Freedom and democracy ‘always worth dying for’, says Biden at D-Day commemorations
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00:00 (Applause.)
00:07 The hour had nearly come.
00:11 Monday, June 5th, 1944.
00:17 The evil of Hitler's Third Reich was devastating the world.
00:23 Nazi Germany had subjugated the once free nations of Europe through brute force, lies,
00:30 and twisted ideology of racial superiority.
00:35 Millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
00:39 Millions of others killed by bombs, bullets, bloody warfare.
00:46 Hitler and those with him thought democracies were weak, that the future belonged to dictators.
00:54 Here on the coast of Normandy, the battle between freedom and tyranny would be joined.
01:02 Here on that June morning, the testing was at hand.
01:08 President Macron, Mrs. Macron, Secretary Austin, Secretary Blinken, distinguished guests, most
01:14 of all, our honored veterans who met that test of ages to that moment 80 years ago,
01:24 80 years ago today.
01:27 (Applause.)
01:28 On behalf of the American people, as Commander-in-Chief, it's the highest honor to be able to salute
01:39 you here in Normandy once more.
01:43 All of you, God love you.
01:49 (Applause.)
01:52 Winston Churchill called what happened here, quote, "the greatest, most complicated operation
01:58 ever," end of quote.
02:02 After years of planning, Operation Overlord was ready to launch just as soon as the weather
02:09 turned across the choppy English Channel, the Supreme Commander of the Allies, Dwight
02:17 D. Eisenhower, waited.
02:19 The largest force ever of its kind built by 12 nations, men, guns, planes, naval craft
02:28 of every description waited.
02:32 The world, captive and free, waited.
02:37 Finally, Eisenhower's forecaster said there was a window in the weather.
02:44 It would open briefly on Tuesday, the 6th of June.
02:49 The general weighed the options and gave the order.
02:54 At dawn, the Allies would strike.
03:04 And 80 percent of them would be killed within hours.
03:09 That was the estimate.
03:10 But they were brave, they were resolute, and they were ready.
03:17 One soldier told General Eisenhower, quote, "Don't worry, sir.
03:23 The 101st is on the job.
03:26 Everything will be taken care of."
03:28 That's what he said.
03:30 And because of their courage and their resolve, because the courage and resolve of their Allies,
03:37 it was taken care of.
03:40 From the sea and sky, nearly 160,000 Allied troops descended on Normandy.
03:48 Many, to state the obvious, never came home.
03:52 Many survived that longest day, kept on fighting for months until victory was finally won.
04:00 And a few, a notable band of brothers, are here with us today.
04:07 Kenneth Blaine Smith is here.
04:09 On that day, under heavy artillery fire, he operated a rangefinder and radar on the first
04:16 American ship to arrive at Normandy's coast, providing direct gunfire support for the Rangers
04:23 scaling the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc on their daring mission to take out the German batteries.
04:31 Bob Gibson is here.
04:33 He landed on Utah Beach about 10 hours after the invasion began.
04:38 Bullets flying everywhere, tracers lighting up the sky.
04:43 Bob drove an M4 tractor with anti-aircraft gun mounted on top, providing critical protection
04:50 for the infantry against the German Air Force.
04:54 On that day, and for many days after, he continued.
04:59 Ben Miller is here, a medic with the 82nd Airborne.
05:04 At 3 a.m. on June 6th, he and 13 other medics flew over the channel in a rickety glider.
05:12 Its wings were ripped off by giant poles that the Germans buried halfway in the ground to
05:19 stop them from landing.
05:21 They crashed, but they survived.
05:25 And they did their duty, dragging injured soldiers to safety, treating wounds, saving
05:32 lives while the battle raged.
05:37 Every soldier who stormed the beach, who dropped by parachute or landed by glider, every sailor
05:44 who manned the thousands of ships and landing craft, every aviator who destroyed German-controlled
05:50 airfields, bridges, and railroads, all, all were backed by other brave Americans, including
05:57 hundreds of thousands of people of color and women who courageously served despite unjust
06:03 limitations on what they could do for their nation.
06:08 Lewis Brown is here, part of the Red Ball Express, a truck convoy made up of most of
06:14 black American drivers.
06:16 They landed in Normandy in the wake of D-Day.
06:20 They rushed supplies to the rapidly advancing front lines.
06:25 Woody Woodhouse is here, members of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen who flew over 15,000 sorties
06:33 during the war.
06:36 Marjorie Stone is here.
06:38 She enlisted in the women's branch in the Naval Reserve, became an aircraft mechanic,
06:44 spent the war keeping American planes and pilots in the air.
06:49 Theirs has always been the story of America.
06:53 Just walk the roads of the cemeteries I have, nearly 10,000 heroes buried side by side,
07:01 officers unenlisted, immigrants and native-born, different races, different faiths, but all
07:09 Americans, all served with honor when America and the world needed them most.
07:17 Millions back home did their part as well.
07:20 From coast to coast, Americans found countless ways to pitch in.
07:25 They understood our democracy is only as strong as all of us make it together.
07:32 The men who fought here became heroes, not because they were the strongest or toughest
07:37 or most fiercest, although they were, but because they were given an audacious mission,
07:44 knowing every one of them knew the probability of dying was real, but they did it anyway.
