Normandy, France…President Biden Delivers Remarks on D-Day in Normandy, France.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden greet a group of World War II D-Day veterans who fought at Omaha Beach at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, Thursday, June 6, 2024, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

Transcript

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distinguished guests the 46th president
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of the United States of America Joseph R
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Jr Joseph Biden
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Jr the hour nearly
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come
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Monday June
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5th
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1944 the evil fit’s third right was
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devastating the world Nazi Germany had
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subjugated a one stre nations of Europe
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through Brute Force
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lies and twisted ideology of racial
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superiority millions of Jews murdered in
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the
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Holocaust millions of others killed by
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bombs bullets bloody
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Warfare Hitler and those with him
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thought democracies were weak that the
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future belonged to
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dictators here the coast of Normandy the
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battle between freedom and tyranny would
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be
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joined here on that June morning the
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testing was at
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hand president MCR m m Crone secretary
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Austin secretary blinken distinguished
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guests most of all our honored veterans
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who met that test at the ages a test of
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Ages to that moment 80 years ago 80
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years ago
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today on behalf of the American people
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and as commanderin-chief
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it’s the highest honor to be able to
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salute you here in Normandy once more
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all of you God love
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you Winston Churchill called what
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happened here quote the greatest most
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complicated operation ever end of
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quote after years of planning Operation
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Overlord was ready to
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launch just as soon as the weather
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turned turned across the choppy choppy
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English Channel the supreme commander of
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the Allies Dwight D eisar
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waited the largest Forest ever of its
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kind built by 12 Nations men guns planes
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Naval craft of every description
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waited the world captive and free
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waited finally Eisenhower forecaster
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said there was a window in the weather
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it would open briefly on Tuesday the 6th
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of
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June the general weighed the options and
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gave the order at dawn the Allies would
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strike the great crusade to free Europe
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from tyranny would
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begin that night General Eisenhower
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drove to the English town of Newbury
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to visit paratroopers of 101st
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Airborne there were men from All Over
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America it was estimated that
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80% of them would be killed within hours
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that was the
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estimate but they were Brave they were
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Resolute and they were
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ready one soldier told General
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Eisenhower quote don’t worry sir sir the
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101st is on the job everything will be
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taken care
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of that’s what he
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said and because of their courage and
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the resolve because the courage and
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resolve of their allies it was taken
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care
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of from the sea and sky nearly
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160,000 Allied troops descended on
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Normandy many to State the obvious never
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came home many survived that long stay
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kept on fighting for months until
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victory was finally
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won and a
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few a notable Band of Brothers are here
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with us
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today Kenneth Blain Smith is here on
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that day under heavy artillery fire he
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operated a rangefinder and radar on the
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first American ship to arrive at
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normandy’s Coast providing direct
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gunfire support for the Rangers scaling
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the The Cliffs app point the hawk on
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their daring mission to take out the
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German
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batteries Bob Gibson is
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here he landed on Utah Beach about 10
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hours after the invasion began bullets
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flying everywhere tracers lighting up
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the
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sky Bob drove an M4 tractor with
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anti-aircraft gun mounted on top
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providing critical protection for the
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Infantry against the German air force on
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that day and for many days after he
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continued Ben Miller is here a medic
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with the 82
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Airborne at 3:00 a.m. on June 6th he and
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13 other Medics Flew Over the channel in
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a rickety
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glider its wings were ripped off by
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giant poles that the Germans buried
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halfway in the ground to stop them from
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Landing they
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crashed but they survived
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and they did their
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Duty dragging injured soldiers to safety
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treating wounds saving lives all the
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battle
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raged every soldier who stormed the
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beach who dropped by Parachute or landed
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by
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glider every sailor who maned the
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thousands of ships and landing craft
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every aviator who destroyed German
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controlled airfields Bridges and
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railroads all all were B
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by other Brave Americans including
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hundreds of thousands of people of color
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and women who courageously served
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despite unjust limitations on what they
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could do for their
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Nation Lewis Brown is here part of the
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red ball Express a truck Convoy made up
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of mostly African-American drivers they
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landed in Normandy in the wake of
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D-Day they rushed supplies to the
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rapidly advancing front lines
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Woody Woodhouse is here members of the
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legendary Tuskegee Airmen who flew over
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15,000 sores during the
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war Marjorie stone is here she enlisted
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in the women’s branch of the naval
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Reserve became an aircraft
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mechanic spent the war keeping American
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planes and pilots in the
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air theirs has always been the story of
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America just walk the roads of this
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cemeteries I have nearly 10,000 Heroes
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buried side by
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side officers and enlisted immigrants
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and native born different races
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different faiths but all
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Americans all sered with honor when
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America and the world needed them
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most Millions back home did their part
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as well from coast to coast Americans
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found countless ways to pitch in
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they understood our democracy is only as
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strong as all of us make it
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together the men who fought here became
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Heroes not because they were the
