WEBVTT 00:00.300 --> 00:02.720 I now introduce the Secretary of 00:02.720 --> 00:05.789 Defense of the United States of America , 00:06.039 --> 00:09.500 the Honorable Mr . Peter B . Hegseth . 00:19.989 --> 00:23.840 Thank you , Minister 00:23.840 --> 00:27.340 Morne Sebastian . Mr . 00:27.350 --> 00:30.729 McCauley , Admiral Grady . Lieutenant 00:30.729 --> 00:34.619 King . And 00:34.619 --> 00:37.880 Chairman Garrett Thank you to our 00:37.880 --> 00:40.759 distinguished guests , none more 00:40.759 --> 00:42.959 distinguished than our veterans . 00:44.889 --> 00:46.778 Thank you for being here today to 00:46.778 --> 00:50.130 commemorate the 81st anniversary of 00:50.130 --> 00:53.720 D-Day . It is a sheer privilege 00:54.259 --> 00:57.450 to stand in this cemetery among 00:57.450 --> 01:01.430 heroes and before God . An 01:01.430 --> 01:03.819 incredible monument to the sacrifices 01:03.819 --> 01:06.709 American warriors made on the beaches 01:06.709 --> 01:10.550 of Normandy . As I stare at that 01:10.550 --> 01:12.661 flag , we are forever grateful to the 01:12.661 --> 01:14.883 French government . For dedicating this 01:14.883 --> 01:17.660 land as a resting place for our men . 01:19.339 --> 01:22.720 It's also an awe inspiring sight to see . 01:23.589 --> 01:25.860 The American flag flying here above 01:25.860 --> 01:29.690 thousands of crosses and stars . As 01:29.690 --> 01:33.279 a tribute to our very best . 01:33.610 --> 01:35.769 As the former superintendent of this 01:35.769 --> 01:39.349 cemetery used to say . There they are . 01:40.680 --> 01:43.819 Still serving their country , a 01:43.819 --> 01:45.139 living reminder . 01:47.809 --> 01:50.089 81 years ago , Hitler thought his 01:50.089 --> 01:54.069 Atlantic wall was impenetrable . Many 01:54.069 --> 01:57.760 agreed He clearly had not 01:57.760 --> 02:01.639 met enough Americans . A more 02:01.639 --> 02:03.861 daring assault had never been planned . 02:04.580 --> 02:06.699 The task was daunting , a frontal 02:06.699 --> 02:09.330 assault across the Channel on beaches 02:09.330 --> 02:12.020 and cliffs strewn with obstacles and 02:12.020 --> 02:15.250 defended by heavily fortified bunkers . 02:16.860 --> 02:18.971 Our only advantage was that the enemy 02:18.971 --> 02:20.979 underestimated the strength of the 02:20.979 --> 02:24.789 Allied war cause . The invasion 02:24.789 --> 02:27.067 would include brave troops from the US , 02:27.067 --> 02:28.956 Great Britain , Canada , France , 02:28.956 --> 02:31.470 Australia , New Zealand , South Africa , 02:31.669 --> 02:33.725 Belgium , Norway , Poland , Greece , 02:33.750 --> 02:36.820 and Holland . On the ground , the 02:36.820 --> 02:39.660 French resistance covertly aided the 02:39.660 --> 02:43.570 effort . And as the troops loaded into 02:43.570 --> 02:45.514 their ships , planes , and landing 02:45.514 --> 02:47.459 craft , they received copies of an 02:47.459 --> 02:49.649 order from General Eisenhower , 02:50.250 --> 02:52.361 reminding them of the stakes of their 02:52.361 --> 02:56.270 mission . I have a copy right here . He 02:56.270 --> 02:58.740 wrote , you are about to embark upon 02:59.309 --> 03:02.589 the great crusade . Toward which we 03:02.589 --> 03:04.669 have striven these many months , the 03:04.669 --> 03:08.139 eyes of the world are upon you . The 03:08.139 --> 03:10.289 hopes and prayers of liberty loving 03:10.289 --> 03:12.649 people everywhere march with you . 