07:53 They knew beyond any doubt there are things that are worth fighting and dying for.
08:02 Freedom is worth it.
08:05 Democracy is worth it.
08:08 America is worth it.
08:10 The world is worth it.
08:12 Then, now, and always.
08:15 The war in Europe didn't end for another 11 months, but here the tide turned in our favor.
08:24 Here we proved the forces of liberty are stronger than the forces of conquest.
08:30 Here we proved that the ideals of our democracy are stronger than any army or combination
08:36 of armies in the entire world.
08:39 We proved something else here as well, the unbreakable unity of the allies.
08:47 Here with us are men who served alongside the Americans that day, wearing different
08:54 flags on their arms, but fighting with the same courage for the same purpose.
09:02 What the allies did together 80 years ago far surpassed anything we could have done
09:08 on our own.
09:10 It was a powerful illustration of how alliances, real alliances, make us stronger, a lesson
09:18 that I pray we Americans never forget.
09:23 Rather we won the war.
09:25 We rebuilt Europe, including our former enemies.
09:28 It was an investment in what became shared and a prosperous future.
09:35 We established NATO, the greatest military alliance in the history of the world.
09:42 And over time, you got it.
09:45 It is.
09:46 And over time, we brought more nations into NATO, the NATO alliance, including the newest
09:56 members, Finland and Sweden.
10:02 Today, NATO stands at 32 countries strong, and NATO is more united than ever and even
10:14 more prepared to keep the peace, deter aggression, defend freedom all around the world.
10:22 America has invested in our alliances and forged new ones, not simply out of altruism,
10:29 but out of our own self-interest as well.
10:33 America's unique ability to bring countries together is an undeniable source of our strength
10:39 and our power.
10:41 Isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago and is not the answer today.
10:54 We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago.
10:58 They never fade.
11:01 Aggression and greed, the desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force, these
11:09 are perennial.
11:11 The struggle between a dictatorship and freedom is unending.
11:16 Here in Europe, we see one stark example.
11:20 Ukraine has been invaded by a tyrant bent on domination.
11:26 Ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses, but never
11:32 backing down.
11:36 They've been inflicted on the Russian aggressors.
11:43 They've suffered tremendous losses in Russia.
11:46 The numbers are staggering.
11:48 Three hundred and fifty thousand Russian troops dead or wounded.
11:53 Nearly one million people have left Russia because they can no longer see a future in
11:58 Russia.
11:59 The United States and NATO and a coalition of more than 50 countries standing strong
12:05 with Ukraine.
12:08 We will not walk away.
12:11 Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and will not end there.
12:22 Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened.
12:25 All of Europe will be threatened.
12:27 And make no mistake, the autocrats of the world are watching closely to see what happens
12:32 in Ukraine.
12:34 To see if we let this illegal aggression go unchecked.
12:38 We cannot let that happen.
12:41 To surrender to bullies, to bow down to dictators, is simply unthinkable.
12:47 Were we to do that, it means we'd be forgetting what happened here in these hallowed beaches.
12:59 Make no mistake, we will not bow down.
13:03 We will not forget.
13:06 Let me end with this.
13:08 History tells us freedom is not free.
13:10 If you want to know the price of freedom, come here to Normandy.
13:15 Come to Normandy and look.
13:17 Go to the other cemeteries in Europe where our fallen heroes rest.
13:22 Go back home to Arlington Cemetery.
13:25 Tomorrow, I will pay respects at Pointe du Hoc.
13:30 Go there as well and remember, the price of unchecked tyranny is the blood of the young
13:35 and the brave.
13:37 In their generation, in their hour of trial, the Allied forces of D-Day did their duty.
13:44 Now the question for us is, in our hour of trial, will we do ours?
13:50 We're living in a time when democracy is more at risk across the world than any point since
13:55 the end of World War II, since these beaches were stormed in 1944.
14:02 Now we have to ask ourselves, will we stand against tyranny, against evil, against crushing
14:08 brutality of the iron fist?
14:10 Will we stand for freedom?
14:13 Will we defend democracy?
14:15 Will we stand together?
14:16 My answer is yes, and it only can be yes.
14:22 We're not far off from the time, from the last living voices, those who fought and bled
14:29 on D-Day will no longer be with us.
14:32 So we have a special obligation.
14:35 We cannot let what happened here be lost in the silence of the years to come.
14:40 We must remember it, must honor it, and live it.
14:44 And we must remember the fact that they were heroes here that day does not absolve us from
14:51 what we have to do today.
14:54 Democracy is never guaranteed.
14:56 Every generation must preserve it, defend it, and fight for it.
15:01 That's the test of the ages.
15:04 In memory of those who fought here, died here, literally saved the world here, let us be
15:10 worthy of their sacrifice.
15:13 Let us be the generation that when history is written about our time in 10, 20, 30, 50,
15:19 80 years from now, it will be said, when the moment came, we met the moment.
15:26 We stood strong.
15:27 Our alliances were made stronger.
15:30 We saved democracy in our time as well.
15:34 Thank you very much, and may God bless you all.
15:37 May God protect our troops.
15:39 Thank you.
15:40 (Applause.)
15:40 (Applause.)
15:45 [APPLAUSE]