Pointe du Hoc is a promontory at Omaha Beach, sometimes known as Bloody Omaha, one of the American Beaches on D-Day. The American troops who landed there on D-Day were pinned down and were suffering many casualties because they were unable to scale the 35 metre cliffs above the beaches. After landing parts of two Army Ranger Battalions under the command of Lt. Col. James Rudder made it to the top of the cliffs with ropes and ladders and made it possible for the landings to advance. The memorial is supposed to represent a Ranger dagger thrust through the top of a bunker on the cliffs.