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One continues with the commemoration (the recollection of things from the past that still resonate among the living fabric of society, though perhaps reconstituted for the times) of the great victories of the United States and their allies in their victorious efforts to achieve total victory against foreign belligerents on far off shores. Building on the recent recollection of the great American victory in the Pacific against the military forces of the Japanese Empire (Juxtapositions on the Anniversary of the American Victory at Midway and the Ukrainian Victory in the Drone Theatre of War), President Trump commemorated the great violent, and bloody penetration of France (the earlier penetration of Southern Europe in the Allied invasion if Italy on 3 September 1943 is commemorated differently) on the shores of Normandy from 6 June 1944 with a textual commemoration.
In the Presidential Message on the 81st Anniversary of D-Day, 2025, President Trump both recalled the event and payed homage to the dead. The message noted sacrifice and objective: "On the 81st anniversary of D-day, we pause to pay homage to the warfighters whose indescribable valor, fierce determination, and unwavering patriotism delivered this pivotal victory for the global cause of freedom. The monumental victory forged on land, at sea, and in the skies of Normandy led to the liberation of Europe, the defeat of the evil Nazi regime, and the preservation of democracy" (Presidential Message on the 81st Anniversary). It was, in this sense a memorial to the past; there was no bridge to the present or the future. But perhaps that is the fate of all historical events. Projection forward can be dangerous especially when the precent relevance of the spirit of a past age has, like the age, also passed.
The full text of the brief message follows below. It recalls Presidential messages of the past in many ways:
Broken Parallels--President Biden Marks the 78th Anniversary of the Allied Landing in Normandy
Memory is important; recollection more so. One gathers memory, arranges it, and retells stories that both look back, acknowledge the present, and project hope for stability in the shaping of memory onto the future. In the process one reveals as much as one curates. And one recollection worth having, of a world on the brink of change of epidemic proportion, comes from Remarks by President Trump on the 75th Commemoration of D-Day (
To the men who sit behind me and to the boys who rest in the field before, your example will never, ever grow old. Your legend will never die, your spirit, brave, unyielding and true, will never die. The blood that they spilled, the tears that they shed, the lives that they gave, the sacrifice that they made, did not just win a battle. It did not just win a war. Those who fought here won a future for our nation. They won the survival of our civilization, and they showed us the way to love, cherish and defend our way of life for many centuries to come.
Today as we stand together upon this sacred earth, we pledge that our nations will forever be strong and united. We will forever be together, our people will forever be bold, our hearts will forever be loyal, and our children and their children will forever, and always be free. May God bless our great Veterans, may God bless our allies, may God bless the heroes of D-Day, and may God bless America. Thank you. Thank you very much.
This is not to suggest cognitive dissonance--a condition in which there is discomfort of holding conflicting beliefs. There is no discomfort here, it is merely that the memory of belief becomes more strongly historical; this is more a memory of the passing of belief from one stage to another of development, and perhaps, as well, of the impossibility to recreating the context of the last golden age. And that provides some comfort. And yet one state's passing from dissonance may be another's affirmation of belief from the past projected into the present. another may be this: while many no longer believe in total victory, some have not yet lost a taste for it, a taste that also resonated with events of 1945.
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In the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, American and Allied forces stormed a 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France, winning a crucial victory that turned the tide of World War II and changed the course of history. The largest amphibious invasion in history—Operation Overlord—was achieved through meticulous planning, utilizing 13,000 aircraft and gliders, 23,400 paratroopers, 5,000 ships and landing craft, and roughly 160,000 American, British, and Canadian troops. By nightfall, the valiance and intrepidity of the Allied soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and merchant mariners had carried the day, establishing beachheads on all five of the landing beaches – Omaha, Utah, Sword, Gold, and Juno. This victory, though, was achieved at great cost. More than 9,000 Allied service members were killed or wounded that day, to ensure that freedom would once again prevail over the European continent.
On the 81st anniversary of D-day, we pause to pay homage to the warfighters whose indescribable valor, fierce determination, and unwavering patriotism delivered this pivotal victory for the global cause of freedom. The monumental victory forged on land, at sea, and in the skies of Normandy led to the liberation of Europe, the defeat of the evil Nazi regime, and the preservation of democracy. We are grateful for those young men who answered their nations’ calls and faced the carnage of war in order to defeat tyranny—and we are eternally indebted to the souls who gave their lives in this noble struggle. It is our solemn obligation to remember their heroic stories, honor their sacrifices, and ensure that the freedom for which they died for may never again be in peril.
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