Transcripts For MSNBCW First Look 20190606

Leaving home for the first time to face down fascism and the evil of hitlers war machine. Many would never return home cut down by bullets on the beaches or in the skies overhead or in the fierce combat that fold. The bravery of these men buoyed back home by a United States of america. A society joined in a common cause. Buying war bonds. Women in factories. A country keeping calm and carrying on. Today here in france we celebrate these heroes and honor their sacrifice on this day dday, 75 years ago and with us joining us here msnbc contributor Mike Barnicle and columnist and associate editor for the Washington Post david ignatius, and in washington author and nbc news president ial historian. The ceremony is moments away. President trump will be speaking in just a few minutes now before meeting with french president macron. In our 7 00 hour well have live coverage from here in france. Throughout the morning well be talking about this detain history. What a remarkable day. Well be hearing from the president of the United States. But, mike, lets first talk about what an extraordinary place this is, what an extraordinary corner of the world this sthis patch of land above the beaches of normandy. Youve been here now four times, and ive been here a few times. I was talking to chris dicky who was in tears as he left. We all are. Theres nothing quite like normandy. There isnt, joe. Its overwhelming, extraordinary. Humbling. As you stroll across the immaculate kept grounds here and look at the individual crosses and stars of david and splendid white behind us and you look at the dates, and the dates david and i were talking about this yesterday, the dates of death that really strike you are those who died on june 6th. And you see person after person, man. After man from new york, as you just alluded to, from all over our country, and you can help but thinking that usa on these crosses and on these flags that flutter throughout normandy, the american flag, usa, the first two letters, u. S. , us, we did this in conjunction, of course with the british and the french but largely us, the United States of america did this. What occurred here 75 years ago on this truly momentous day that brought the hope of freedom and liberation to the world it was us. And, david ignatius, such an alliance to the greatest armada ever launched our troops stormed on the beaches of omaha and utah beach, canadian, australian, allies came in an hour later. But we were talking before about rommels defenses, the bullets aimed in such a way that those young boy, especially those coming up on bloody omaha beach seemed to be sitting targets. You really whether youre watching band of brothers or watching saving private ryan, the longest day, theres no way until you look over those cliffs as you were doing with secretary of state kerry earlier, first of all, you understand how high those cliffs are and second of all the most daunting thing how wide the beaches of normandy are. The reason this is a sacred place for our country and the world is the bravery that it took, individual americans to scale that. Behind us these crosses and stars of david are so orderly. Theyve been described as being like soldiers in formation. But theres such a contrast to the absolute chaos on the beach as those young men landed. They were framed by german machine guns omaha beach. There were 85 german machine gun nests ready to mow down those troops. The only way to survive is to climb that escarpment. If they stayed on the beach they would die. They showed a level of briefry which is extraordinary. Why coming here matters so much to us. They came up that escarpment and took their positions and by the end of the day they achieved their objective. The allies were in europe, the war on its way to ending. It took those actions going up to escarpment leaving behind the comrade that died. Thats what this place is about. Its hard for us to imagine 18, 19, 20yearold boys running into that type of gunfire, knowing that their death could be imminent. But you look at those individual acts that those heroes made on the morning of june 6th, 1944, about 6 00 a. M. Fought until 11 00. In fact, general bradley even talked about the possibility of retreating, they were getting cut down so badly omaha. David ignatius is right, by the end of the longest day, these young heroes, and many of those that we honor behind us, they actually had gained a foot hold not only in normandy but in france within a year. The war would be over. And hitler would be dead. Absolutely. You know, what really stands out is how biblical dday was. It was good versus evil. Democratic ideals against dictatorship. The stark moral clarity. And one of the things that you really get if you study not only dday, but the run up to, you know, the soldiers marching to berlin is that later on military historians look back on this and said one of the reasons the allies won was because, as people who had grownup in democracies, you know, americans and canadians and also british and others were able to make decisions on their own. The german soldiers who had grownup in a dictatorship could not do that and that was something that turned out to be militarily extremely important. We want to bring in nbc news