Jon S. Corzine: “I rise this week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy and to honor the…”

“I rise this week to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the World War II Allied invasion of Normandy and to honor the courageous members of our Armed Forces, especially those from New Jersey, who participated in that decisive battle. In the waning days of 1943, the Allied Command, led by General Dwight David Eisenhower, developed a plan to cross the English Channel and gain a foothold on France's Normandy coast. This bold strategy breached Hitler's western defenses and began the liberation of France and the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe. The invasion known as Operation Overlord was to become the largest air, land and sea operation any military force had ever undertaken. After months of planning, training and preparation by the Allies, June 6, 1944 was selected as the invasion date, or D-Day. Moving and fighting under stormy skies, the invasion force, led by the United States, Great Britain and Canada, and including Free French and Free Polish units, consisted of over 1 million service personnel. The American contingent included tens of thousands of ground combat troops who assaulted over Omaha and Utah beaches, airborne units which landed behind enemy lines, U.S. Navy sailors, Army logisticians and other specialists, and Army Air Corps aviators and ground crews who supported the landings. The dangers were grave, and the stakes almost incalculable.”