1-271-029 - Peter Thompson/Heritage Images

War memorial at the Pointe Du Hoc near Omaha Beach, Normandy, France. On June 1944 the American 2nd Ranger Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James E Rudder scaled the 100 foot high cliff of the Pointe du Hoc, taking it from the defending Germans and holding it against repeated counter-attacks despite suffering heavy casualties. The operation was vital to the success of the landings on Omaha Beach as the Germans had sited artillery on the clifftop overlooking the landing areas on the beach below. The inscription on the memorial reads: "To the heroic Ranger commandoes D2RN E2RN F2RN of the 116th Inf who under the command of Colonel James E Rudder of the First American Division attacked and took possession of the Pointe du Hoc".