Years after his presidency and his most important role of leading Operation Overlord on D-Day in 1944, Dwight Eisenhower was still in awe of the effect the Normandy landing had on shortening World War II.

In a remarkable letter typed 20 years after the invasion of Nazi-controlled France, the former five-star Army general and president revealed the “gnawing anxieties” he felt 80 years ago today as allied troops began the impactful battle of the war in Europe.