President Biden issues end-of-day statement honoring 78th anniversary of D-Day
Former presidents have acknowledged D-Day in some capacity during their first year in office
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Biden late Monday issued a statement on the 78th anniversary of D-Day, after failing to mention the historic day in any of his earlier remarks. His tweet is timestamped at 8:45 p.m. ET, by which time it was the early morning of June 7 in Normandy, France.
"Today, we mark 78 years since D-Day and honor those who answered duty's call on the beaches of Normandy," Biden tweeted. "We must never forget the service and sacrifice in defense of freedom, and we must strive every day to live up to the ideals they fought to defend."
Last year, the Biden White House failed to issue any kind of statement on the anniversary.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}D-DAY 78 YEARS LATER: HOW FDR'S POWERFUL PRAYER UNITED AMERICANS
Biden did send Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Normandy, where he likened the Normandy invasion to Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
A woman holds a bouquet of roses during the 78th anniversary of D-Day ceremony, in the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial of Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach, Monday, June, 6, 2022. (AP Photo/ Jeremias Gonzalez)
"The fight in Ukraine is about honoring these veterans of World War II," Mark Milley said at the American Cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy. "It’s about maintaining the so-called global rules-based international order that was established by the dead who are buried here at this cemetery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Milley said the world is "again seeing death and destruction on the European continent."
Fox News has reached out to the White House for comment but did not hear back before publication.
On June 6, 1944, Allied troops landed on the beaches code-named Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword, and Gold, carried by 7,000 boats. On that day alone, some 4,414 Allied soldiers – more than half of them Americans – lost their lives. More than 5,000 were wounded.
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Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump all acknowledged the anniversary of D-Day in some capacity during their first year in office. President Ronald Reagan delivered one of his most famous addresses on the D-Day anniversary in 1984.
Thus far, Biden's tenure as commander in chief includes the widely panned disastrous retreat from Afghanistan which he wanted timed to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, which were largely planned in that country.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.