諾曼第登陸作戰是二次大戰德軍由盛轉衰的指標，亦為世界戰史上最慘烈的一次作戰；以後的電影經常以這場戰役為取材背景，並成為呈現戰爭殘酷的最佳借鏡———最有名的是1962年拍攝的「最長的一日」（The Longest Day） 」，1956年的「六月六日斷腸時」（D-Day in the Sixth of June），還有就是最近1998年的「搶救雷恩大兵」（Saving Private Ryan），以及HBO影集「諾曼第大登陸」（Band of Brothers）等。而且，這場戰役發起日的軍事代號「D-Day」（攻擊發起日），不僅成為諾曼第登陸的同義詞，現在的軍隊裡，也借用「D-Day」作為某項行動的發起日的代稱了。
《D 日———遺漏的上空見證》（D-Day：The Lost Evidence；Above the Battle）；是由Crecy出版社和「歷史頻道」（History Channel）合作發行，茍英（Cris Going）和鍾斯（Alun Jones）兩位軍事專家合編。諾曼第登陸大作戰時，盟軍統帥及將領，為了解並掌握戰場最新狀況，以供運籌帷幄之參考，曾於戰役期間，派出不少照相偵察機前往各處戰地拍攝，留下不少可貴的從空中鳥瞰的戰場實況相片。這些相片後來存放在盟軍總部，一直沒有公開，有些甚至都毀損遺失了。現在經過多方搜集、補修，終於由出版單位整理出這本以空中攝照的兩百多幅戰場實景為主題，再加文字說明的書籍，全書雖僅144頁，但由雲端上看D-Day的慘烈狀況，對讀者更有震撼效果。
此外，有三本由Sutton出版公司過去一系列的「諾曼第戰役」（Battle Zone Normandy）叢書，今年也配合60周年庚續出版三本登灘戰況分析的書籍，包括：《猶他海灘》（Utah Beach———海灘名均是盟軍取的代號），由貝得塞（Stephen Badsey）編著，192頁，含71幅彩照和65幅黑白照片。此海灘由美軍主攻，是最大區域的戰場。《奧瑪哈海灘》（Omaha Beach），由賓恩（Tim Bean）編撰；192頁，彩照65幅，黑白照片71幅。此灘由美軍第一軍團主攻，但灘頭險急，又遭德軍頑強抵抗，盟軍死傷慘重，有「血腥的奧瑪哈」之稱。《朱諾海灘》（Juno Beach），由福特（Ken Ford）編寫，頁數與彩色、黑白照片數均同《猷他海灘》一書。朱諾海灘主要由加拿大軍隊主攻。
當中的經典之作包括：
“The Longest Day”(《最長的一日》，1959年版)，作者：Cornelius Ryan。
“A Bridge Too Far”(《奪橋遺恨》，1974年版)，作者：Cornelius Ryan。
“Enemy At The Gates”(《兵臨城下》，1973年版)，作者：William Craig。
Mr. President (Francois Mitterrand of France) , distinguished guests, we stand today at a place of battle, one that 40 years ago saw and felt the worst of war. Men bled and died here for a few feet of-or inches of sand, as bullets and shellfire cut through their ranks. About them, General Omar Bradley later said, "Every man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero."
No speech can adequately portray their suffering, their sacrifice, their heroism. President Lincoln once reminded us that through their deeds, the dead of battle have spoken more eloquently for themselves than any of the living ever could. But we can only honor them by rededicating ourselves to the cause for which they gave a last full measure of devotion.
Today we do rededicate ourselves to that cause. And at this place of honor, we're humbled by the realization of how much so many gave to the cause of freedom and to their fellow man.
Some who survived the battle of June 6, 1944, are here today. Others who hoped to return never did.
"Someday, Lis, I'll go back," said Private First Class Peter Robert Zanatta, of the 37th Engineer Combat Battalion, and first assault wave to hit Omaha Beach. "I'll go back, and I'll see it all again. I'll see the beach, the barricades, and the graves."
Those words of Private Zanatta come to us from his daughter, Lisa Zanatta Henn, in a heartrending story about the event her father spoke of so often. "In his words, the Normandy invasion would change his life forever," she said. She tells some of his stories of World War II but says of her father, "the story to end all stories was D-Day."
"He made me feel the fear of being on that boat waiting to land. I can smell the ocean and feel the seasickness. I can see the looks on his fellow soldiers' faces-the fear, the anguish, the uncertainty of what lay ahead. And when they landed, I can feel the strength and courage of the men who took those first steps through the tide to what must have surely looked like instant death."
Private Zanatta's daughter wrote to me: "I don't know how or why I can feel this emptiness, this fear, or this determination, but I do. Maybe it's the bond I had with my father. All I know is that it brings tears to my eyes to think about my father as a 20-year-old boy having to face that beach."
The anniversary of D-Day was always special for her family. And like all the families of those who went to war, she describes how she came to realize her own father's survival was a miracle: "So many men died. I know that my father watched many of his friends be killed. I know that he must have died inside a little each time. But his explanation to me was, 'You did what you had to do, and you kept on going.'"
When men like Private Zanatta and all our Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy 40 years ago they came not as conquerors, but as liberators. When these troops swept across the French countryside and into the forests of Belgium and Luxembourg they came not to take, but to return what had been wrongly seized. When our forces marched into Germany they came not to prey on a brave and defeated people, but to nurture the seeds of democracy among those who yearned to be free again.
Today, in their memory, and for all who fought here, we celebrate the triumph of democracy. We reaffirm the unity of democratic peoples who fought a war and then joined with the vanquished in a firm resolve to keep the peace.
From a terrible war we learned that unity made us invincible; now, in peace, that same unity makes us secure. We sought to bring all freedom-loving nations together in a community dedicated to the defense and preservation of our sacred values. Our alliance, forged in the crucible of war, tempered and shaped by the realities of the postwar world, has succeeded. In Europe, the threat has been contained, the peace has been kept.
Lisa Zanatta Henn began her story by quoting her father, who promised that he would return to Normandy. She ended with a promise to her father, who died eight years ago of cancer: "I'm going there, Dad, and I'll see the beaches and the barricades and the monuments. I'll see the graves, and I'll put flowers there just like you wanted to do. I'll feel all the things you made me feel through your stories and your eyes. I'll never forget what you went through, Dad, nor will I let anyone else forget. And, Dad, I'll always be proud."
Through the words of his loving daughter, who is here with us today, a D-Day veteran has shown us the meaning of this day far better than any President can. It is enough for us to say about Private Zanatta and all the men of honor and courage who fought beside him four decades ago: We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we may always be free. Thank you.
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作 者 為 美 國 第 四 十 任 總 統 ， 本 文 摘 錄 自 一 九 八 四 年 六 月 六 日 「 登 陸 諾 曼 第 」 四 十 周 年 紀 念 日 ， 在 法 國 奧 馬 哈 海 灘 的 發 言 作者: 雪姬 時間: 04-6-12 16:49 標題: 回覆: 永遠的 D - DAY