With Normandy visit, Trump continues presidential pilgrimage begun by Reagan

Donald Trump is continuing a pilgrimage begun by President Ronald Reagan.

ByJordyn Phelps
June 6, 2019, 2:15 PM

With his visit to the cliffs of Normandy on Thursday to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, President Donald Trump is continuing a pilgrimage begun by President Ronald Reagan.

Reagan in 1984 became the first U.S. president to visit the shores of Normandy to mark the anniversary of allied forces invading occupied France, a day remembered as the turning point for the allies against Nazi Germany in World War II.

PHOTO: President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan walk among the crosses of the Normandy American Cemetery June 6, 1984 in Normandy, France.
President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan walk among the crosses of the Normandy American Cemetery June 6, 1984 in Normandy, France. Reagan is visiting France on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Omaha Beach invasion, otherwise known as "D-Day" on June 6, 1944.
David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images, FILE

"These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war," Reagan said in a speech on the 40th anniversary.

Reagan’s predecessor, President Jimmy Carter, actually was the first U.S. president to visit the site, in 1978, but his visit did not coincide with the anniversary.

PHOTO: President Jimmy Carter places a wreath on the grave of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, in Normandy, France, Jan. 6, 1978.
President Jimmy Carter places a wreath on the grave of Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of former President Theodore Roosevelt, in Normandy, France, Jan. 6, 1978.
Keystone/Getty Images, FILE

Many presidents since Reagan have continued the tradition of visiting on the anniversary, an act of remembrance for the lives lost that day and to celebrate their contribution to the ultimate victory of the allied forces.

Ten years after Reagan’s visit marking the 40th anniversary, President Bill Clinton also made the pilgrimage.

PHOTO: President Bill Clinton escorts Linda Williams, whose father, Lt. Col. James Rudder, led the storming of Pointe-du-Hoc on the coast of Normandy during the Allied invasion, at a D-Day ceremony in France, June 6, 1994.
President Bill Clinton escorts Linda Williams, whose father, Lt. Col. James Rudder, led the storming of Pointe-du-Hoc on the coast of Normandy during the Allied invasion, at a D-Day ceremony in France, June 6, 1994.
Greg Gibson/AP, FILE

President George W. Bush visited on Memorial Day in 2002, when the memory of the Sept. 11th attacks was still fresh and as the U.S. and its allies were facing a new kind of war, against terrorism.

PHOTO: President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac attend ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in World War II at Omaha Beach June 6, 2004 in Colleville Sur Mer, France.
President George W. Bush and French President Jacques Chirac attend ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in World War II at Omaha Beach June 6, 2004 in Colleville Sur Mer, France.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, FILE
PHOTO: Former President George H.W. Bush arrives at the 2007 Ronald Reagan Freedom Award gala dinner held in his honor in Beverly Hills, Calif., Feb. 6, 2007.
Former President George H.W. Bush arrives at the 2007 Ronald Reagan Freedom Award gala dinner held in his honor in Beverly Hills, Calif., Feb. 6, 2007.
Matt Sayles/AP, FILE

His father, President George H.W. Bush served in the U.S. Navy overseas during World War II, along with five other U.S. presidents. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery in action according to the White House. He passed away in November of last year.

PHOTO: President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande look out at Omaha Beach at Normandy American Cemetery as they participate in the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Colleville sur Mer in Normandy, France, June 6, 2014.
U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande look out at Omaha Beach, one of the sites of the Allied soldiers beach landings, at Normandy American Cemetery as they participate in the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Colleville sur Mer in Normandy, France, June 6, 2014.
Charles Dharapak/AP, FILE

President Barack Obama visited Normandy five years ago on the 70th anniversary.

ABC News' Jacqueline Yoo contributed to this report.

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