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strongest or toughest or were fiercest
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although they were but because they were
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given an audacious Mission
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knowing every one of them knew the
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probability of dying was real but they
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did it
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anyway they knew
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Beyond any
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doubt there are things that are worth
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fighting and dying
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for freedom is worth it democracy is
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worth it America is worth it the world
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is worth it then now and
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always the war in Europe didn’t end for
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another 11
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months but here the tide turned in our
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favor here
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we proved the forces of Liberty are
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stronger than the forces of
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Conquest here we proved that the ideals
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of our democracy are stronger than any
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army or combination of armies in the
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entire
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world we prove something else here as
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well the unbreakable Unity of the
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Allies here with us our men who served
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alongside the Americans that
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day we different flags in their arms but
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fighting with the same courage for the
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same
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purpose what the Allies did together 80
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years ago far surpassed anything we
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could have done on our
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own it was a powerful illustration of
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how alliances real alliances make us
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stronger a lesson that I
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pray we Americans never
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forget together we want the war we
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rebuilt Europe including our former
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enemies was an investment in what became
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shared and a prosperous
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future we established
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NATO the greatest military Alliance in
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the history of the
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world and over
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time you got it it
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is and over time we brought more Nations
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into NATO the NATO Alli Alliance
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including the newest members Finland and
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Sweden
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today NATO stands at 32 count strong
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strong and NATO is more united than ever
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and even more prepared to keep the peace
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deter aggression defend Freedom all
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around the
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world America has invested in our
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alliances
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and fors new ones not simply out of
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altruism but out of our own
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self-interest as
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well America’s unique ability to bring
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countries together is an un undeniable
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source of our strength and our
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power
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isolationism was not the answer 80 years
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ago and is not the answer
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today we know the dark Forces that these
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Heroes fought against 80 years ago they
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never
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fade aggression and greed the desire to
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dominate and control to change borders
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by force these are
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perennial the struggle between a
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dictatorship and freedom is
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unending here in Europe we see one Stark
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example Ukraine has been invaded by a
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tyrant that on
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domination ukrainians are fighting with
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extraordinary courage suffering great
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losses but never backing
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down they’ve inflicted on the Russian
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aggression they’ve suffered tremendous
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losses in Russia the numbers are
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staggering
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350,000 Russian troops dead or wounded
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nearly 1 million people have left Russia
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because they can no longer see a future
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in Russia the United States and NATO and
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a coalition of more than 50 countries
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standing strong with
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Ukraine we will not walk
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away because if we do Ukraine will be
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subjugated and will not end
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there Ukraine’s neighbors will be
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threatened
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all of Europe will be threatened and
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make no mistake the autocrats of the
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world are watching closely to see what
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happens in
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Ukraine to see if we let this illegal
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aggression go
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unchecked we cannot let that happen to
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surrender to bullies to bow down to
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dictators is simply
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unthinkable were we to do that it means
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we’d be forgetting what happened here in
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these hollowed beaches make no mistake
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we will not bow down we will not
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forget let me end with this history
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tells us freedom is not
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free if you want to know the price of
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Freedom come here to Normandy come to
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Normandy and look go to the other
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cemeteries in Europe where our fallen
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heroes rest go back home to Arlington
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Cemetery tomorrow I will pay respects at
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point to Hawk go there as well and
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remember the price of unchecked Charity
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is the blood of The Young and the brave
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in their generation in their hour of
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trial the Allied Forces of dday did
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their Duty now the question for us is in
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our hour of trial will we do
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ours we’re living in a time when
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democracy is more at risk across the
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world than any point since the end of
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World War II since these beaches were
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stormed in
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1944 now we have to ask ourselves will
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we stand against tyranny against evil
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against crushing brutality of the Iron
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Fist will we stand for Freedom we deand
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democracy We Stand Together my answer is
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yes only can be yes
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we’re not far off from the time the last
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Living Voices of those who fought and
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bled on dday will no longer be with us
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so we have a special
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obligation we can let what happened here
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be lost in the Silence of the years to
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come we must remember it must honor it
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and live it we must remember the fact
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that they were Heroes here that day does
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not absolve us from what we have to do
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today the democracy is never
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guaranteed every generation must
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preserve it defend it and fight for it
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that’s the test of the
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ages in memory of those who fought here
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died here literally saved the world here
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let us be worthy of their
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sacrifice let us be the generation that
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when history is written about our time
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in 10 20 30 50 80 years from now it’ll
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be said when the moment came
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we met the moment we stood strong our
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alliances were made stronger we saved
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democracy in our time as
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well thank you very much and may God
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bless you all and may God protect our
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troops thank you