Pointe du Hoc endures as a symbol of tenacity, combat resilience, leadership, sacrifice [and] teamwork... [It represents] what these citizen soldiers can achieve. Achieve it, in this case, to begin the liberation, [and] for the ends of ultimately freeing the oppressed peoples of Europe and trying to build a more safe and secure world.
The occupying German forces had established a defensive position atop the cliff, stationing several long-range guns that posed a major threat to the Allied troops. A group of 225 U.S. Army Rangers led by then-Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder was tasked with destroying those guns, having to scale the cliff to get to them.
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