Ted Poe: “In the cold, damp, dark rain of morning, thousands of young American soldiers sailed across the treacherous English…”

“In the cold, damp, dark rain of morning, thousands of young American soldiers sailed across the treacherous English Channel. The day was June 6, 1944; their destination, Normandy, France; the mission, not conquest, but liberation of Europe. Operation Overlord, or D-Day, called for a massive ally invasion of the continent during World War II. Securing the brutal Omaha and Utah beachheads inch by bloody inch, our boys finally declared victory, forcing Hitler to begin his long retreat into oblivion. That victory did not come without cost, however. Today, 9,387 white crosses and Stars of David overlook the silent beaches of Normandy, marking the final resting place of America's war dead. The soldiers buried there were part of the Greatest Generation, young men from every State and territory in the United States. We remember them, our warriors, those that were killed, those that returned, and those that returned with the wounds of war, because, Mr. Speaker, the worst casualty of war is to be forgotten. And that is just the way it is. ____________________”