03:14.160 --> 03:16.529 In company with our brave allies and 03:16.529 --> 03:19.250 brothers in arms on other fronts , you 03:19.250 --> 03:21.570 will bring about the destruction of the 03:21.570 --> 03:24.699 German war machine . The elimination of 03:24.699 --> 03:26.921 Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples 03:26.921 --> 03:30.630 of Europe . And security for ourselves 03:30.630 --> 03:34.630 in a free world , your task will not be 03:34.630 --> 03:37.679 an easy one . He ends by writing , and 03:37.679 --> 03:41.139 let us all beseech the blessings . Of 03:41.139 --> 03:44.699 Almighty God upon this great and 03:44.699 --> 03:47.990 noble undertaking . Now that's a 03:47.990 --> 03:50.046 mission statement if I've ever heard 03:50.046 --> 03:53.500 one . those words along with ceaseless 03:53.500 --> 03:55.899 prayers to the Lord Almighty willed our 03:55.899 --> 03:58.121 troops as they pushed off into dark and 03:58.121 --> 04:02.110 choppy waters . They prayed 04:02.860 --> 04:06.789 They smoked They joked They rode 04:06.789 --> 04:08.869 home , they looked at photos , they 04:08.869 --> 04:11.470 knew many of them would not make it out 04:11.470 --> 04:14.119 alive . And they would have to rely on 04:14.119 --> 04:16.820 each other to succeed or to just 04:17.130 --> 04:20.790 survive . The assault began 04:20.790 --> 04:24.380 quietly before dawn on June 6th . With 04:24.380 --> 04:26.269 radio silence as paratroopers and 04:26.269 --> 04:28.950 gliders landed in the early hours . 04:30.410 --> 04:32.769 These men flung themselves into the 04:32.769 --> 04:36.329 abyss of night , lit only by the 04:36.329 --> 04:38.480 fire of German tracers . 04:40.119 --> 04:42.200 Later that morning , the greatest 04:42.200 --> 04:44.519 amphibious assault in the history of 04:44.519 --> 04:47.070 mankind began in full force . 04:48.660 --> 04:50.899 Our men pushed through the waves and 04:50.899 --> 04:53.140 flung themselves upon the sand . 04:54.730 --> 04:58.160 The courage it took . To do this 04:58.869 --> 05:02.799 Is unfathomable . The first groups 05:02.799 --> 05:05.021 were decimated . Thousands of young men 05:05.021 --> 05:06.855 lost their lives cut down by the 05:06.855 --> 05:08.966 barrage of machine guns and mortars . 05:09.829 --> 05:13.089 But they never let up . Our warriors 05:13.089 --> 05:16.730 never faltered God at their 05:16.730 --> 05:20.369 backs . As they forced their way inland , 05:20.450 --> 05:24.359 the Atlantic wall began to crumble . It 05:24.359 --> 05:28.320 is these men And their bravery . 05:29.459 --> 05:32.380 Whom we are here to celebrate and 05:32.380 --> 05:35.940 remember . A generation of 05:36.470 --> 05:40.049 farmhands and city kids . Baseball 05:40.049 --> 05:43.799 players and shopkeepers . Big towns , 05:44.190 --> 05:47.339 small towns , rich , poor . 05:48.140 --> 05:50.609 Who were forged and hardened in the 05:50.609 --> 05:52.890 Great Depression , hard men . 05:54.130 --> 05:56.519 Forged for hard times . 05:58.049 --> 06:00.920 Ordinary men Who mustered 06:01.609 --> 06:05.609 Extraordinary courage . While every one 06:05.609 --> 06:08.809 of the 9000 Americans buried here are 06:08.809 --> 06:11.609 heroes , 3 men here also received the 06:11.609 --> 06:13.831 Medal of Honor for their actions in the 06:13.831 --> 06:16.053 invasion . And as Sebastian mentioned , 06:16.053 --> 06:18.170 one of those was Brigadier General 06:18.170 --> 06:20.337 Theodore Roosevelt Jr , the oldest man 06:20.337 --> 06:23.640 to land on D-Day at the age of 56 . 06:24.429 --> 06:27.489 He had to submit a written petition . 