it is our privilege to welcome all the distinguished visitors joining us today. we extend a special welcome to the d-day and world war ii veterans and their family members in attendance who honor us all with their presence. today we commemorate the 70th anniversary of the d-day landings, which began on the morning of june 6th, 1944. today s ceremony will honor our military men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the liberation of europe including among those we honor are the 9,387 of our fallen veterans interned at this sacred ground and the 1,557 missing in action inscribed on the wall of the missing. [ speaking in french ]
samuel chase. it was in five invasions and as so often happened, on that day, 70 years ago he was reassigned at the last minute. he was a gunner s mate on the ship and he was told he was going to go into a higgins boat and make the landing, and he would be up front at the ramp. he couldn t come back here for a long time because it was just too painful, the memories of all that he d gone through. he lost his wife, and then 30 members of his family said dad we re going back and i must say i ve met a lot of these families, this one was in the top tier. they were so supportive they had complete understanding of what he d been through and frank as well was able to articulate what it was like to be a young man that day, and we d like to share that with you now. on june 6th, 1944 we made the invasion of hitler s europe.
off to war. i m very thankful that we still have our soldiers that are doing that today. they are young too. it s pretty incredible. it is. on june 6th, 1944, army private first class jim martin, a member of the 101st airborne division, parachuting into enemy lines before dawn. yesterday at the age of 93, he did it again, making his first parachute jump in 70 years. what made me do it today? yeah. a little bit of ego but i m 93 and i can still do it. and also, i just wanted to show all of the people that you don t have to sit and die because you get old. keep doing things. this is interesting. it says here that a woman s sex drive
huge ariel bombardment of the coast. last night s fireworks were a reflection. many similarities. and it appears that the weather looks ideal today and it s cooperating like it did 70 years ago. let s go live to our jim accosta. he got the american cemetery on omaha beach. on any day, such a solemn place. i had the opportunity to go there several years ago. there s a scattering of tourists and now today it s being inundated. hello to you, jim. reporter: hi, natalie, that s right. it is a striking and stirring site. i just had a chance to walk a among some of the grave sites a few moments ago before joining you here. you see that date, june 6th, 1944, etched in so many of the markers behind me. it really is as inspiring site to behold. we do expect president obama to
people of this continent to a long twilight struggle until finally a wall tumbled down and an iron curtain, too. from western europe to east to south america to southeast asia, 70 years of the democratic movement spread. and nations that once knew only the blinders of fear began to taste the blessings of freedom. there s no doubt, the events of june 6th, 1944, changed the course of history. msnbc contributor mike barnacle takes a look back on this hockeyic day. facing west. towards the beach, where they landed. the channel they crossed. and the land that they left to come and help rid the world of the terror that was hitler s third rite. omaha beach, the american cemetery, normandy. 172 acres, 9,386 headstones. bleached white by sun, wind and