Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended events to mark the 81st anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, France, delivering a speech at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer and working out with troops assigned to the U.S. Army 75th Ranger Regiment.
The secretary participated in physical training with 75th Ranger Regiment soldiers on Omaha Beach, then met with veterans and their families at the cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer.
Commonly referred to as D-Day, the 1944 invasion — which would prove to be the turning point in the European theater and ultimately lead to the Allies' victory on the Western Front — saw roughly 160,000 troops crossing the English Channel, with more than 2 million Allied troops in France just three months later.
Acknowledging a small group of surviving D-Day veterans at the ceremony, Hegseth spoke of that generation's fortitude.
"These men — boys, then — were part of those landing forces; they embody the warrior ethos," he said, adding that the generation included "hard men forged for hard times."
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In his remarks during the International D-Day Remembrance Ceremony at Utah Beach, Hegseth said:
What motivates a man to do such a thing? I think it's love. Not just love for your country, or love for a cause, but love for one another, which, when you ask those men, they remember the man on the right and on their left. They remember the nurse that cared for them. They remember those that rest here who we honor today, who we will never forget."
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth