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We stand on a lonely wind sweat point on the northern shore of France.

The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment.

The air was dense with smoke and the cries of men and the air was filled with the crack

of rifle fire in the roar of cannon.

At dawn on the morning of the 6th of June 1944, 225 rangers jumped off the British landing

craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs.

Their Ronald Reagan stood on a quiet overcast morning in a time of peace.

It was Wednesday June 6, 1984.

Forty years to the day that Operation Overlord was launched against Adolf Hitler's fortress

Europe.

In what Winston Churchill had called the most difficult and complicated operation that

has ever taken place.

Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion to climb these

sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns.

The rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers, the edge of the cliffs shooting down at

them with machine guns and throwing grenades.

And the American rangers began to climb.

They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up.

When one ranger fell, another would take his place.

When one rope was cut, a ranger would grab another and begin his climb again.

They climbed, shot back, and held their footing.

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