Senate Resolution No. 1139

BY: Senator STEWART-COUSINS

COMMEMORATING the 81st Anniversary of the D-Day
Invasion on June 6, 2025

WHEREAS, June 6, 2025, will mark the 81st Anniversary of the Allied
Assault at Normandy, France, by troops of the United States, the United
Kingdom, and Canada, known as "Operation Overlord"; and

WHEREAS, The naval phase of the Allied Assault at Normandy was coded
"Operation Neptune," and the date, June 6, 1944, is referred to as
"D-Day" to denote the day on which the combat attack was initiated; and

WHEREAS, The D-Day landing was the largest combined, armed
amphibious assault in history, which included approximately 132,600
members of the Allied Expeditionary Force, comprised of 57,500 members
of the United States Armed Forces, more than 23,000 airborne troops
supporting the seaborne landings, and more than 14,000 sorties by Allied
aircraft; and

WHEREAS, The landing consisted of five infantry divisions--two
American, two British, and one Canadian--assigned to beaches that were
code-named, from west to east, "Utah," "Omaha," "Gold," "Juno," and
"Sword"; and

WHEREAS, The Americans constituted the United States 1st Army, under
Major General Omar Bradley, and the British 2nd Army was under the
command of General Miles Dempsey; and

WHEREAS, The Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces was General
Dwight D. Eisenhower; and

WHEREAS, Of the approximately 10,000 Allied casualties incurred on
the first day of the landing, more than 6,000 were members of the United
States Armed Forces; and

WHEREAS, The Allied Assault and subsequent operations were supported
by ships, aircraft, and troops from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia,
Free Norway, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the Polish Armed
Forces in the West; and

WHEREAS, The Normandy Campaign was a stunning success; by early
September 1944, all but a fraction of France had been liberated, and
American and British/Canadian forces occupied Belgium and part of the
Netherlands and had reached the German frontiers; and

WHEREAS, The State of New York owes a debt of gratitude to the
members of the military who participated in this historically
significant event; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when events
of such historical consequences are brought to our attention, they
should be recognized by all citizens of this great State of New York;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 81st Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 2025;
and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the National World War II Museum, located in New Orleans,
Louisiana, and the National D-Day Memorial, located in Bedford,
Virginia.