06/06/2026
June 6, 1944. In the hours before the landings, General Eisenhower sent the Allied Expeditionary Force forward with a call for the blessing of Almighty God upon a great and noble undertaking.
That night, the American paratrooper dropped into the darkness over Normandy. They jumped behind enemy lines into the unknown, young men who would not all live to see the dawn, seizing the causeways and crossroads that opened the way for the beaches below.
They gave everything they had, and many gave all they would ever have, forging a place of honor in America’s heart that time will never wear away.
Eighty-two years later, we stand at Utah Beach, upon the very sand they fought to win. We serve because they did not come home. Their mission became our heritage; their courage, our standard.
And so it is fitting that today, on this sacred ground, Sgt. Makayla Moynier raises her right hand and chooses, freely and proudly, to serve once more. As she reenlists for two more years with the United States Army Parachute Team, the Golden Knights, she steps into that unbroken line stretching back to the darkness over Normandy. A promise kept. A torch carried forward. A mission to offer something greater than herself.
“It was a true privilege and honor to stand on Utah beach June 6th, 82 years after D-Day,” said Moynier. “Not only for commemoration, but to honor my predecessors service by extending my own.
I could never articulate how special, important, and emotional it is to be in Normandy where so much was unfathomably sacrificed.”
We remember those who came before, and we honor the price they paid. Today, where so much was given, one Soldier answers their call anew and continues the watch.
