Assembly Resolution No. 945

BY: M. of A. Barrett

COMMEMORATING the 76th Anniversary of the D-Day
Invasion on June 6, 2020

WHEREAS, June 6, 2020, marks the 76th Anniversary of the Allied
assault at Normandy, France, by troops of the United States, the United
Kingdom, 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 arms amphibious
assault in history consisting of approximately 132,600 members of the
Allied Expeditionary Force, including 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, It consisted of five infantry divisions, two American, two
British, and one Canadian, assigned to beaches code named, from west to
east Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword; and

WHEREAS, The Americans constituted the US 1st Army, under Major
General Omar Bradley, and the British 2nd Army, under 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 following 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 Germain 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 celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of the great
State of New York; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 76th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion on June 6, 2020;
and be it further

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