chief global correspondent bill neely now. Hes also here at the American Cemetery in normandy, but from a different vantage point. Bill, looking ahead at what were expecting today during the ceremony, the dynamics between the leaders that will be joining here and the remarks that President Trump will be making. Reporter yes, mika. I think everyone will be listening very closely to what President Trump has to say and just picking up from a point that was head just a moment ago. This just isnt a sacred place and a place of remembrance. Its a unifying place for americans whether youre a republican or democrat or independent, this is a place of unity. A place of common purpose. And the same goes for america and europeans, british, french and german at a time when there is disunity in the western alliance. Much of it or some of it, indeed, by President Trump himself. Its also a place of moral certainty. Of good over evil. Of a unifying cause at a time when we really are struggling in a world of moral uncertainties and of disunity. I think everyone will be looking to see and hear what President Trump has to say about the ties that bind us, about the unity between the United States and its allies in europe including, of course, germany and dont forget chancellor Angela Merkel is also present at these ceremonies marking the german dead of june 1944. Not in any way glory glorifing the nacy regime. President trump is a little bit late. He left whether he left the golf club in western ireland late other not, we dont know, but were behind schedule at the minute. I think people here slightly worried, also with his remarks the morning about china, about mexico, bashing democrats. Perhaps this is not the day to do all that. Surely this is the day to remember and pay tribute and pay homage not just to the dead 75 years ago but also to the veterans who are here in diminishing numbers but they are here in their dozens and hundreds and they too will be listening to what President Trump has to say. All right. Thank you so much, bill neely. Im so glad bill brought up Angela Merkel. Ill tell you something i noticed this year that it didnt notice as much 15 years ago. Many more german voices. We were talking before about how perhaps the strongest, the most adept german fighters were on the Eastern Front fighting stalin. We had a lot of 15, 16, 17yearold boys, a lot of older germans here. But as we talk about what type of world these young men built and our leaders built, a world thats being debated by many not only in america but across the west, you have to look at the irony that here we are talking about a bit of victory over germany and yet it is Angela Merkel who is standing strong for many of those western values that george marshal, harry truman and our leaders after the war, the world that they built, david ignatius, and not only are the germans doing it now, but as the west germans like to tell the United States during the cold war, we are your most loyal allies. Thats the great triumph of world war ii. It transformed a germany that had been a menace for many generations. That germany now embraces the idea of being part of the european union. This is a piece that really transformed a continent that hadnt known peace. The end of world war i brought more chaos. Almost predicted world war ii. The young men whose graves are behind us, probably were fighting to survive. They just wanted to go home. But the peace that they created with their bravery endures to this minute. Thats it. Thats it. These head stones behind us are literally, its no stretch history, that these head stones behind us are the Building Blocks for the alliances that keep us safe today, that keep europe safe today. They are the Building Blocks for the berlin airlift, the creation of nato, the creation of the common market, the growth of Great Britain and germany, the reunification of germany, the wall crumbling and germany becoming one of our staurchest allies. They built that with their lives. And michael, again the debate rages about the future of western liberal democracy, its hard not to look at what the allies did from 45 through 49, to create a world where you could actually have a germany that would go from being a menace to western civilization in the world to being a leader of democracy, to be a leader of industry. And, again, its what so many young boys fought and died for in world war i and didnt get the result. But thats exactly the world that was created by dday and what followed. Joe, youre so right. Dwight eisenhower said in 1945 that the test of whether the war in europe succeed would not be just, you know, victory in may of 1945, he said it would be 50 years later and the question would be, is there a peaceful democratic germany . And if he were to come back today and see the record of Angela Merkel, and what has happened in germany since 1945, he would be absolutely cheered. I hope we feel that way 20 years from now. Weve talked about it off camera. Talk about some of the remarkable moments of Early Morning june 6th, 1944 when there was so much chaos and yet as michael said no only the american spirit, the western spirit going back to greece and the march of 10,000 made them move forward up those cliffs. Multiple errors were made, joe. Not intentionally, obviously. The intelligence was wrong. The intelligence they had indicated that there were going to be fairly boar levels of germans. The military assault by the Army Air Force were hindered because of the weather and overcast and instead of peppering the beach with bombs and exploding the mines that were already laid on the beach and taking care of the barbed wire that was already on the beach, they overshot the beach and bombed inland. The feields of fire, general gavin said rommels genius was never more evident here at omaha beach where he created the crossing fields of fire. And the threat of the beach, multiple football fields long, it was literally a horseshoe shaped valley of death. It was a killing field. It was. We are waiting for the president of the United States who not only is running late but is now doing an interview with the fox news host while these men in their 90 wait for the president of the United States. David ignatius, there were error, many errors that were made. But, of course, if youre going to launch the largest armada ever, not everything is going to go exactly right. But ingenuity and grit got so many of those american heroes up that hill. We speak about the fog of war, famous phrase, fog of war on dday that morning of june 6th literally was a dense overcast day with surf confounded our attempts to bomb these beaches, to take away the defenses. Nothing went the way it was planned for the most part. Churchill, the night before as he launched this great army said we have to assume that things wont go the way we planned. It was part of churchills wisdom to know this was mistation. General eisenhower smoke 80 cigarette as days he was so tense. 80 cigarette as day just hoping and praying that this would go all right. Made the decision to go. Ill just close with a statement that ike used to love to describe military genius. He was quoting napoleon. Napoleon said military ability is to do the average when everybody is going crazy. General eisenhower and our other generals stayed calm as things went wrong. They kept moving forward. Move forward up the escarpment behind us and as you said by the end of the day omaha beach in this area was in allied hands. In fact, mika, thats whats eisenhowers instruction to the troops were the night before. He, of course, said the entire worlds eyes would be on them. Worn them how fierce the fighting would be. But his instruction to those troops, keep moving forward. And many of them had no choice because moving back or staying in place would have they had chances of survival, the ones on the front lines that were low, and staying still or moving back was not an option. The Chicago Tribune Editorial Board is out with a new piece, honor ddays 75th anniversary by knowing the story and teaching others. It writes in part this, all great historical achievements risk fading into obscure past events, reduced to calendar notation or unread wikipedia entries unless those moments are kept vivid and meaningful for future generation. June 6th is one of those imperilled dates. Its the 75th anniversary of dday. One of the most audacious military actions in american history. This tale of valor and sacrifice has become more important to retell because those who fought that war and learned its lessons of Selfless Service for the common good are disappearing. More than. 16 million americans served in the military during the war. Fewer than 500,000 veterans are still alive. Most are now in their mid90s. Younger generations of americans wont understand what happened on june 6, 1944, unless they are inspired to learn it. If you know the dday story, share it and teach it. And you notice the difference, you were here for the 60th right . So fewer veterans here, so fewer stories to be told. There really are. When we were here for the 60th and dignitiaries will continue arrives. When we were here for the 60th anniversary there were so many more veterans here and we would walk through the streets of small towns across normandy and you would have one of the more touching on moments of my life watching Young Children 5, 6, 7, 8yearold children with flowers in their hands being pushed in the direction of these veterans in their 70s, some in late 70s and children would say my parents and grandparents told me were free because of what you did on this day. And you would have actually everybody in tears, whether it was the veterans, of course, who were weeping at the Young Children, the parents. Its extraordinarily moving. And, michael, its a good reminder when people ask are we going to be okay . Which we americans seem to ask every year. Just depends on what side youre on. But 2004, i would actually say that our alliances were even more strained then. We had just begun the iraq war. The germans and french were decidedly working actively against that war and american interests and the United Nations and the two sides didnt like each other. But yet not only the french in normandy but french in paris went out of their way then as now we may not like your president but we love you. We love americans and that is macron arriving right now. Michael. Yes, youre absolutely right, joe. Look at how powerful the influence of our alliance is that donald trump, at least from the excerpts of the speech weve learned about so far, feels