Quote Roundup: Memorable D-Day Thoughts

Monday marks the 67^th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of France, and the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. The courage shown by Allied soldiers on the beaches of Normandy June 6, 1944, proves that this generation was truly "great." Here is a compilation of 10 quotes commemorating the actions of D-Day.

"Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity." -- Part of President Franklin Roosevelt's D-Day prayer given June 6, 1944.

"There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you won't have to cough, shift him to the other knee -- you can look him straight in the eye and say, Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and -- Georgie Patton!" -- Part of Gen. George S. Patton's speech delivered to troops on June 5, 1944.

"Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely....The free men of the world are marching together to victory. I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory." -- Part of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's speech to troops on June 6, 1944.

"The ardour and spirit of the troops, as I saw myself, embarking in these last few days was splendid to witness. Nothing that equipment, science or forethought could do has been neglected, and the whole process of opening this great new front will be pursued with the utmost resolution both by the commanders and by the United States and British Governments whom they serve." -- Part of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's House of Commons address given on June 6, 1944.

"You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you." -- Part of President Reagan's 40^th anniversary speech given June 6, 1984.

"Well, millions of our GIs did return home from that war to build up our nations and enjoy life's sweet pleasures. But on this field, there are 9,386 who did not -33 pairs of brothers; a father and his son; 11 men from tiny Bedford, Virginia; and Corporal Frank Elliot, killed near these bluffs by a German shell on D-Day. They were the fathers we never knew, the uncles we never met, the friends who never returned, the heroes we can never repay. They gave us our world. And those simple sounds of freedom we hear today are their voices speaking to us across the years." -- Part of President Bill Clinton's 50^th anniversary speech given June 6, 1944

"There's a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn't a forest but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human nature." -- A quote from Barbara Kingsolver's novel "Animal Dreams."

"Generations to come will know what happened here, but these men heard the guns. Visitors will always pay respects at this cemetery, but these veterans come looking for a name and remembering faces and voices from a lifetime ago. Today we honor all the veterans of Normandy and all their comrades who never left." -- Part of George W. Bush's 60^th anniversary speech given June 6, 2004.

"Friends and veterans, what we cannot forget - what we must not forget - is that D-Day was a time and a place where the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century," -- Part of President Obama's 65^th anniversary speech given June 6, 2009, reported by Financial Times.