Today is the 72nd Anniversary of D-Day, one of the most important days in the history of mankind. Anyone who ever doubts the greatness of the United States of America, or isn’t clear about what makes this country great, need only look at a picture of the American Cemetery in Normandy France to understand.

On D-Day, tens of thousands of Americans joined together to literally save the world from the forces of evil and secure the freedom that this country and numerous other nations enjoy today. They did it knowing that there was a good chance that they were signing their own death sentence.

They fought together as Americans – working side-by-side for the betterment of the world without regard to race, religion, ethnic background or geographic domicile. Christians, Jews, Muslims and others didn’t care that their fellow soldiers might have different religious beliefs. Americans of British, German, Irish, Mexican and Italian decent, and those of virtually every other ethnic background imaginable, had no prejudice that day. Black, white or brown, skin color didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were fighting for the most fundamental human right – freedom. They were fighting for their own country and for other people’s countries as well.

10,000 American soldiers are buried at the American Cemetery at Normandy. It’s a cemetery that although is across a vast ocean, it is on American soil – land given to us by the grateful people of France. The deceased who gave their lives that day for our freedom are buried side-by-side under Crosses, Stars of David, and Crescent Moons. Just like when they sacrificed their lives, there is no concern about their race, ethnicity or religious beliefs. They lived and died, united, as Americans.

America is a great country. It was then, and it is even more so today. So don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Those 10,000 Americans, and hundreds of thousands of others, gave their lives for freedom. They didn’t give it so that any of us could impose our religious beliefs on others. They didn’t do it so that any nationality or religion could be demonized. They surely didn’t do it so we could build walls to keep people from other nations out – many of them were first generation Americans, or themselves immigrants. They gave their lives for the most sacred gift we as Americans enjoy every day – freedom. It is a gift they gave not only to us, but to numerous other nations around the world.

Today, I hope you will join me in remembering those 10,000 soldiers buried at Normandy and the hundreds of thousands of others who over the relatively short history of our nation have given their lives so that we could be free. May God bless each and every one of them.

God Bless America.