Barry Loudermilk: “I thank my good friend from Alabama for the honor of participating in this moment. As many here have done, I have been…”

“I thank my good friend from Alabama for the honor of participating in this moment. As many here have done, I have been to the beaches of Normandy and stood on Omaha Beach. On the 75th anniversary of the landing of D-Day, I was one of those selected to represent the United States there. As I stood on the beach alone, thinking, I realized that that sand I was standing on held the DNA of American patriots who fought that day to preserve liberty for all of us and to stop oppression and aggression. It was especially meaningful to me because my father was one of those who landed in Normandy on D-Day. He was a medic in the United States Army. No one fought alone that day, no single service fought alone. It took the Navy to deliver many of the soldiers to the shores of Omaha Beach, and my father was one of those who boarded an amphibious landing craft that took him to the beach. I would love to stand here today and read one of the letters that my father wrote to his sweetheart, who eventually became my mother, but his letters were lost in a flood many years ago in their home in Walhalla, South Carolina. Today, I want to read the letter from Tracy Sugarman, who was a lieutenant in the Navy. He was assigned to the amphibious squadron and was one of those who, alongside his colleagues who served in the Army, landed on Omaha Beach. What is interesting about Mr. Sugarman is he was one of those who was considered an old man. He was 23 years old. He was married.…”