compelled to make a speech that sounds at least from the excerpts a little bit similar from those other president s back to jimmy carter and Ronald Reagan who celebrated the heroism of dday. And let us hope thats the case here too. Of course, we do, many people who have issues with the Trump Presidency at times will grade him on a curve but if, in fact, youre not a fan of donald trump and grading him on a curve you certainly look at some of his remarks in britain, at least and to theresa may and they were actually for more gracious than has been the case in the past and david, let us hope thats the case again today. The fact that President Trump is here, i want to say to worship at the altar of this great sacrifice, you know, we want him to speak well and powerfully, watching president macron, thinking about what dday meant for france, i always think of a person i interviewed who was a french spy, spying for the british, who spent the last year of the war in german concentration camps and she describes what it was like after dday for the french. Here she was suffering near death in a concentration camp and said we knew now that the allies were coming. We knew that they were coming. The americans and the others to save france. I look at President Trump and president macron speaking now and i thiat french understand that. They understand what america was prepared to do for france then. Theyve never forgotten it. Were looking now, the program is getting ready to begin. Were about 30 minutes behind schedule. President trump and first lady melania and french president macron and bridgett are going to walk through now, as you see the honor guard of u. S. French military personnel and they are heading towards the stage where the program will begin. And, mike, we look, again, at President Trump and president macron. Two president s who in their own way have been struggling with domestic political strains. President trump who actually is faring better today in polls than he has in some time but president macron has been the target of months of protests that have been disruptive to his country. The Yellow Jackets looking for pay equity and Better Benefits in france have vandalized paris most weekends for several months. But in an odd way the day is bigger than. Both of those men. Its just bigger. And you hope and pray that the president of the United States lives up to this moment, because it is a moment and it requires empathy, requires understanding, requires some semblancsemblance little knowledge of what occurred here, the cost of what occurred and you pray it has had an impact on him prior to his remarks. Well see. Again, michael, were reminded as mike says that this event is bigger than these two gentlemen. You, of course, heard many people saying the same thing of bush and sh irai rrc irshirak a well be here 15 years from now. The western alliance is just as strong. Absolutely right. In 1966, Charles De Gaulle was getting very eager to, you know, get rid of some of the offices of the alliance and to throw them out of paris and he says this to secretary of state dean rusk and rusk do you want us to take the graves too, take them back to the United States. He said that knowing de gaulle would say all right there are limits to this which he did. In 1962 during the cuban missile crisis, dean was sent to show the missiles to de gaulle. He said dont take your pictures out of your suitcase, we trust you americans. Were about to watch the posting of the colors and then both an thems, the French National anthem will be followed by the u. S. National anthem, invocation and then remarks by both the french president and President Trump. As were watching the president s of france and the ens gre United States greet these band of brothers, we actually saw it was an nbc video, we actually saw a 97yearold dday veteran parachute down in tandem this time, of course, to the same spot where he had parachuted 75 years ago. He fell to the ground but then when he got up he said well its not much different than that night because it was dark and i tried to hit my feet but what we dont understand today is how heavy the equipment was they were carrying, knocked him immediately to the ground 75 years ago. Its so wonderful to see these veterans who are still alive and still here with a spirit that would make someone parachute down. Mike and i, this morning were talking to a veteran from new jersey who was just joking, he was hiding behind former secretary of state kerry and tall nbc anchor saying thats how i survived. Just had an irrepressible spirit at 93. I have to say this is probably the last dday anniversary in which veterans will be alive in a significant way. Thats one reason we should really cherish every moment today because i dont know that well have this again in the same way. This generation, sadly is leaving us. And the veteran who made that jump was 97yearold tom rice. But, mike, what are your reflexes, this the fourth dday celebration that youve attended. You know, joe, each of the times ive been here to cover it or bringing my family here, i find it an overwhelming site because of the knowledge of what went on here. It strikes you, at least it strikes me, when you stop at individual head stones, last night david and i were here at dusk. I stopped at one head stone, a young man from south dakota. I looked him up after we left here, try to find the family history. He was just a little over the age ever 18 when he was killed on june 6th, 1944. And you wonder what would bring a young man at 18 from south dakota all the way here to omaha beach todiefor your country, which is what they all did. They died for the person next to them. In the higgins goat as they landed. They died for the friends they made, they died for our one. Here now begins the French National anthem. O say, can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming . Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight oer the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming . And the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh, say, does that starspangled banner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave . [ cheers and applause ] ladies and gentlemen the american National Anthem spre preceded by the French National anthem. Well they are invocation by chaplain timothy miller. O mighty god, lord of host, sacred to us is the memory of our fallen and the sacrifices of our veterans on these waters, shores, fields and skies. And thus which humbly ask for your holy presence here today in this ceremony. For many nations their sacrifice poured out in blood, courage and even death to secure liberty for your enslaved children and to smash tyranny remains our moral touchstone. For such a great of love we pray that you will grant them eternal peace and their families lasting comfort. By their courage on dday and afterwards we also pray that you will challenge us to love freed more than comfort, privilege or even life itself. And that without thought of cost or reward, we also will recommit ourselves to defend life, liberty and the pursuit of the common good no matter the cost. Though we are resolute in our request o god we can achieve this without your divine blessing and guidance. So lead you as our shepherd even if it be again through the valley of the shadow of death towards the Green Pastures of freedom. We ask in your holy name, amen. President and mrs. Macron, president and mrs. Trump, distinguished guest, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to normandy American Cemetery and memorial in collevillesurmer for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the dday landings on 6 june, 1944. Today we honor and commemorate the 9388 interred here. 1557 names on the wall of the missing. And all of our world war ii veterans. [ speaking french ] ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. [ speaking french ] ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of the American Battle Monument Commission william matz. [ applause ] [ speaking french ] good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to our commemoration ceremony of the normandy landings. It is, indeed, an honor for notice be with you today on these sacred grounds of the normandy American Cemetery to celebrate the 75th anniversary of dday. That we extend a particularly warm welcome to president of the French Republic emanuel macron and his wipe bridgett macron. [ applause ] and to our president and commanderinchief donald j. Trump and first lady melania trump. [ cheers and applause ] to our many distinguished government and military leaders, and to the families of our honored dead who traveled to these now peaceful and hallowed grounds to bear witness to the valor and sacrifice of their family heroes resting here. [ cheers and applause ] and to the more than 160 world war ii veterans seated here on this stage who need no reminder of the horrors of war and who remember well their comrades who never came home. [ cheers and applause ] david, the, of course, standing ovation now so well deserved by these heroes of dday, these heroes of normandy invasion. Very interesting phrase that we just heard, these gentlemen know better than most the horrors of war, the United States, of course, and the president of these United States finding himself in a contentious battle regarding the possibility of war with venezuela, the possibility of rising conflict within the persian gulf. Now hes battling his own party regarding sending weapons to the saudis so they can continue their war in yemen, which weve been funding american taxpayers have been funding as well. So one of the paradoxes about donald trump is that he wants to talk tough and sometimes uses bullying language and tactics, but he really doesnt seem to notice be a president who wants to get america into a war, and i think that paradox will play out however long hes president. Im always struck, joe, by the fact that military men and women who serve in combat are always the people who advocate the greatest caution about committing force because they know that once you start a war you must finish it to its completion. Thats really the lesson that these veterans who are before us bring us. And Franklin Roosevelt made a commitment. They could only move forward, once you make the decision to go war you have no choice but to move forward until its over. Mike, we have had to relearn the lesson, unfortunately, too often, vietnam and then had to relearn it again after iraq, and we, again, we see rising tensions in the persian gulf and there is a question