Eighty years ago, the fascist forces of Nazi Germany had occupied France, Belgium, and Luxembourg since June 1940. Four years later, on June 6, Allied forces led by Gen. Dwight Eisenhower landed on the beaches of Normandy in northern France, beginning the massive effort to roll back the armies of Hitler back into Germany. 

D-Day, as it is called, was all about penetrating the Nazis’ “Fortress Europe.” On the eve of the invasion, Eisenhower wrote to the troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force. In his message, Eisenhower declared, “You are about to embark on the Great Crusade.”