[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20001-20002]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



    THE 314TH INFANTRY REGIMENT AND 79TH RECONNAISSANCE TROOP, 79TH 
     INFANTRY DIVISION--53RD ANNUAL REUNION, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

 Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I speak today to honor the 
Soldiers of the 314th Infantry Regiment, 79th Reconnaissance Troop, 
79th Infantry Division. The 79th Infantry Division landed on Utah 
Beach, Normandy on June 14, 1944 and entered combat on June 19. 
Launching a 10-month drive through France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia, 
the 79th Infantry Division eventually repulsed heavy German counter-
attacks and secured Allied positions all the way to the Rhine-Herne 
Canal and the north bank of the Ruhr. As a unit, the 314th Inf Rgmt 
earned the French Fourragere, the Croix de Guerre with Palm Streamer 
embroidered ``Parroy Forest,'' and the Croix de Guerre Streamer with 
Palm embroidered ``Normandy to Paris;'' battalions of the 314th earned 
four Presidential Unite Citations. Soldiers of the 314th earned a 
Congressional Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Crosses, and Silver 
Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart Medals, as well as the French Legion 
of Honor in the Grade of Chalier, the Croix de Guerre with Palm, the 
Croix de Guerre with Silver Gilt Star, the Croix de Guerre with Gilt 
Star and the Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star and the British Military 
Medal.
  Awarding the French Croix de Guerre with Palm to the 79th Infantry 
Division on July 22, 1946, the President of the Provisional Government 
of the French Republic praised the remarkable unit which displayed 
splendid endurance and exceptional fighting zeal. . . . In spite of 
heavy losses, it fought stubbornly against a dashing and fanatical 
enemy, preventing it from reappearing in the Vosges. It thus 
contributed greatly to the liberation of Baccaret, Phalsbourg and 
Saverne.
  Three years later, the French Minister of National Defense cited the 
79th Infantry Division: [A] splendid unit incited by savage vigor, 
landed in Normandy in June 1944. Covered itself with glory in the 
battles of Saint-Lo and at Haye de-Puits. Participated in the capture 
of Fougeres, Laval, and Le Mans, then crossing on the enemy before 
marching triumphantly into Paris on 27 August 1944. By its bold 
actions, contributed largely to the success of the Allied armies and 
the liberation of Paris.
  Most notably,the 79th Infantry Division reinforced the greatest 
amphibious assault in modern history in its drive across the continent. 
On June 6, 2000, the National D-Day museum will open in New Orleans to 
not only commemorate the landing of America's initial World War II 
armada but celebrate the valiant achievements of subsequent Army 
Divisions. As I see it, the invasion of Normandy in the summer of 1944 
made three monumental accomplishments: it marked a critical milestone 
in military strategic history, initiated the Allied victory against 
Nazi Germany, and essentially a new era of American military 
leadership.
  Today, the American soldiers who risked their lives to foment these 
changes continue to inspire works of artists, authors, film writers, 
soldiers, and policymakers. In the words of Secretary of State 
Madeleine Albright, the

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United States, has become the ``indispensable country'' for preserving 
stability and security in the world. If this is true, then certainly 
these men make up an ``indispensable generation.'' Most recently, the 
writings of Tom Brokaw, Steven Spielberg, and New Orleans' own Stephen 
Ambrose have captured the sense of American idealism and patriotic 
fervor invigorating our World War II veterans. These men's 
contributions have persisted decades after V-E Day in driving the 
United States to the forefront of world economic, political, and 
technological development. Accordingly, in the post-Cold War era, the 
United States and its allies have once again faced down mass-scale 
murder in Europe reminiscent of the Holocaust you so bravely arrested. 
Our cooperation with Europe has evidently worked once again.
  As the European Union begins to realize its economic and political 
potential, it is especially essential that we retain our trans-Atlantic 
relationship which has fostered the most intimate system of inter-state 
security for over fifty years. My state has a particular interest in 
maintaining ties with the continent from which much of our unique 
cultural and political identity derives. As Louisiana celebrates its 
French heritage in its 300th Francofete year, the people of our state 
salute you, in light of your supreme accomplishments: helping in the 
liberation of France and dismantlement of the Nazi Third Reich, 
inaugurating an era of American preeminence and ultimately, making the 
world safe for democracy.

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