Political Quotes

“I didn't know my colleague from North Carolina was going to come to the floor to talk about D-day. That is what I am going to talk about too. I would like to follow on his comments, first, to congratulate him for a terrific job of explaining the importance of this day, not just to our country but to the world, the day America truly began the liberation of Europe, and also for his description of the North Carolina brave soldiers who lost their lives that day. It was 72 years ago this morning when the invasion began. It was a day in which there was a lot of concern and anxiety. People knew this was going to be a major conflict. Some 40 years later, Ronald Reagan spoke at Pointe du Hoc. He made the point that every church in America was filled that morning. By about 4 that morning, people were praying all over the country, knowing this was going to be a very difficult battle. It was the largest amphibious assault in the history of the world. There were 150,000 Allied troops involved, and as my friend from North Carolina indicated, we lost over 10,000 troops that day, most of whom were Americans. There were 10,000 aircraft involved as well and 6,000 ships. It was thought that day that Franklin Delano Roosevelt would give a speech, as he had done many times before, called a ``fireside chat,'' from the White House, talking about the invasion and helping the American people to understand the importance of that day, but he decided to do something else instead.…”