The Allied commander, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, gives instructions to paratroopers at the beginning of D-Day landing operations, in England, June 1944.
Prior to the invasion, Gen. Eisenhower broadcast a message to the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! which said, in part: "You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world."