our cleanup hitter is general n william matz. he is no stranger to this campus. he is a 1961 graduate of gettysburg college and subsequently went on to a very distinguished five decade military career, including a student as a company commander with the ninth infantry division in vietnam where he was wounded in the 1968 offensive. he later served as executive secretary to two secretaries of defense. he worked in the defense industry before retiring from the army in 1995 and has served on a number of important national commissions. as a capstone to his storied career, in 2018, president donald trump appointed him secretary of the american battle monuments commission. that position he held until march 2021. for the panel this morning he will speak about allied airborne operations in normandy on d-day. with that, the floor is yours. >> thank you very much for that kind introduction. i would like to thank the eisenhower society and everyone who has made this possible. i was on this committee and i am delighted by the extraordinary talent we have presenting today. i w