 This place was merely a point on a map for our paratroopers on the night of 5 June 1944. It was a piece of geography for which they would risk their lives. They boarded the aircraft knowing more than half would not return from here. This place is so much more than a military objective now. Every year around this time the grateful eyes of the free and the hopeful of those who wish to be free turned to St. Mary Gleese. The world looks here for calm in the storm of dangerous confusing world. The world looks here for an example of the love that conquers hate. The world looks here to honor this place and its moment. And that exactly what we will do here today.