06:28.329 --> 06:30.730 To receive permission because he had a 06:30.730 --> 06:34.209 heart condition and arthritis . He had 06:34.209 --> 06:37.130 nothing to prove , but he could not 06:37.130 --> 06:40.059 stay back . While his men met their 06:40.059 --> 06:43.390 fate . There were no other generals on 06:43.390 --> 06:46.989 the beach that day . When he 06:46.989 --> 06:50.100 landed , far from his objective , he 06:50.100 --> 06:53.510 simply said , men , We'll start the 06:53.510 --> 06:57.470 war from right here . He organized the 06:57.470 --> 07:01.029 troops and made order out of chaos . A 07:01.029 --> 07:04.609 month later , his heart gave out . But 07:04.609 --> 07:06.880 he had completed his mission . 07:08.380 --> 07:12.049 As did Every soul buried 07:12.500 --> 07:16.450 under one of those markers . You 07:16.450 --> 07:18.672 see , war reveals the true character of 07:18.672 --> 07:22.100 men . The character of a people . 07:23.809 --> 07:27.290 Lead from the front Or capitulate 07:27.619 --> 07:31.100 and fall out . To walk over or 07:31.160 --> 07:34.040 or run if you can carrying , carrying 07:34.040 --> 07:37.109 equipment over that open beach as 07:37.109 --> 07:39.640 shells and bullets thunder around you 07:39.640 --> 07:42.179 again and again . I 07:43.160 --> 07:46.959 Cannot imagine . Could you do that ? 07:48.720 --> 07:52.049 Could I Could we 07:54.839 --> 07:57.006 As we know , we have a number of these 07:57.006 --> 08:00.500 warriors with us here today . These men 08:01.700 --> 08:04.790 Boys , then . We're part of those 08:04.790 --> 08:08.320 landing forces , they embody the 08:08.320 --> 08:11.679 warrior ethos . We have many other men 08:11.679 --> 08:13.679 here today who served in France and 08:13.679 --> 08:16.799 across the world in that war . To that 08:16.799 --> 08:18.855 I can simply say , gentlemen , thank 08:18.855 --> 08:21.790 you . For your service , for your 08:21.790 --> 08:24.170 sacrifice , and for your bravery . 08:25.619 --> 08:28.140 That day and those days that followed 08:28.140 --> 08:30.459 turned the tide of the war and history 08:30.459 --> 08:33.840 itself . In the two months after the 08:33.840 --> 08:36.007 invasion , the Allies poured more than 08:36.007 --> 08:38.840 2 million troops through the hard-won 08:38.840 --> 08:41.159 opening in Normandy . Without Operation 08:41.159 --> 08:43.599 Overlord , without the sacrifices of 08:43.599 --> 08:45.821 American , French , British , and other 08:45.821 --> 08:49.500 allied powers . We would not have the 08:49.500 --> 08:52.919 free world . This day 08:53.979 --> 08:57.780 June 6th . Is the price 08:57.780 --> 09:01.650 of freedom . We remember the 09:01.650 --> 09:04.450 losses , we celebrate the victories . 09:04.690 --> 09:07.289 We rededicate ourselves to the fight 09:07.289 --> 09:10.820 for liberty , security , and peace . 09:11.559 --> 09:15.380 And again We should ask ourselves . 09:16.539 --> 09:19.340 Could I do what they did ? 09:21.049 --> 09:24.789 Could you Could we 09:26.559 --> 09:30.419 Could our kids Do we produce 09:30.679 --> 09:34.659 such men ? How do we 09:35.109 --> 09:38.969 produce such Americans ? Our 09:38.969 --> 09:41.599 civilization today and going forward 09:41.929 --> 09:44.659 must answer those questions . 09:47.320 --> 09:49.431 You know , I wrote this speech before 09:49.431 --> 09:52.179 this morning , but this morning , I got 09:52.179 --> 09:55.669 my answer . This morning I had a chance 09:55.669 --> 09:58.950 to do PT . With Army Rangers on the 09:58.950 --> 10:02.859 beach on Omaha Beach . And 10:02.859 --> 10:05.081 I got my answer to those questions with 10:05.081 --> 10:07.415 the sun rising with the Ranger regiment . 10:08.059 --> 10:11.669 Yes , We do produce such 10:11.669 --> 10:15.169 men still . From far flung places 10:15.169 --> 10:17.570 willing to traverse the entire globe to 10:17.570 --> 10:20.090 defend freedom . I had a chance this 10:20.090 --> 10:22.159 morning to run with a young ranger . 