Remarks by Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby at the International Ceremony Commemorating the 82nd Anniversary of WWII Allied Invasion at Normandy (As Prepared)[...]

Monsieur Prime Minister, Mr. Secretary, Ambassadors, Generals and Colonel, Mr. Mayor, Mr. President of the D-Day Landing Committee, and other distinguished guests, esteemed veterans.

It is a great personal honor to represent the United States today as we commemorate the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, the beginning of what General Eisenhower in his justly famous message to the Allied Expeditionary Force called "the Great Crusade" to liberate Europe.

Today we gather at Langrune-sur-Mer, located between Sword and Juno Beaches. As the representative of the American Government, permit me to say how fitting it is that we mark this stirring but somber occasion at the place where British and Canadian forces played the leading role. Here soldiers, sailors, and airmen from Great Britain and Canada demonstrated the courage, tenacity, dedication, daring, and loyalty that won them the lasting admiration and gratitude of the whole world - not only here in Normandy but also through the entirety of two World Wars, at the Somme, Passchendaele, and Ypres in the Great War, and at Dieppe, El Alamein, and in the North Atlantic in the Second. Allow me, on behalf of my country, to pay special homage to them, and to all of those who fought alongside America's forces, from the Free French to Poland and many more.

It is especially fitting to reflect on this legacy because today we, the heirs of that now fortunately broadened coalition, are striving together to build a renewed NATO. This is a NATO in the image of the mighty and courageous coalition that stormed these beaches on June 6th, that pressed onward to victory on V-E Day, and that built on the foundation of this legendary fighting force an Atlantic Alliance designed to avoid ever reliving the great tragedies of the World Wars.

Our purpose now must be to take our resolve from the legacy of Normandy - to look at our challenges realistically and seriously, to build our military strength individually and together, and to restore our home fronts that can, once again, supply overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions.

If we all do our part in this, then we can hope with confidence that we will achieve the noble purpose Eisenhower set for his forces that grave day: "Security for ourselves in a free world."

Thank you very much.