D-Day Remembered By Sec. Hegseth On 81st Anniversary Of Allied Invasion
on Jun 06, 2025
“Unfathomable” Courage Reflected Upon During Hegseth’s Run Across Beaches Of Normandy
81 years ago, on June 6, 1944, the “hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere” accompanied the Allied Forces as they invaded the beaches of Normandy, in Nazi-occupied France.
A total of approximately 160,000 soldiers landed in Normandy on D-Day, and the invasion’s success paved the way for the defeat of Adolf Hitler. However, the victory seen that day by the Allied nations cost the lives of an estimated 10,300 men, with 2,400 of them dying on Omaha Beach.
Commemorating their bravery, the 75th Ranger Regiment, a unit of the U.S. Army, conducted a workout on Omaha Beach in the morning of Friday, June 6, 2025.
Participating in the physical training was Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, an Army veteran.
Working Out On Omaha Beach
In a video shared to X, formerly Twitter, Hegseth wrote, “I had the privilege of doing PT at Omaha Beach. Where so many made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. We will never forget D-DAY.”
The video shows Hegseth, 45, running on the beach while carrying a stretcher with about a dozen members of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
See the video of the workout here:
I had the privilege of doing PT at Omaha Beach. Where so many made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) June 6, 2025
We will never forget D-DAY. pic.twitter.com/a9GHG687A7
Hegseth Speaks On D-Day
Later on June 6, Hegseth delivered a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, and he pondered upon the character of the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy 81 years ago.
Noting that the United States was not alone in the invasion on D-Day, Hegseth listed the Allied Forces of Great Britain, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Greece, and Holland, honoring their efforts in the siege.
Detailing the operation, Hegseth remarked, “The courage it took to do this is unfathomable.”
Then, Hegseth thought aloud of their sacrifice, asking the following:
“Could I do what they did? Could you? Could we? Could our kids? Do we produce such men? How do we produce such Americans?”
Continuing, Hegseth noted he wrote his speech prior to the start of the day.
His run with the 75th Ranger Regiment, he said, answered his questions.
“This morning, I got my answer,” Hegseth shared. “This morning, I had a chance to do PT with Army Rangers on the beach, on Omaha Beach. I got my answer to those questions, with the sun rising with the Ranger regiment. Yes, we do produce such men, still!”
Reflecting upon his run across the beach, he said:
“As we ran on that beach this morning at 6:30, as the sun was rising, about the same time those first landing crafts landed, it didn’t look much like a battlefield. It looked like a beach. I ran over more than a few sand castles — that’s what those men fought for, that we may turn seas of death into seas of life. Scenes of war into scenes of peace, glorifying Almighty God with our lives, and living worthy of their sacrifice. That, together, our nations will be strong and free.”
Further, he looked to the present, saying, “Today, the United States and France, again, rally together to confront such threats. Because we strive for peace, we must prepare for war, and hopefully deter it.”
He added, “We must be sure that our children and grandchildren know what these men did, that they understand.”
Looking out to the cemetery before them, Hegseth said, “It is a sheer privilege to stand in this cemetery among heroes and before God … It’s also an awe-inspiring sight to see the American flag flying here above thousands of crosses and stars, as a tribute to our very best.”
Watch Hegseth’s full remarks on the Department of Defense website, here.
Related: “Peace Through Strength” Touted By Trump As He Addresses U.S. Troops In Middle East
