Shaheen-Hassan say D-Day anniversary was a renewed call to preserve democracy
U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan said taking part in the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion last week renewed their commitment to fight autocratic leaders in Russia, Iran, China and North Korea who threaten our freedoms.
“Everybody has to do their part and especially during this particular moment in history that Ukraine is fighting for its freedom,” Hassan said during a telephone interview following her return to Washington. “Authoritarians around the world are watching to see what America and our allies will do.”
In recent years, Shaheen has had a front-row seat on oversight of American foreign policy as a senior member on both the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, and as co-chair of the Senate’s NATO Observer Group.
“We have to work with our allies and be very clear about what is at stake. Right now, there is a lot at stake in the world,” Shaheen said.
“This is a battle against aggression that we have to continue to fight and this unforgettable, D-Day ceremony reminded us that if we are united, if we can work together, we can prevail just like those brave men did on the beaches of Normandy and in the ensuing liberation of France 80 years ago.”
For both New Hampshire Democrats, the journey had personal overtones.
Hassan’s late father, Robert Coldwell Wood, left Princeton University to join the Army 76th Infantry Division during World War II, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and earned a Bronze Star.
At the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in 2019, Hassan met veterans who had served with her father.
Shaheen’s husband, Bill, was a U.S. Army captain during the Vietnam War.
Along with the ceremonial events with President Joe Biden and host French President Emmanuel Macron, the pair had private briefings with American commanders on the ground stationed in Poland and with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyregarding the prosecution of that country’s war with Russia.
Hassan said Zelenskyy was appreciative of the U.S. federal aid package Congress had approved last month, but it’s possible the allies will need to provide additional “weaponry”
“They have a strategy and plan in place; they are committed to winning this war and bringing peace to the region and as allies we’ve got to do all we can to support them,” said Hassan, 66, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Shaheen, 77, said one of the most moving moments came during an international celebration on Omaha Beach that included Great Britain, Canada and other allies, when Zelensky leaned over to thank one of the D-Day veterans for his courage.
“We could all see it on the Jumbotron, and the veteran said, ‘No, thank you for fighting for freedom.’ The place erupted in spontaneous, prolonged applause,. What really strikes me when you go back to Normandy is how much the French people to this day appreciate what these brave soldiers did to save them from a life under tyranny,” Shaheen said.
Hassan said she’ll never forget watching these veterans, nearly all in wheelchairs and in their late 90s and up, struggle to their feet to salute while accepting the Legion of Honor Award from President Macron.
After the Thursday ceremonies, Shaheen and Hassan returned last Saturday to get a tour of all the monuments at the D-Day complex and to place a yellow rose on the graves of these four Granite Staters who gave their lives on June 6, 1944:
• Raymond Cole, an Andover native who lived in North Haverhill when he joined the Army and served as a private first class in Army F Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion;
• Frederick Bennett, a resident of Wentworth Location and Army private who was with Company H, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division when he died on Omaha Beach;
• Guy W. Gowen, a Concord native who was an Army second lieutenant in the 325th Glider Infantry Division Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division and;
• Herman G. Coutu, a Troy native killed while serving with the 377th Field Artillery Battalion, 101st Airborne Division.
Another 34 army men and sailors from New Hampshire died during the extended Normandy operation and they too were buried at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer, France.
“All their stories are all tales of unconscionable bravery but I kept coming back to Pfc. Raymond Cole. This young man waded at dawn through low tide the length of three football fields of space under immense fire, and then had to scale this immense cliff in the middle between Omaha and Utah Beaches. He made it to the top and almost immediately was shot to death,” Hassan said.
Shaheen and NATO Observer Group Co-Chair and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-South Carolina, authored an op-ed summing up the challenges the U.S. faces abroad and at home they said were just as perilous as what the Allies faced in defeating Hitler.
The pair wrote to President Biden about the priorities NATO should tackle when it meets next month to mark the 75th anniversary of that alliance during a summit in Washington.
“Putin is supported by the People’s Republic of China and enabled by a resurgence of authoritarian pariahs, North Korea and Iran, that are actively providing one another with economic and military support,” they said.
“In addition, the world is now having to navigate the rise and potential weaponization of artificial intelligence, social media platforms and emerging technologies.
“The winds of authoritarianism are blowing in every direction — leaving no nation, not even our own, untouched. The warning sirens are blaring that our adversaries are intent on dismantling the international world order and remaking it in their image.”
History can repeat itself if democratic nations remain united, Shaheen and Tillis added.
“Just as it was in 1944 when the strength of our alliances ensured victory, that’s how democracy will continue to prevail,” they concluded.
