Obamas speech On Ddays ceremony.docx
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Obamas speech On Ddays ceremony.docx
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ObamasspeechOnDdaysceremony
(TheAmericanCemeteryinColleville-sur-Mer,atinyNormandyvillagewhichwillwelcomeyetanotherUSpresidentwhenBarackObamavisitsitscliff-topgraveyard,asymbolofAmerica'ssacrificeforEurope'sfreedom.OfficialWhiteHousePhotobyChuckKennedy)
RemarksatD-Day65thAnniversaryCeremony
THEWHITEHOUSE
OfficeofthePressSecretary
____________________________________________________ June5,2009
REMARKSBYTHEPRESIDENT
ATD-DAY65THANNIVERSARYCEREMONY
NormandyAmericanCemeteryandMemorial
Normandy,France
3:
53P.M.(Local)
THEPRESIDENT:
Goodafternoon. Thankyou,PresidentSarkozy,PrimeMinisterBrown,PrimeMinisterHarper,andPrinceCharlesforbeingheretoday. ThankyoutoourSecretaryofVeteransAffairs,GeneralEricShinseki,formakingthetripoutheretojoinus. ThanksalsotoSusanEisenhower,whosegrandfatherbeganthismission65yearsagowithasimplecharge:
"Ok,let'sgo." AndtoaWorldWarIIveteranwhoreturnedhomefromthiswartoserveaproudanddistinguishedcareerasaUnitedStatesSenatorandanationalleader:
BobDole. (Applause.)
I'mnotthefirstAmericanPresidenttocomeandmarkthisanniversary,andIlikelywillnotbethelast. Thisisaneventthathaslongbroughttothiscoastbothheadsofstateandgratefulcitizens;veteransandtheirlovedones;theliberatedandtheirliberators. It'sbeenwrittenaboutandspokenofanddepictedincountlessbooksandfilmsandspeeches. AndlongafterourtimeonthisEarthhaspassed,onewordwillstillbringforththeprideandaweofmenandwomenwhowillnevermeettheheroeswhositbeforeus:
D-Day.
Whyisthis?
Ofallthebattlesinallthewarsacrossthespanofhumanhistory,whydoesthisdayholdsuchareveredplaceinourmemory?
Whatisitaboutthestrugglethattookplaceonthesandsafewshortstepsfromherethatbringsusbacktorememberyearafteryearafteryear?
Partofit,Ithink,isthesizeoftheoddsthatweighedagainstsuccess. Forthreecenturies,noinvaderhadeverbeenabletocrosstheEnglishChannelintoNormandy. Andithadneverbeenmoredifficultthanin1944.
ThatwastheyearthatHitlerorderedhistopfieldmarshaltofortifytheAtlanticWallagainstaseaborneinvasion. FromthetipofNorwaytosouthernFrance,theNazislinedsteepcliffswithmachinegunsandartillery. Low-lyingareaswerefloodedtoblockpassage. Sharpenedpolesawaitedparatroopers. Mineswerelaidonthebeachesandbeneaththewater. Andbythetimeoftheinvasion,halfamillionGermanswaitedfortheAlliesalongthecoastbetweenHollandandnorthernFrance.
AtdawnonJune6th,theAlliescame. ThebestchanceforvictoryhadbeenfortheBritishRoyalAirCorpstotakeoutthegunsonthecliffswhileairbornedivisionsparachutedbehindenemylines. Butalldidnotgoaccordingtoplan. Paratrooperslandedmilesfromtheirmark,whilethefogandcloudspreventedAlliedplanesfromdestroyingthegunsonthecliffs. SowhentheshipslandedhereatOmaha,anunimaginablehellraineddownonthemeninside. Manynevermadeitoutoftheboats.
Andyet,despiteallofthis,onebyone,theAlliedforcesmadetheirwaytoshore--here,andatUtahandJuno;GoldandSword.TheywereAmerican,British,andCanadian. Soon,theparatroopersfoundeachotherandfoughttheirwayback. TheRangersscaledthecliffs. Andbytheendoftheday,againstallodds,thegroundonwhichwestandwasfreeoncemore.
ThesheerimprobabilityofthisvictoryispartofwhatmakesD-Daysomemorable. Italsoarisesfromtheclarityofpurposewithwhichthiswarwaswaged.
Weliveinaworldofcompetingbeliefsandclaimsaboutwhatistrue. It'saworldofvariedreligionsandculturesandformsofgovernment. Insuchaworld,it'salltoorareforastruggletoemergethatspeakstosomethinguniversalabouthumanity.
TheSecondWorldWardidthat. Nomanwhoshedbloodorlostabrotherwouldsaythatwarisgood. Butallknowthatthiswarwasessential. ForwhatwefacedinNazitotalitarianism极权主义wasnotjustabattleofcompetinginterests. Itwasacompetingvisionofhumanity. Naziideologysoughttosubjugateandhumiliateandexterminate. Itperpetratedmurderonamassivescale,fueledbyahatredofthosewhoweredeemeddifferentandthereforeinferior.Itwasevil.
ThenationsthatjoinedtogethertodefeatHitler'sReichwerenotperfect. Theyhadmadetheirshareofmistakes,hadnotalwaysagreedwithoneanotheroneveryissue. ButwhateverGodweprayedto,whateverourdifferences,weknewthattheevilwefacedhadtobestopped. Citizensofallfaithsandofnofaithcametobelievethatwecouldnotremainasbystanderstothesavageperpetrationofdeathanddestruction. Andsowejoinedandsentoursonstofightandoftendiesothatmenandwomentheynevermetmightknowwhatitistobefree.
