Thursday marks 80 years since Allied troops bravely stormed the 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France in the D-Day invasion.

Almost 160,000 troops landed in Normandy, including 73,000 from the United States and 83,000 from Britain and Canada, storming the beaches at dawn, changing the course of World War II. Though successful, it was not without a deadly price that will forever underscore the cost of war and its inhumanity.

Today we remember them.

According to military estimates, more than 4,000 Allied soldiers, 2,500 of them U.S. troops, were killed by enemy fire as they fought across the beach to reach the German enclaves. More than 5,000 were wounded, and others were declared missing. But their courageous acts and selfless sacrifice allowed more than 100,000 soldiers to begin the slow, hard trek across Europe, to defeat Adolf Hitler, fighting back against German occupation and oppression.

By late August, all of northern France was liberated and by the following spring, the Germans were defeated.

After Hitler’s defeat, many returned home to build families and their communities as The Greatest Generation, rejoining the women here at home who also played pivotal roles in the war effort.

One day, sooner than we think, unfortunately, they will all be gone. The youngest survivors are now in their 90s, and it is unclear how many D-Day veterans are still with us. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it doesn’t track their numbers.

An estimated 362 WWII veterans die every day in the U.S. Though their numbers are dwindling, we must remember them — and this day — and retell their stories of bravery — not just for us but for the young people who will follow us.

Our nation is in the midst of unprecedented times, a world unlike any other we’ve experienced. In this sense, it is much like the world these brave men faced eight decades ago when their duty to their country, their bravery and dedication to service surpassed all else.

They exemplify so much that we sorely need more of today. We mustn’t forget that.

Unprecedented times require us to stand for what is right and what is just as these brave troops did.

Their service to our country and their world transcended so many of the things that seem to serve as divisions today — it wasn’t about political party or what part of the country they were from. They were of various races and religious backgrounds. Their mission was unified — defeat the evils of Nazi Germany.

And that they did — bravely and with tremendous sacrifice.

We owe them a tremendous gratitude that words aren’t enough to repay. That’s why we must recount their heroism so that it is never forgotten.

Theirs is a story that our children and their children must know. That’s why we remember this day. Their story speaks of sacrifice and liberation. Their story speaks of an international force, united for the worthy cause of defeating one of the greatest evils of history.

We must share their story for the next generation and the next.

We mustn’t forget their story.

CNHI News Service