Biden Invokes D-Day Soldiers To Advocate For Standing Up To 'Aggression Abroad And At Home'

6 months ago

President Biden delivered remarks on Friday in France where he spoke about protecting democracy and freedom.

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Transcript

00:00 You know, we stand today, where we stand was not sacred ground on June the 5th, but that's

00:08 what it became on June the 6th.

00:10 The Rangers who scaled this cliff didn't know they would change the world, but they did.

00:16 I've long said that history has shown that ordinary Americans can do extraordinary things

00:22 when challenged.

00:24 There's no better example of that in the entire world than right here at Pointe du Hoc.

00:30 Rangers from farms and cities in every part of America, from homes that didn't know wealth

00:38 and power, they came to a shoreline that none of them would have picked out on a map.

00:45 They came to a country many of them had never seen, for a people they had never met.

00:52 But they came, they did their job, they fulfilled their mission, and they did their duty.

00:59 They were part of something greater than themselves.

01:03 They were Americans.

01:06 I stand here today as the first president to come to Pointe du Hoc when none of those

01:13 225 brave men who scaled this cliff on D-Day are still alive.

01:18 None.

01:19 But I'm here to tell you that with them gone, the wind we hear coming off this ocean will

01:26 not fade.

01:27 It will grow louder.

01:30 As we gather here today, it's not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery

01:35 on that day, June 6th, 1944.

01:39 It's to listen to the echoes of their voices, to hear them, because they are summoning us,

01:46 and they're summoning us now.

01:49 They ask us, "What will we do?"

01:53 They're not asking us to scale these cliffs, but they're asking us to stay true to what

01:58 America stands for.

02:00 They're not asking us to give or risk our lives, but they are asking us to care for

02:05 others in our country more than ourselves.

02:09 They're not asking us to do their job.

02:12 They're asking us to do our job, to protect freedom and our time, to defend democracy,

02:19 to stand up aggression abroad and at home, to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

02:26 My fellow Americans, I refuse to believe -- I simply refuse to believe that America's greatness

02:34 is a thing of the past.

02:36 I still believe there's nothing beyond our capacity in America when we act together.

02:41 We're the fortunate heirs of a legacy of these heroes, those who scaled the cliffs,

02:48 Pointe du Hoc, who must also be the keepers of their mission, the keepers of their mission,

02:55 the bearers of the flame of freedom that they kept burning bright.

02:59 That -- that is the truest testimonial to their lives.

03:04 Our actions every day to ensure that our democracy endures and the soul of our nation endures,

03:11 to come here simply to remember the ghosts of Pointe du Hoc isn't enough.

03:17 We have -- need to hear them.

03:18 We have to listen to them.

03:20 We need to listen to what they had.

03:22 We need to make the solemn vow to never let them down.

03:28 God bless the fallen.

03:30 God bless the brave men who scaled these cliffs.

03:34 May God protect our troops.

03:38 God bless America.

Biden Invokes D-Day Soldiers To Advocate For Standing Up To 'Aggression Abroad And At Home'

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