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US Rangers climbing the cliffs of Point du Hoc on June 5, 2019
- Early in the morning on June 6, 1944, US Army Rangers stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled 100-foot cliffs under fire to eliminate German artillery that threatened the Allied spearhead into enemy-occupied Europe.
- On Wednesday, June 5, 2019, US Army Rangers made the same climb to honor the courage and sacrifice of the 135 US troops who were killed or wounded in the assault 75 years earlier.
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US Army Rangers climbed the towering cliffs overlooking the beaches of Normandy on Wednesday, reenacting one of the most daring and dangerous missions that US troops carried out on D-Day - the assault on Pointe du Hoc.
Wednesday's climb honored the courage and sacrifice of those service members who participated in the assault 75 years ago on June 6, 1944, when US Army Rangers stormed the beaches of France and scaled 100-foot cliffs as a determined enemy fought to drive them back into the sea.
The mission's objective was to knock out German 155 mm artillery positions able to target US troops coming ashore at Omaha and Utah beaches.
The task was given to Lt. Col. James E. Rudder by commander for the cross-channel invasion Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley, who wrote in his memoirs: "No soldier in my command has ever been wished a more difficult task than that which befell the thirty-four-year-old commander."
Some war planners feared the mission might be impossible, but the US Army pulled it off. Here's how the mission went down.