Proclamation 80th Anniversary D Day
June 05, 2024
Proclamation
D-Day 80th Anniversary Commemoration
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.” Eighty years later, these words remind us of the incredible achievement in military planning and logistics uniting brave service personnel from air, sea, and land forces at the beginning of Operation Overlord.
WHEREAS, on that fateful June morning, before dawn, paratroopers dropped in behind enemy lines, followed by the first wave of Allied infantry divisions who rushed forth onto the five beaches of the French coastline, codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
WHEREAS, awaiting these brave men was a shoreline littered with anti-landing obstacles, landmines, bunkers, and strategically positioned machine-gun nests, inflicting devastating losses on the Allied forces.
WHEREAS, through their gallantry and dedication to duty, and with over 2,500 Americans perishing on the beaches of Normandy that day, they overwhelmed the enemy and secured a beachhead that allowed wave after wave of infantry to push onto the continent.
WHEREAS, by the day’s end, Allied troops had successfully achieved a toehold in France.
WHEREAS, through those beaches 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 for peace.
We should all remember and never forget the selfless sacrifice and courage of all those involved and use this Commemoration to pay our tribute to those who gave so much to secure the freedom we all enjoy today. May we never take that freedom for granted.
Now, therefore, I, Christina Stover, Mayor of Iola, Texas, do hereby proclaim June 6, 2024, as a Day of Remembrance of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day.
I call upon all Iola citizens to observe this day in ways that honor those who fought and died so that men and women they had never met might know what it is to be free.
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Mayor Christina Stover
