[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 113 (Wednesday, June 12, 2019)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 27501-27502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12552]



[[Page 27499]]

Vol. 84

Wednesday,

No. 113

June 12, 2019

Part IV





The President





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Proclamation 9904--National Day of Remembrance of the 75th Anniversary 
of D-Day
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  Federal Register / Vol. 84 , No. 113 / Wednesday, June 12, 2019 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Proclamation 9904 of June 6, 2019

                
National Day of Remembrance of the 75th 
                Anniversary of D-Day

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On June 6, 1944, D-Day, more than 130,000 American and 
                Allied troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, 
                and thousands more parachuted in behind enemy lines, on 
                a mission to retake Europe from the control of Nazi 
                Germany. The night before the operation, the largest 
                amphibious assault in the history of war, General 
                Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a message to the Allied 
                Expeditionary Force: ``The eyes of the world are upon 
                you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people 
                everywhere march with you . . . We will accept nothing 
                less than full victory.'' Seventy-five years later, 
                these words remind us of the magnitude of the day and 
                of the heroism of the thousands who waded onto the 
                beaches, parachuted into the countryside, and gave 
                their all to change the course of history and to bring 
                liberty to millions.

                On that fateful June morning, before dawn, paratroopers 
                from the Army's 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, 
                among others, fell in behind enemy lines. Shortly 
                thereafter, the first wave of American, British, and 
                Canadian infantry divisions, which had crossed the 
                English Channel in 7,000 vessels and landing craft, 
                rushed forth onto the five beaches of the targeted 50-
                mile stretch of the French coastline, codenamed Utah, 
                Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

                Awaiting these brave men was a shoreline littered with 
                anti-landing obstacles, landmines, bunkers, and 
                strategically positioned machine-gun nests. These 
                defenses inflicted devastating losses on the Allied 
                forces. 1,465 Americans perished on the beaches of 
                Normandy that day. On Omaha Beach--the bloodiest of the 
                five--the U.S. Army's 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions 
                suffered horrific losses: 2,400 soldiers were killed or 
                wounded by day's end.

                Secure in the nobility of their cause and driven by 
                love of country, the heroes of D-Day pressed forward 
                against the German onslaught. Through their gallantry 
                and dedication to duty, they overwhelmed the enemy and 
                secured a beachhead that allowed wave after wave of 
                infantry to push onto the continent. By day's end, the 
                D-Day forces had pried open Europe's northern door--so 
                tightly sealed by the Nazis for years. Through that 
                door streamed the forces of liberation, which 
                ultimately ended the war, ended the horrors of the 
                Holocaust, ended the tyrannical Hitler regime, and laid 
                the foundations of a peace that persists to this day.

                Today, we pause to remember and honor all of the brave 
                soldiers, sailors, and airmen whose selfless sacrifices 
                catalyzed the deliverance of oppressed people and 
                secured freedom for decades to come. May we always be 
                true to the virtues and principles for which this D-Day 
                generation--the Greatest Generation--paid so dearly. As 
                we mark 75 years since the D-Day landings, we recognize 
                that their legacy grows ever more meaningful with time. 
                The story of America will forever include the valor and 
                sacrifice of the intrepid servicemen who took those 
                beaches in northwest France on June 6, 1944.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution

[[Page 27502]]

                and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim 
                June 6, 2019, as a National Day of Remembrance of the 
                75th Anniversary of D-Day. I call upon all Americans to 
                observe this day with programs, ceremonies, and 
                activities that honor those who fought and died so that 
                men and women they had never met might know what it is 
                to be free.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand 
                nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States 
                of America the two hundred and forty-third.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2019-12552
Filed 6-11-19; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F9-P