of where does this commanderinchief take us . He talks tough, but two, three years in as david wrote in a column World Leaders seem to understand often theres no follow through. This is a perfect and appropriate moment to talk about this very subject because behind us, all these head stones they signify one thing. On the stage right now today men in their 90s who landed here and fought here. The vast majority, i would submit of the Peace Movement, the active Peace Movement and effective Peace Movement in this country has always been made up by people who hold one thing that is treasured above all else in the military. Its called a combat infantry badge. Not everyone gets it. Only those who have been in active combat as david just alluded to, you get that badge, you fought in the war, you were shot at, youve seen your friends die alongside you as they did here in omaha beach on june 6th, 1944, and you oppose war. And, michael, as we bring you in, there sof course, theres so many cross currents in u. S. Foreign policy right now. A president both embracing history and seeming to want to move away from at times his coalition that was created after the war. Also a commanderinchief who can be blustery and threatening but who at times seem to be too close to tyrants whether they be in north korea or saudi arabia or russia as we americans try to make sense of his foreign policy. Of course, certainly our allies have been struggling to do that mightily over the past several years. Yes. And one problem is that donald trump in a certain sense has a lot more power than Franklin Roosevelt did. We look at it as a just war. Many thought it was a good idea we entered and fought. Roosevelt felt it was inevitable woe have to stand up to adolf hitler. For four years he was struggling with congress and isolationists and if it wasnt pearl harbor we wouldnt get in. Nowadays a president can get us in hand singlehandedly. Now french president emanuel macron. [ speaking french ] translator ladies and gentlem gentlemen, from the 5th to 6th of june, 1944, it was rough not just by the fog and crushing waves, a few hours earlier since general eisenhower wrote his lets go, 245ships loaded with canons and trucks and tanks and landing crafts, falling on the heels of 25 flotilla stald to the rendezvous point called a i picadilly circus. Ahead of tens of thousands of soldiers take to the seas landed on massive darkness, barely lit by ships and the full moon. Ahead of these soldiers above all lay the dread of the unknown. A few hours earlier they had learned the purpose of their mission. Their destinations, utah, omaha, gold beach, juneau were shouded in uncertainty. They an idea of what was to come a bitter, difficult battle which would certainly claim the lives of many. Tens of thousands of soldiers drafted or volunteers, most were barely 20 years old. And yet their days of youth seemed far behind them. Far from the Rolling Hills of pennsylvania, kentucky or new jersey. Far their school years where they learned a trade, but many had never had a chance to practice. Far from the grueling training that began in the mountains of georgia and continued as operation boler jorch brought them to the south england, far from moves british people waiting for an operation of which they knew nothing. Far from the worried fays of their parents when they left home. Far from the emotional goodbyes to their fiances. To whom they wrote as they threat english shores by candlelight or the flickering flame of the cigarette lighter one last heartbreaking letter. What was running through their minds . The minds of these young people frozen by the waters of the north sea. Who knows . Their thoughts are unfathomable. We cannot plunge the minds of the human beings. But what resonates still 75 years later is their incredible courage and generosity. The fortitude that carried them towards their destiny. That fortitude that had taken them thousands of miles from home to provide assistance to men and whom they did not know, to free a land they had never set foot in, with no other common cause that they knew was greater than themselves, the cause of liberty and democracy. Today france has not forgotten. France has not forgotten those fighters to whom we owe the right to live in freedom. We have not forgotten the 135,000 american, british and canadian soldiers backed by belgian, danish, polish, czechoslovakia, new zealand, South African and french troops landed on the 6th of june on the beaches of normandy and forever changed the course of history in europe and the world. France has not forgotten the thousands of paratroopers who a few hours earlier had been dropped behind the lines and, with the support of the French Resistance fighters, would take hold of strategic bridges, rails, roads and take over from their brothers in arms who made it out from the emerald shores. France has not forgotten the 2 million soldiers who at the end of this longest day would continue fighting on for weeks and would go through the hell of combat in the normandy countryside, which was even more treacherous than the combat on the beaches. On behalf of my country, on behalf of france, i bow down before their bravery. I bow down before the immense sacrifice of the 37,000 killed, the 19,000 reported missing who died