[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.