“At the height of Nazi power in 1942, Germany and its allies controlled large portions of Europe and North Africa,” recounted Chief Electronics Technician Corey Morris, assigned to NSA Souda Bay. “However, by 1944, Hitler had suffered a pivotal loss at Stalingrad and Allied military leaders believed that a full-scale invasion of Western Europe could spread the German army thin and turn the tide of the war for good.”

D-Day, also known by its code name, Operation Neptune, is considered the largest amphibious warfare operation in history and occurred along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy, France coast in 1944.

Capt. Odin J. Klug, commanding officer, NSA Souda Bay, was a guest speaker at the remembrance ceremony.

“D-Day was not just a massive logistical operation that required the synchronization of the entire Allied force, it was also a unified display of the courage and the mental and physical toughness of the tens of thousands of Allied troops—British, Canadian and American—who helped turn the tide of World War II,” said Klug. “We should never cease to be thankful for those who gave their lives in this cause, while others fought for years during World War II in order to give us a world where freedom endures.”