InAmerica,itwasanendeavorthatinspiredanationtoaction. APresidentwhoaskedhiscountrytoprayonD-Dayalsoaskeditscitizenstoserveandsacrificetomaketheinvasionpossible. Onfarmsandinfactories,millionsofmenandwomenworkedthreeshiftsaday,monthaftermonth,yearafteryear. TrucksandtankscamefromplantsinMichiganandIndiana,NewYorkandIllinois. BombersandfighterplanesrolledoffassemblylinesinOhioandKansas,wheremygrandmotherdidherpartasaninspector. Shipyardsonbothcoastsproducedthelargestfleetinhistory,includingthelandingcraftfromNewOrleansthateventuallymadeitheretoOmaha.
Butdespitealltheyearsofplanningandpreparation,despitetheinspirationofourleaders,theskillofourgenerals,thestrengthofourfirepowerandtheunyieldingsupportfromourhomefront,theoutcomeoftheentirestrugglewouldultimatelyrestonthesuccessofonedayinJune.
LyndonJohnsononcesaidthattherearecertainmomentswhen"…historyandfatemeetatasingletimeinasingleplacetoshapeaturningpointinman'sunendingsearchforfreedom."
D-Daywassuchamoment. Onenewspapernotedthat"wehavecometothehourforwhichwewereborn." HadtheAlliesfailedhere,Hitler'soccupationofthiscontinentmighthavecontinuedindefinitely. Instead,victoryheresecuredafootholdinFrance. ItopenedapathtoBerlin. ItmadepossibletheachievementsthatfollowedtheliberationofEurope:
theMarshallPlan,theNATOalliance,thesharedprosperityandsecuritythatflowedfromeach.
Itwasunknowablethen,butsomuchoftheprogressthatwoulddefinethe20thcentury,onbothsidesoftheAtlantic,camedowntothebattleforasliceofbeachonlysixmileslongandtwomileswide.
Moreparticularly,itcamedowntothemenwholandedhere--thosewhonowrestinthisplaceforeternity,andthosewhoarewithusheretoday. Perhapsmorethananyotherreason,you,theveteransofthatlanding,arewhywestillrememberwhathappenedonD-Day.You'rewhywekeepcomingback.
Foryouremindusthatintheend,humandestinyisnotdeterminedbyforcesbeyondourcontrol.Youremindusthatourfutureisnotshapedbymerechanceorcircumstance. Ourhistoryhasalwaysbeenthesumtotalofthechoicesmadeandtheactionstakenbyeachindividualmanandwoman. Ithasalwaysbeenuptous.
YoucouldhavedonewhatHitlerbelievedyouwoulddowhenyouarrivedhere. Inthefaceofamercilessassaultfromthesecliffs,youcouldhaveidledtheboatsoffshore. Amidabarrageoftracerbulletsthatlitthenightsky,youcouldhavestayedinthoseplanes. Youcouldhavehidinthehedgerowsorwaitedbehindtheseawall. Youcouldhavedoneonlywhatwasnecessarytoensureyourownsurvival.
Butthat'snotwhatyoudid. That'snotthestoryyoutoldonD-Day. YourstorywaswrittenbymenlikeZaneSchlemmerofthe82ndAirborne,whoparachutedintoadarkmarsh,farfromhisobjectiveandhismen. Lostandalone,hestillmanagedtofighthiswaythroughthegunfireandhelpliberatethetowninwhichhelanded--atownwhereastreetnowbearshisname.
It'sastorywrittenbymenlikeAnthonyRuggiero,anArmyRanger(突击队员)whosawhalfthemenonhislandingcraftdrownwhenitwashitbyshellfirejustathousandyardsoffthisbeach. Hespentthreehoursinfreezingwater,andwasoneofonly90Rangerstosurviveoutofthe225whoweresenttoscalethecliffs.
Andit'sastorywrittenbysomanywhoarenolongerwithus,likeCarltonBarrett. PrivateBarrettwasonlysupposedtoserveasaguideforthe1stInfantryDivision,butheinsteadbecameoneofitsheroes. Afterwadingashoreinneck-deepwater,hereturnedtothewateragainandagainandagaintosavehiswoundedanddrowningcomrades. Andundertheheaviestpossibleenemyfire,hecarriedthemtosafety. Hecarriedtheminhisownarms.
ThisisthestoryoftheAlliedvictory. It'sthelegendofunitsliketheAll-American82nd. It'sthetaleoftheBritishpeople,whosecourageduringtheBlitzforcedHitlertocallofftheinvasionofEngland;theCanadians,whocameeventhoughtheywereneverattacked;theRussians,whosustainedsomeofthewar'sheaviestcasualtiesontheEasternfront;andallthoseFrenchmenandwomenwhowouldratherhavediedresistingtyrannythanlivedwithinitsgrasp.
Itisthememoriesthathavebeenpassedontosomanyofusabouttheserviceorsacrificeofafriendorrelative. Forme,itismygrandfather,StanleyDunham,whoarrivedonthisbeachsixweeksafterD-DayandmarchedacrossEuropeinPatton'sArmy. AnditismygreatunclewhowaspartofthefirstAmericandivisiontoreachandliberateaNaziconcentrationcamp. HisnameisCharlesPayne,andI'msoproudtha
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