Dear Friends,
At 5:52 in the morning of June 6, 1944, in a position about 4,000 yards from Omaha Beach, one of the oldest ships in the Navy, a World War I Battleship, the USS Arkansas, opened fire on German positions on Omaha Beach in support of the more than 30,000 American GIs tasked with securing that beachhead.
Earlier this year, I had the profound honor of meeting two of the last remaining heroes who fought on D-Day.
Joseph Reilly (seated above, 97 years old) was a paratrooper who landed on Normandy’s Utah Beach at 3:30 AM on D-Day.
Steve Melnikoff (above standing, 99 years old) stormed the beaches of Normandy and despite suffering multiple gunshot wounds, continued to serve all the way until the end of the war.
The fate of the world, and the freedom of future generations, was in their hands. These heroes left a mark on history that changed the world forever. Their courage and belief in liberty over tyranny still rings out as loud today as it did 75 years ago. They answered the call of duty, and now it is our responsibility to honor and remember them.
Sincerely,
Representative French Hill
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Private First Class Gene Sellers
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This past week marked the 75th Anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. This turning point in World War II gave hope to the world that the Nazi hold on Europe would soon end. But as we all know, this victory was not made without great sacrifice. A few years ago, for Memorial Day, I had the honor of speaking at the Normandy American Cemetery about the American heroism and the sacrifice of the allied forces that day.
Below is an excerpt from that speech, highlighting an Arkansas hero who lost his life in service to his country on D-Day:
"Arkansas native Private First Class Gene Sellers was a standout in high school and accepted a football scholarship from the University of Arkansas, but before the end of his first year, he heard the call to serve and enlisted in the 101st Airborne.
"Early on the 6th, long before the USS Arkansas’s 12 inch guns opened up, Private Sellers was a member of the Pathfinder unit, which had the vital mission to drop in behind enemy lines just before the main airborne assault and hours before the first wave of soldiers landed at the beaches. Mission: to set up drop zone lights and radar to guide the arriving C-47’s filled with paratroopers.
Click the image above to watch Rep. Hill's speech at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. |
"Like many other paratroopers that day, Private Sellers’, in the seventh plane -- his drop did not go as planned. He was killed after his parachute drifted too close to a German unit. He would be the first of more than 4,000 Allied soldiers to make the ultimate sacrifice on that -- the 'Longest Day.'"
Rep. Hill and his wife Martha at the grave of Arkansas native Private First Class Gene Sellers at
the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. |
Following the ceremony, Martha and I visited Private Sellers’ grave at the beautiful cemetery that is the final resting place for over 9,000 American GIs. It's a chilling thought to imagine what the world could have become without the brave men who stormed the beaches that day; the heroes like Private Sellers saved Europe and rid world of the Nazi menace.
I will be forever grateful for their service.
updates on historic Arkansas flooding
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Latest flooding information can be found HERE.
Weather, hazardous conditions, road closures and other emergency information can be found by clicking the links below.
Arkansas.Gov: https://portal.arkansas.gov/pages/flood/
Information Radio via 102.9 FM - KARN, 89.1 FM - KUAR
Arkansas Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness: @AR_Emergencies
Arkansas State Police: https://asp.arkansas.gov/
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