(NEXSTAR) – About four miles west of Omaha Beach sits Pointe du Hoc, one of several key sites in “Operation Overlord,” better known as D-Day.
“People don’t understand the 6th of June was a horrible, horrible day,” Normandy American Cemetery Superintendent, Scott Desjardins said.
On June 6, 1944, hundreds of U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. Those soldiers held back six German counterattacks over two days.
“They were very, very outnumbered, heavily outnumbered,” Desjardins said.
According to Desjardins, their mission was critical because of Pointe du Hoc’s position and its specialized cannons.
“It was the priority mission for the 6th of June, the first one that had to be completed,” Desjardins said.
Now, a peaceful, yet somber, memorial featuring a symbolic granite dagger sits at Pointe du Hoc.
The site remains under the care of the American Battlefield Monument Commission, which works to honor the legacy of those who fought.