10:23.469 --> 10:26.429 Whose grandfather was liberated in the 10:26.429 --> 10:29.390 Philippines by the 6th Rangers . 10:30.690 --> 10:33.419 He joined and he didn't even know that . 10:34.989 --> 10:38.909 The legacy Of Americans around the 10:38.909 --> 10:42.890 world . For freedom . You know , as 10:42.890 --> 10:45.169 we ran on that beach this morning at 10:45.169 --> 10:48.010 6:30 as the sun was rising about the 10:48.010 --> 10:50.440 same time those first landing crafts 10:50.440 --> 10:53.609 landed . Didn't look much like a 10:53.609 --> 10:57.140 battlefield . It looked like a beach 10:59.070 --> 11:01.929 I ran over more than a few sand castles . 11:03.950 --> 11:06.859 That's what those men fought for . 11:08.559 --> 11:11.179 That we may turn scenes of death . 11:12.210 --> 11:15.950 Into scenes of life . Scenes of 11:15.950 --> 11:19.440 war . In scenes of peace . 11:20.859 --> 11:23.659 Glorifying Almighty God with our lives . 11:24.929 --> 11:28.710 and living worthy . Of their sacrifice . 11:30.219 --> 11:32.169 That together our nations will be 11:32.169 --> 11:36.010 strong and free . Today the 11:36.010 --> 11:39.250 United States and France . Again rally 11:39.250 --> 11:41.250 together to confront such threats . 11:42.340 --> 11:46.030 Because we strive for peace , we must 11:46.719 --> 11:50.590 prepare for war and hopefully , Deter 11:50.590 --> 11:54.380 it We must ensure that our 11:54.380 --> 11:57.619 children and our grandchildren know 11:57.619 --> 12:01.020 what these men did that they understand . 12:02.460 --> 12:06.080 I used to say , And it's a cozy thing 12:06.080 --> 12:08.679 to tell ourselves , especially after 12:08.679 --> 12:12.109 World War II . That they fought 12:12.739 --> 12:15.059 so that their kids and grandkids won't 12:15.059 --> 12:17.260 have to , and in some cases , that was 12:17.260 --> 12:20.929 true . But in most cases , 12:22.150 --> 12:25.190 They fought And we fight 12:26.270 --> 12:28.530 Knowing that our kids and grandkids 12:28.530 --> 12:30.719 will have to be willing to do the same 12:30.719 --> 12:34.630 as well . Because , because history 12:34.630 --> 12:37.700 is not over . Evil has not been 12:37.700 --> 12:41.609 eradicated from the globe . Good men 12:42.260 --> 12:45.460 are still needed . To stand up 12:47.599 --> 12:49.599 America will require such men . The 12:49.599 --> 12:51.840 world will require such men , and 12:51.840 --> 12:55.200 therefore we must teach our kids and 12:55.200 --> 12:58.830 grandkids to understand . To 12:58.830 --> 13:01.179 remember And to live worthy . 13:04.270 --> 13:06.492 Our world is a better place when Europe 13:06.492 --> 13:09.530 and America are strong , free , and 13:09.530 --> 13:13.080 independent . France understands this 13:13.080 --> 13:15.247 well , and so do the men buried here , 13:15.247 --> 13:17.760 and so do the men . Sitting before me . 13:19.349 --> 13:21.750 Our nations together have endured a 13:21.750 --> 13:25.219 bond intertwined by history . And we 13:25.219 --> 13:27.330 share this hallowed ground underneath 13:27.330 --> 13:30.909 our feet dedicated . And consecrated 13:31.390 --> 13:35.200 by the blood of our heroes . Our 13:35.200 --> 13:38.690 moment today is an echo . It's an echo 13:38.690 --> 13:42.419 of theirs . And may we live worthy 13:42.419 --> 13:46.359 of them . It is truly one of the honors 13:46.359 --> 13:48.719 of a lifetime to commemorate the 13:48.719 --> 13:51.840 sacrifices of D-Day and celebrate the 13:51.840 --> 13:54.359 freedoms . Of our two nations . 13:55.919 --> 13:58.809 God bless you all . And may God bless 13:58.809 --> 14:00.330 our warriors . Thank you .