Reporting from Normandy, France — Standing on the shores of the historic Omaha Beach landing, President Obama today paid tribute to the thousands of servicemen who gave their lives in the D-day invasion and cast it as inspiration for the "hardships and struggles of our time."
In a speech to a sea of veterans and their families, Obama recalled the hell of German fire that rained down on the troops as they took the beaches of Normandy, which he called "the story of America."
"It is a story that has never come easy, but one that always gives us hope," he said. "For as we face down the hardships and struggles of our time, and arrive at that hour for which we were born, we cannot help but draw strength from those moments in history when the best among us were somehow able to swallow their fears and secure a beachhead on an unforgiving shore."
The 65th anniversary of the invasion falls as the new American president works to build new global alliances to fight violent extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan, contain the proliferation of nuclear weapons and support peace in the Middle East.
The ceremonies came at the end of Obama's mission through the Middle East and Europe, in which he pressed world leaders for support in those initiatives. Joining the president for the Normandy event were leaders from France, Canada and Britain, allies in the mission of June 6, 1944.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy compared the fight against Nazism and fascism to the current challenge.
"We know how far we still have to go," Sarkozy said. "We know it is a long and difficult way. But we also know how much a united Europe and an America true to its values can achieve together."
As American and French flags waved overhead, Obama recounted the story of the D-day invasion.
For centuries, no invader had ever been able to cross the English Channel into Normandy, and it was never more difficult than it was that day.
Adolf Hitler had ordered the fortification of the Atlantic Wall against a seaborne invasion, and the steep cliffs from Norway to southern France were lined with machine guns and artillery, the beaches with sharpened poles and mines.
The Allies attacked at dawn. The British air corps had tried to strike the cliffs while airborne troops parachuted behind the enemy lines, but bad weather thwarted the strikes and the paratroopers missed their mark. So the troopers taking the beach at Omaha faced overwhelming resistance, and many died before ever leaving their ships.
