Remarks on the 40th Anniversary

Remarks on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day

Forty years after the Allied invasion on the coast of Normandy, a large group of spectators gathered around for an anniversary tribute to those who had sacrificed their lives in order to bring peace and democracy back to Europe. On June 6, 1984, American President Ronald Reagan was one of the speakers who paid tribute to those who had died on that very spot. On that day, Reagan spoke on the beach at Normandy in France.

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of D-Day, Ronald Reagan's speech was designed to honor the memory of the soldiers who had given their lives during the Allied invasion. His speech was designed with a nostologic tone aimed not only to show remorse for the deat of so many young soldiers but also remember the reason why they had made the ultimate sacrifice. Those who attended this particular event had the staunch memory of the invasion within their mind frame. Both veterans who had fought on those very beaches exactly forty years ago, as well as members of the press and others who wanted to honor so many fallen soldiers made up the audience whom Ronald Reagan spoke to that day.

His speech was designed specifically to fit several very distinct needs. First, he faced major rhetorical barriers in that he was speaking in a different nation, to people many different people whose native language was not English. Also, Reagan spoke about a very sensitive subject; which, even after forty years, still invoked emotional response from many who had been on the same beach the day of the invasion.

Reagan had a very strong authority in his speech due to his active service in the United States military during the years the country was involved within the grips of World War II. Although he only served limit service due to problems with his eyesight, but he was actively involved in training soldiers who later went on to serve on the European front, (the White House, 2008). He had known people who fought on this very beach forty years earlier. He also had been a part of the very organization which had initially produced such brave soldiers. Being part of the army gave him special comradory for those who had served in similar situations, therefore making him especially close to the topic. Everyone in attendance was there to honor and show support for those who had died during the war in order to preserve both life and liberty.

Introduction

Ronald Reagan introduced his speech using the landscape which surrounded himself and the audience. The entire speech is written to invoke a personal feel for the audience who were there that day. By describing the immediate surroundings in contrast as they were during the day of the initial invasion, Regan shows how much has changed due to the sacrifices of those who had lost their lives in order to restore peace. Reagan's introduction caught the audience's attention through his strategic comparison of that day with the day which they all stood on the beach of Normandy in 1986.

Body

The rest of the speech was in direct relation to a personal experience of that day. Although he does not directly say that he was there, he relates his words to the experiences of those who were in a way to give his words emotional power. He incorporates the audience into what that experience would have been like by speaking directly to the audience as if they were there with him one on one. He then goes into detail of the experience and effort of the Rangers who had fought so valiantly during the first initial push onto the beaches of the French coast. Therefore he establishes a strong personal ethos which he sustains throughout the remainder of the speech, (Rowland, p. 237). Reagan knew that many in the audience which he was speaking to had actually been through the very even he spoke about. Therefore, he had to establish a very personalized ethos in order to live up to their expectations of his speech; as well as to better connect the event with those in the audience who had heard about the events of D-Day but had not experienced first hand. He focuses particularly on the fight of the Rangers because of their strategic involvement in the invasion, as well as the historical importance in the overall success of the invasion. He seldom uses comparisons because he is not talking abstractly about those events; he is telling them how thy really happened, to the people that they happened too, "And before me are the men who put them there. These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent," (American Rhetoric, 2008). Therefore, that eliminates the need to constantly use analogies which would further abstract is message.

Conclusion

The nostalgic, yet honorary tone, Reagan used in this particulair speech was very appropriate for the occasion in which he was speaking. He had to be careful not to place too much distance between him and the event of the invasion at Normandy because he knew that a large portion of his audience had actually been there in the first place. However, he did honor them well without making them seem unreal to those who knew and loved them. He not only honored the dead soldiers who had been brave enough to give their lives for their country, but also the ones who survived and had graced him with their presence that day in 1986. Reagan consistently brought his speech back to the real experience of the invasion, using language and speech patterns which were familiar to those who had lived through it.