Vitter’s View: Remembering D-Day

June 6, 2007 was the 63-year anniversary of the invasion of Normandy. The D-Day invasion was the beginning of America’s and the Allied forces’ strong stand against Nazi-Germany’s global threat to freedom and peace.

As we reflect upon the bravery of that day, we should also keep in mind our brave soldiers standing against global terrorism in the Middle East today.

The D-Day invasion was part of the larger Battle of Normandy, which was fought in 1944 between Nazi-Germany in Western Europe and the invading Allied forces as part of the larger conflict of World War II. The Allied forces began the invasion of northwest Europe on June 6, 1944.

Even after 60 years, the Normandy invasion is still one of the largest seaborne invasions in history.

The entire effort involved more than one million troops crossing the English Channel from England to the beaches of Normandy. The invasion was a combination of midnight paratroopers landing, naval fire, airborne attacks and the famed amphibious assault.

Louisiana played a special role in the D-day invasion because of the Higgins boats that were used during the amphibious assault phase of the invasion.

These watercrafts were designed by Louisiana’s own Andrew Higgins and built in Louisiana. They were based on boats made for operating in our swamps and marshes. The barge-like flat bottom boats could travel in shallow waters while carrying large numbers of soldiers.

President (then General) Dwight Eisenhower is noted for saying that without the Higgins boat, the Allied forces may not have been as successful in the D-day invasion.

Louisiana is also home to the wonderful D-Day Museum where this critical battle and many others from America’s World War II experience are illuminated. In 2002 as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I worked to authorize the D-Day Museum as the official National World War II Museum. With Louisiana’s significant contribution to the war, it is fitting that the national museum be in our great state.

I urge all young people and students to learn more about this great moment in American history, and I hope everyone will take some time to reflect on the efforts of all the brave heroes who fought in this war and others. Our veterans deserve great thanks for their service and sacrifice in defense of our freedom.

Please let me know about any issues of importance to you and your family by contacting me at any of my state offices or in my Washington office by mail at U.S. Sen. David Vitter, U.S. Senate, 516 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510, or by phone at 202-224-4623. You can also reach me on the Web at http://vitter.senate.gov.

David Vitter serves Louisiana in the United States Senate.