84th Infantry Division. Two years ago, at 
the age of 96, Mr. Bailey received a Bronze Star for fighting at the 
Battle of the Bulge. That was 76 years after his service had come to an 
end.
  Like so many Americans who served in World War II, Mr. Bailey was 
gracious and humble about the incredible sacrifices that he made to 
defend the country. It was a powerful reminder that the ``greatest 
generation'' viewed their service to our country, even through the 
horrors of war, as their duty as American citizens.
  But during the memorial ceremonies, these heroes received the 
recognition they deserve in front of a crowd of 10,000 people from all 
over the world. It was so moving to see French President Macron 
recognize 11 U.S. veterans with the Legion of Honor--France's highest 
distinction--for their role in helping to free France from Nazi 
oppression.
  While we thanked the surviving D-Day veterans for their service, our 
delegation also honored the brave soldiers who never returned home to 
America. In Normandy, there is no greater symbol of their sacrifice 
than the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, which holds the 
graves of 9,387 American war dead. Many of these warriors fell just 
hundreds of feet away from the cemetery grounds right there on Omaha 
Beach--the site of the fiercest fighting on D-Day, where U.S. forces 
suffered approximately 2,400 casualties.
  While many markers of the landings have long since disappeared, along 
the coastline, you will still see fortifications which Nazi forces used 
to rain machine gun fire on American soldiers who stormed the beaches 
to free a continent.
  In so many ways, Normandy is a reminder that America is the home of 
the free because of the brave. And while we can never repay their 
sacrifices, we must ensure that no veteran is ever left behind--
especially when it comes to the benefits and the quality care they 
deserve.
  In the Senate, I have championed legislation to improve the 
Department of Veterans Affairs' caregiver program and protect veterans' 
personal information. Thankfully, both of these bills have become law, 
but there is much more that needs to be done to honor their service. 
That is why I introduced the Veterans Health Care Freedom Act, which 
would expand healthcare options for veterans by allowing them to seek 
care in their local communities instead of VA facilities that are often 
far away from their homes.
  These efforts will not only benefit our Nation's veterans but also 
the more than 1.2 million Active-Duty troops when their service comes 
to an end. During the delegation trip, I was pleased to meet many of 
these brave warriors, including members of Fort Campbell's 101st 
Airborne Division who live in Tennessee.
  On D-Day, the 101st was crucial to the Allies' victory, parachuting 
into France behind enemy lines to clear a path for the infantry 
divisions that were storming the beaches. Eighty years later, the 
current members of the 101st honored this incredible legacy, conducting 
an air assault drill in Carentan, a French town liberated by the 101st.
  The outpouring of support for our veterans and servicemembers was a 
powerful reminder of General Eisenhower's words to the 175,000-strong 
expeditionary force on the eve of the D-Day landings: that--then and 
now--``the hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march 
with'' America and our Armed Forces.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Iowa.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, last week, the United States and 
Allied nations observed a significant milestone in world history: the 
80th anniversary of D-Day. That day--by land, air, and sea--this 
massive military operation unleashed the largest amphibious assault 
known to the world.
  More than 18,000 paratroopers dropped onto the beaches of Normandy. 
More than 14,000 dispatches from Allied Air Forces provided cover. 
Nearly 7,000 naval vessels participated, including more than 132,000 
ground troops who swam ashore amid heavy German artillery.
  American families lost 2,500 servicemembers on D-Day alone. All told, 
as we know, more than 400,000 Americans died during World War II 
serving their country. These courageous patriots defended America's 
standing as the beacon of hope and freedom around the world.
  The sacrifice of the American people to back the war effort allowed 
the United States to flex its military superiority alongside the Allied 
forces. That effort bested the Axis powers, defeating their 
authoritarian regimes and ending the Holocaust, where 6 million Jewish 
people lost their lives. They were murdered.
  At every opportunity, Barbara and I are honored to greet veterans who 
have come to Washington, DC, in what we call Honor Flights, to visit 
the World War II Memorial.
  A World War II hero and former Senate majority leader here in the 
Senate, Bob Dole, came to be my best friend. He took me, a fellow 
midwesterner, under his wing when I first came to the U.S. Senate.
  My departed friend brought uncommon courage to the battlefield, and 
we all know he brought principled leadership to the U.S. Senate. His 
mentorship made a lasting impression on me and my work in Congress. 
That includes a nonnegotiable tenet of America's national security, 
which is peace through strength.
  You see, widespread isolationist sentiment kept the United States 
from entering World War I and World War II. America stayed on the 
sidelines until the cost of aggression was too high, and the threat to 
the United States became obviously more acute.
  Separated as we are from Europe and Asia by two vast oceans and 
wishing no one any harm, Americans would naturally feel that we ought 
to be left alone and ignore foreign conflicts.
  Now, here is the lesson for today. The United States learned this 
lesson from World War II: Preventing and stopping aggression very early 
is much less costly in dollars and lives.
  We learned what happens when you wait. When unchecked aggression has 
lit the world on fire, we are forced to fight a devastating world war.
  That is why the United States led our allies in creating the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization, better known as NATO. This most 
successful defensive alliance in history turned 75 this year.