[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 128, 113th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 9139--JUNE 5, 2014

Proclamation 9139 of June 5, 2014

D-Day National Remembrance Day, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On June 6, 1944, before dawn broke across the beaches of Normandy,
scores of allied service members prepared to fight a battle that would
decide the fate of freedom in the 20th century. The odds weighed against
them. That year, the Nazis had fortified the Atlantic Wall

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against a seaborne invasion, lined the coast with mines, and planted
sharpened poles to await allied paratroopers. On D-Day, American,
British, and Canadian forces advanced through thickets of barbed wire
and scaled heavily protected cliffs. They braved gales of bullets and
artillery fire, taking heavy losses as they cut through Nazi defenses.
Thousands gave their last full measure of devotion, and by the end of
the day, the ground on which they died was free once more.
Victory on D-Day dealt a significant blow to an ideology fueled by
hatred. It allowed America and our allies to secure a foothold in
France, open a path to Berlin, and liberate a continent from the grip of
tyranny. It made possible the achievements that followed the end of
World War II--the Marshall Plan, the NATO alliance, and the shared
prosperity and security that flowed from each.
Seventy years later, we pay tribute to the service members who secured a
beachhead on an unforgiving shore--the patriots who, through their
courage and sacrifice, changed the course of an entire century. Today,
as we carry on the struggle for liberty and universal human rights, let
us draw strength from a moment when free nations beat back the forces of
oppression and gave new hope to the world.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, 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, 2014, as D-Day
National Remembrance Day. I call upon all Americans to observe this day
with programs, ceremonies, and activities that honor those who fought
and died so 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 fourteen, and of the Independence
of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.
BARACK OBAMA