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The boys of Pointe du Hoc

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Reagan delivers the speech in front of the Pointe du Hoc monument, 1984.
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"The boys of Pointe du Hoc" was a speech delivered by Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of Normandy landings at Pointe du Hoc to a crowd of soldiers who fought at the battle. The speech was written by Peggy Noonan.

The speech is often viewed as one of the best remembrance speeches by a US president, and modern presidents are often compared to Reagan during their speeches on anniversary events of the Normandy landings.

Background[edit]

Main article: Pointe du Hoc

Pointe du Hoc lies 6.5 km (4.0 mi) west of the center of Omaha Beach.[1][2] During the Nazi occupation of France, as part of the Atlantic Wall fortifications, the prominent cliff top location was fortified by the Germans.

At the end of the two-day action, the initial Ranger landing force of 225+ was reduced to about 90 fighting men.[3][4]

Pointe du Hoc now features a memorial and museum dedicated to the battle. Many of the original fortifications have been left in place and the site remains speckled with a number of bomb craters. On 11 January 1979 this 13-hectare field was transferred to American control, and the American Battle Monuments Commission was made responsible for its maintenance.[5]

Speech[edit]

The full text of the speech at Wikisource
Reagan salutes the retired soldiers.
Recording of Ronald Reagan's speech given at Pointe de Hoc

Reagan delivered the speech in front of the Pointe du Hoc memorial atop the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. In attendance were 62 survivors of the battle.[6] Reagan referred directly to them in his speech:

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Noonan said she took the line "the boys of" from they title of the similarly named book about the Brooklyn Dodgers by Roger Kahn.[7]

Legacy[edit]

The speech is often viewed as influential in raising approval of Reagan's foreign policy abilities[8] and seen as one of the best obituary or remembrance speeches by a US president.[9][10][11][12][13]

The speech was commemorated by American author and historian Douglas Brinkley in his 2005 book The boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion.[14][15]

Modern US presidents are often compared to Reagan when they give speeches on the anniversary of the Normandy landings. President Barack Obama was compared to Reagan in 2009[11] and in 2024, President Joe Biden was said to have tried to evoke Reagan in his version of his Normandy address.[8][16]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Heinz W.C. When We Were One: Stories of World War II, Basic Books, 2003, ISBN 978-0-306-81208-8, p. 170
  2. ^ Le Cacheux, G. and Quellien J. Dictionnaire de la libération du nord-ouest de la France, C. Corlet, 1994, ISBN 978-2-85480-475-1, p. 289
  3. ^ Bahmanyar, Mir (2006). Shadow Warriors: a History of the US Army Rangers. Osprey Publishing. pp. 48–49. ISBN 1-84603-142-7.
  4. ^ Piehler, G. Kurt (2010). The United States and the Second World War: New Perspectives on Diplomacy, War, and the Home Front. Fordham University Press. p. 161. ISBN 978-0-8232-3120-1.
  5. ^ "The American Battle Monuments Commission". Retrieved 29 October 2012. The site, preserved since the war by the French Committee of the Pointe du Hoc, which erected an impressive granite monument at the edge of the cliff, was transferred to American control by formal agreement between the two governments on 11 January 1979 in Paris, with Ambassador Arthur A. Hartman signing for the United States and Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs Maurice Plantier signing for France.
  6. ^ Galston, William A. (June 6, 2013). "How Ronald Reagan Taught Me My Most Unforgettable Political Lesson". Brookings.
  7. ^ Klein, Philip (6 June 2024). "The Emotional Day When Reagn Delivered His Normandy Speech". National Review.
  8. ^ a b Stokols, Eli (June 6, 2024). "Biden's team takes from Reagan's playbook as he heads to Normandy". Politico.
  9. ^ Baker, Peter (June 6, 2024). "Forty Years Later, Biden Seeks to Echo Reagan's Legacy of American Leadership". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Ruane, Michael E. (June 5, 2019). "'The boys of Pointe du Hoc': The Reagan D-Day speech that moved a nation". Washington Post.
  11. ^ a b Zelizer, Julian E. (June 5, 2009). "Recalling Reagan at Normandy". Politico.
  12. ^ Techera, Titus (June 10, 2017). "Reagan at Normandy — Americans Need to Recover the Art of the Noble Speech". National Review.
  13. ^ Szoldra, Paul (June 6, 2014). "Here Is Reagan's Chilling Speech About The Soldiers Who Scaled Cliffs Under Heavy Fire On D-Day". Business Insider.
  14. ^ Brinkley, Douglas (2005). The boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion (1st ed.). New York: W. Morrow. ISBN 9780060565275.
  15. ^ "THESE ARE THE BOYS OF POINTE DU HOC"; REMEMBERING RONALD REAGAN'S WORDS AND LEGACY ON THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY" (PDF). Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute. May 28, 2019.
  16. ^ "Biden vs. Reagan at Normandy". Wall Street Journal. June 7, 2024.

Further reading[edit]

  • Brinkley, Douglas (2005). The boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion (1st ed.). New York: W. Morrow. ISBN 9780060565275.
  • Reagan, Ronald. The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: A Speech by President Ronald Reagan on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day. Primedia E-launch LLC. ISBN 9781622099566.
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