[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 49081-49082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12862]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 11, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 49081]]

                Proclamation 10774 of June 5, 2024

                
National Day of Remembrance of the 80th 
                Anniversary of D-Day

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On the evening of June 6, 1944, President Franklin D. 
                Roosevelt broadcast a prayer for the Nation. At the 
                time, war was raging in Europe, and Hitler controlled 
                most of it. Freedom and democracy were under assault 
                around the world. But on that day, hope had landed on 
                the beaches of Normandy when 73,000 Americans joined 
                the Allied forces to carry out one of the greatest 
                military missions of all time--a mission that would 
                become known as D-Day. Knowing the fate of the free 
                world rested in their hands, President Roosevelt asked 
                our Nation to pray for these courageous service 
                members' strength as they ``set upon a mighty endeavor, 
                a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and 
                our civilization, and to set free a suffering 
                humanity.'' On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, may we 
                thank these service members for their bravery and 
                sacrifice. May we honor their heroism, which liberated 
                a continent and saved the world. And may we recommit to 
                the future they fought and which many died for.

                The brave Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, Sailors, Soldiers, 
                and Marines who fought on D-Day faced unparalleled 
                resistance. Nazi Germany had reinforced the Atlantic 
                Wall, lining miles of dangerous cliffs and rocky 
                coastlines with landmines, beach and water obstacles, 
                and machine gunners while also reinforcing its bunkers. 
                So, when 7,000 vessels carrying nearly 160,000 service 
                members from eight Allied countries approached 
                Normandy, victory was never guaranteed. Our 
                paratroopers that jumped behind enemy lines in the 
                night and other military forces had to endure barrages 
                of gunfire, trek through barbed wire, and climb steep 
                sea walls. Over 2,500 Americans made the ultimate 
                sacrifice, giving their lives so that the whole world 
                might know freedom.

                Today, we remember all the Americans who laid down 
                their lives on D-Day to help end the tyranny of fascism 
                across Europe, liberate oppressed peoples, and ensure 
                the flame of liberty would burn bright around the 
                world. Their success marked the beginning of the end of 
                Nazi brutality, World War II, and the Holocaust--one of 
                the darkest chapters in human history. It set the 
                foundations of an enduring peace that still helps guide 
                international cooperation and affairs today. We owe 
                these service members, who represent the greatest of 
                the Greatest Generation, as well as their families a 
                debt of gratitude that we can never fully repay.

                As we reflect on the sacrifices made on D-Day, we are 
                reminded that freedom is not free and it has never been 
                guaranteed. Every generation has to earn it, fight for 
                it, and defend it in the battle between autocracy and 
                democracy--between the greed of a few and the rights of 
                many. Eighty years after our Nation's brave Airmen, 
                Coast Guardsmen, Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines 
                embarked on D-Day--and as Americans everywhere answered 
                the call to prayer and filled their hearts and homes 
                with hope--may we honor the faith they kept in our 
                Nation and their legacy by upholding the future that 
                they died for--one grounded in freedom, democracy, 
                opportunity, and equality for all.

[[Page 49082]]

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 6, 2024, 
                as a National Day of Remembrance of the 80th 
                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 
                fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand 
                twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-12862
Filed 6-10-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P