On this day in 1944, over 34,000 American soldiers crowded together in small, amphibious boats en route to Omaha Beach.
As the boats landed on the beach, and their bow ramps dropped down leading the men ashore, unrelenting machine gun fire rained down from enemy bunkers.
Undeterred, the American and Allied forces emerged from the battle victorious, but not without a heavy cost.
Over 2,500 Americans died at Omaha Beach. One of them was 1st Lieutenant Thomas Royce Dallas Jr. from our Congressional District in Griffin, Georgia, who drew his last breath on the shores of Omaha Beach.
As we remember the heroism Americans exhibited on D-Day and we reflect on the cost of freedom, may we remember and be inspired by the names and faces of those brave soldiers who died in service to our Country.