as heros in normandy between june and august 1944 and who for many were to rest there for eternity. I bow down to our veterans and i say thank you. We know what we owe to you, veterans, our freedom. On behalf of my nation i just want to say thank you. [ applause ] translator many veterans are here in this cemetery of equals and they died for our freedom. They are your brothers in arms. They are those who you attempted to save. You volunteered to take part in the second omaha wave. On this 6th of june, you put yourself at great risk to remove the wounded from the beach under the hail of ger map fire. The brothers in arms whom you fought with this same omaha beach right through to the region of belgium, on the way participating in the battle of carenton and the breakthrough that would free the region, your brothers in arms, those who you accompanied through the treacherous normandy countryside, you who fought nonstop from the 7th of june through to the 8th of july, the brothers in arms who accompanied you for some to the arden region, luxembourg, the countryside of czechoslovakia, those brothers in arms who saved you when you were wounded twice in the st lo region and who gave you the strength to head back into the combat where you crossed the rhine river where you took part in the concentration camps and saw the survivors and the executioners alike and maybe then, in the raw moment, truth of that moment, you understood what you were fighting for. Your brothers in arms of you, too, herald terance, you worked as a Radio Operator and deliberately decided to go to france to lead military operations in normandy. And in the rhine region. Dear vincent heinz, dear paul worth, dear charles, dear stanley friday, dear herald terrance, in recognition of your unwavering efforts, for france to regain its freedom, i will in just a few minutes award you the order of the knights of the legion honor. The legion of honor is the highest distinction awarded by the French Republic. It commends your extraordinary action, your courage, your contribution to the liberation of our country. It is a way for the french nation to say once again in 75 years later that we know what we owe to the United States of america. The United States of america, dear donald trump, dear president , which is never greater than when it is fighting for the freedom of others. The United States of america that is never greater than when it shows its loyalty to the universal values that the Founding Fathers defended, when nearly two and a half centuries ago france came to support its independence. But we owe you more. We owe you more. We owe you, all those who fought, the thousands of civilians who lost their lives and who i have not forgotten, we owe more than medals and words. What we owe you is to show ourselves worthy of the heritage of peace that you have left us. Our debt, worthy of the promise of normandy. Being worthy of the freedom means never forgetting free people when they join forces can surmount any adversity. The victory against barbarism would never have been possible without the decisive support of the United States, without the millions of committed men and women, the support of the American People and american industry. On the beaches of the channel in the green normandy countryside and the highest levels of the military, the armed forces were united. The allied armed forces were united. It is because the Royal Air Force assisted the canadian infantry, the French Resistance fighters opened up the lines elsewhere to the United States armed forces. Australians, people from new zealand, denmark and norwegian and Navy Officers arrived in the polish tanks made all the difference and because of that this wild gamble to free europe from the nazis hold by way of the sea could be won. We should never cease or perpetuate the alliance of free peoples. That is what they did. Immediately after the germans and the japanese surrendered, when they created the United Nations, that is what the United States did when it created the north atlantic treaty organization. That is what a few years later the leaders of europe did. In bringing about the european union. France wishes to continue to support this promise of normandy, understand its purpose. This is what we owe what we owe to our homeland, what we owe to countries that share the values, what we owe to democracy and liberty. The lessons of collevillesurmer are clear. Liberty and democracy are inseparable. Young americans died here. They died for their country and they died for the freedom of the world. They knew that. The french who died on the same beaches by their side fell for the liberation of their country. But they also fell so that their nation, once this task completed, would to rediscover its liberty. We need to be true to their memory and to do that we must never sacrifice what we must never renounce what their sacrifice united. The promise of normandy will be supported by france with all its might. I promise that this will be the case. This is at the heart of americas destiny too. President of the United States of america, ladies and gentlemen, all along the roads of france, the beaches from carenton, from metz, along those roads taken by the heros were honoring today as of the summer 1944 all along we see hundreds of