The boys of Pointe du Hoc explained

"The boys of Pointe du Hoc" was a speech delivered by President 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

See main article: Pointe du Hoc. Pointe du Hoc lies 6.5km (04miles) 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

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:

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

Legacy

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.[16]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

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

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