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Floor Speech

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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, this week marks the 80th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy.

Operation Overlord on June 6, 1944, was one of the most significant events in human history. In those early morning hours, more than 24,000 soldiers and 1,200 aircraft conducted a massive and daring airborne assault behind enemy lines. This was done to isolate the coast and prevent the enemy from reinforcing its defenses.

Then, at dawn, the largest amphibious assault ever conducted--160,000 U.S., British, and Canadian troops poured out of 6,900 ships and vessels to storm the beaches against a crushing enemy fire. Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, Sword--the beaches' names are still famous today.

The first days were not promising for the Allies, but slowly over the next several weeks, the Allies extended their tenuous foothold and amassed more and more forces, eventually numbering 2 million on the beaches of Normandy.

After a German counterattack in early August failed, the breakout would begin. Paris would be liberated just weeks later, on August 25. Then, 5 days later, the enemy would withdraw back across the Seine into Germany--the end of Operation Overlord.

Losses were severe. On June 6--D-Day--alone, the Allies suffered more than 10,000 casualties. At operation's end, that number would swell to nearly a quarter of a million, including more than 153,000 wounded and 72,000 killed or missing--more than were killed in the entire war in Vietnam.

Most of D-Day's participants were young men in their teens and early twenties. Men with little or no combat experience and their whole lives in front of them landed on those beaches; men like my father, Charles Tuberville, a farmer from Arkansas, who was not yet 19. He was 18 years old when he landed at Utah Beach on that very day of June 6. I can't imagine what it must have been like to carry such an incredible burden at such a young age, to leave your family and loved ones, knowing you might not make it home. My dad would tell you it is because it was their duty. They loved their country, and their country needed them. They also understood that America and the freedoms we enjoy were worth fighting for.

I think of those men today, and I can't help but worry for my sons' and this country's future.

In the months leading up to this important 80th anniversary, we have been inundated with images from college campuses across our Nation. We have seen young people of similar age to the D-Day heroes protesting in support of terrorists, openly calling for the destruction of the society and freedoms that my dad and all these men paid for on D-Day with their blood.

So how did we get here? How did we go from producing the type of men and women who are willing to die on the beaches for freedom and our Constitution--how did we get here?--to college students who are openly supporting groups that chant ``Death to America''?

Sadly, our education system has failed the younger generation. Many of our major universities are more concerned with woke ideology than with quality education. They have no interest in teaching students the truth about our country and our founding principles. Many of our students are being taught to hate this country, to hate Americans, and the results speak for themselves.

More and more, high school students today can tell you everything you want to know about the made-up ``gender spectrum.'' They can carry on a conversation about that. But, you know what, they struggle to read at grade level and do basic math.

Our progressive education system, controlled by teachers unions, has made us rank 26th in the world in math--26th in the world in math--and 6th in reading. It is embarrassing. It is unforgivable. The teachers unions try to silence parents and cover for incompetence while our children are suffering.

Merit is now ``problematic,'' as our Nation has been taken over by the neo- Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion--or, as better known, called DEI--ideology. This woke teaching sows division by teaching our kids to resent each other.

Think about that for a minute. Our young people are the greatest resource that we have, but we are failing them. I worked in the education system for 35 years, and I am embarrassed. I am appalled. All to appease a radical ideology that has taken over this country.

As a result, the Army has had to lower its standards because many enlistees can't meet the minimum requirements. You heard that right. We have had to lower standards--our standards both mentally and physically.

We could learn a lesson or two from those heroes, like my Dad, who bravely served and stormed the beaches 80 years ago Thursday. Those men and women were united in the belief that America was a country worth fighting for.

So please join me, especially this Thursday, in honoring the brave heroes who risked and, in many cases, gave their lives for freedom and what we have today.

May we never forget their sacrifices and honor them by making sure our children know the truth about our great country and what happened on the beaches of Normandy that day, June 6, 1944.

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