Aerial view of Pointe du Hoc, clifftop at Clicqueville-Besan, on France’s Normandy coast, taken in October 2018.
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President Biden’s trip to France to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day includes a speech on Friday at the first site in Normandy called Pointe du Hoc.
The 100-foot cliff towered over Omaha and Utah beaches on June 6, 1944, as Allied forces stormed the coast and ultimately turned the tide of World War II, landing thousands of American troops.
Pointe du Hoc overlooks more than just historical landings and battles that took place ashore. Its rugged edges were themselves one of the most daring of the invasions.
The German occupation forces established defensive positions on the top of the cliff and stationed multiple long-range artillery pieces, posing a major threat to the Allied forces coming ashore.
A group of 225 U.S. Army Rangers, led by then-Lt. Colonel James Earl Rudd was tasked with destroying the guns. But they have to climb over a cliff to get there.
American soldiers from the 2nd Ranger Battalion surround German prisoners at Pointe du Lac on D-Day.
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The subsequent mission is commemorated by a granite monument and is depicted (albeit not entirely accurately) in the war epic the longest day Now two US presidents, 40 years apart, have paid tribute in landmark anniversary speeches.
The site, located about 7 miles west of the Normandy American Cemetery, has experienced erosion over time and even lost much of its outcrop in a 2022 landslide. But its monuments and bunkers remain an all-time popular attraction for visitors to Normandy.
Pointe du Hoc has always been regarded as “a symbol of tenacity, fighting spirit, leadership and sacrifice” [and] “It was a team effort,” said Mike Bell, executive director of the National World War II Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute on War and Democracy.
“This is what these citizen soldiers can achieve, and in this case, achieve it in order to begin liberation,” he told NPR. “The purpose of achieving this is to ultimately liberate the oppressed peoples of Europe and try to Build a safer and more secure nation.
The history and significance of Pointe du Hoc
A group of U.S. Army Rangers demonstrate how they climbed a rope ladder on the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc to raid a Nazi gun emplacement and mitigate the Normandy invasion of Omaha Beach.
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The first few dozen rangers arrived at the base of the cliff just after 7 a.m., but there were delays and they were flooded
“They had some extension ladders that they got from the fire department, and then they had some grappling hooks with ropes that were shot out of these little rocket studs,” Bell said. “Then they started climbing under enemy fire. Climb the cliff.”
It took about 30 minutes for Rangers to get on top.
“The rope could get cut, so they had to move to another rope or the ladder would be knocked over,” Bell said. “It’s a really amazing story of resilience, tenacity and teamwork.”
After the Rangers reached the top of the hill, they cleared bunkers and found five guns, which Bell said had been pushed back into the woods as the Germans tried to improve their position.
They used thermite grenades to destroy the guns and broadcast “Mission Accomplished” over the radio – all by 9am
“It’s a reputation in a way that it was the first unit (major force) on D-Day to be able to report that it had achieved its objectives,” Bell added. “When people got up from Omaha Beach, It takes them several hours to climb over the cliff and achieve their goal.”
But that’s not the end of their saga.
A-20 bombers fly over German positions at Pointe Du Hoc coastal battery on May 22, 1944, weeks before D-Day.
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Bilderwelt Gallery/Getty Images
The Rangers faced heavy German counterattacks and spent the next two days fighting.
When troops relieved them from Omaha Beach on June 8, only 90 of the original 225 “were still capable of bearing weapons,” Bell said. A total of 77 people were killed and 152 injured.
It’s unclear how many American lives the Pointe du Hoc mission saved, but Bell said there were nearly 5,000 ships within range of German artillery.
More than a dozen Rangers have individually received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest military medal for valor. Rude’s battalion was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation for its heroism.
Bell said the illuminating response to the operation was best summed up by Rudd’s own reflections.
The lieutenant colonel, who later became president of Texas A&M University and eventually the entire A&M system, returned to the scene in the postwar years with his teenage son.
“Can you tell me how we did it?” he mused, according to War History Network. “Anyone would be a fool to try this. It was crazy then and it’s crazy now.
Reagan delivers speech on 40th anniversary of D-Day
On June 6, 1984, the 40th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech at Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, France. Dozens of Rangers attended the meeting.
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Reagan Presidential Library
Decades later, President Ronald Reagan commemorated the 40th anniversary of D-Day with a stirring speech about the Pointe du Hoc Boys.
Regan celebrated the anniversary in Omaha and Utah Beach. But former presidential aide James Coon told NPR via email that senior White House staff also wanted him to deliver a speech from the cliff.
“The Pointe du Hoc monument itself, set against the backdrop of the English Channel and flanked to the east and west by the Norman Cliffs, provided another strong focal point for Reagan’s Allied invasion on D-Day,” he wrote.
Regan spoke before the 62 Rangers who scaled the cliff that day, calling them “the men who climbed the cliff…the champions who helped free the continent…the heroes who helped end the war.”
He paid tribute to their bravery and called on listeners to “continue to defend the ideals for which they lived and died.” He also spoke about U.S. security and foreign policy, as well as the Soviet Union, acknowledging the communist country’s contributions and losses during the war and expressing U.S. hopes for reconciliation.
David Truglio, president and CEO of the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, told NPR via email that Reagan’s speech has “huge significance” not just for the Cold War but for today.
“He made clear that allies who share our values are part of America’s strength, and that a prepared and engaged America — not an isolationist one — is the way to deal with expansionist authoritarian regimes,” he wrote.
The monument at Pointe du Hoc commemorates Rudd and his rangers.
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David Vincent/AP
In 1984, Reagan ran for re-election, just like Biden this year. Bell said that because D-Day ceremonies in Normandy receive so much international attention, they are a particularly high-profile place to highlight American achievements and values.
For Reagan, part of that included emphasizing the NATO alliance, “the heart of which is actually in Normandy.”
Bell said many of Reagan’s themes remain relevant in today’s war-torn world, from “the desire to protect those nations facing aggression” to “strengthening our alliances.”
“To stop and reflect on D-Day or what the Rangers accomplished at Pointe du Hoc really allows us to understand that and provide a venue for these causes, which I think are all deserving,” he said. Frankly, the sacrifices of our men and women who serve, suffer and die in war are truly worthy of our emphasis.”
