As our 34th president , he was the most recent and probably the last general to become president of the United States. During world war ii, he served as supreme allied commander, the brilliant military military strategist who defeated the nazis. Later, he treated new strategies to fight against communism. As president , he took strong stands to ensure equality and opportunity for americans of all races, genders, and creeds. Many of the agencies they came into being under dwight nasa,ower, faa, surrounded this site, which will now be known as eisenhower square. There are many people here today who we want to recognize who played a role in making the special day a reality. We want to recognize labor secretary, the transportation secretary. We are delighted to have several members from both sides of the aisle. Marcy kaptur, rob bishop, darrell issa, mike gallagher, kevin yoder, and betty mccollum. And from the great state of , we are happy to welcome sam brownback. It is a special honor to have with us several members of the diplomatic corps, representing some of the countrys allies with United States during and after world war ii. And ambassador from france an ambassador from france and joseph chang. We want to recognize the executive director of the eisenhower memorial commission. The general and his team have worked tirelessly to ensure the vision of the memorial to Dwight David Eisenhower has become a reality, playing a significant role and making the state this day happen. Thank you to him and his team for all the hard work and the leadership. [applause] speaker,irst punishment Mike Thompson congressman Mike Thompson represents the Fifth District of california, which includes all of and parts of sonoma, contra costa, and areas recently devastated tragically by those wildfires. Congressman thompson served as a platoon leader in vietnam, a strong advocate or our nations veterans, he cochairs a veterans caucus and is an advocate of the eisenhower memorial in congress. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome congressman Mike Thompson. [applause] thank you, greta. It is a pleasure to be here. Its great to finally be able to see the finish line. It is my honor to introduce you to some of the people who helped make this happen. My fellow commissioners, Sanford Bishop from georgia, [applause] representative mike simpson of idaho. [applause] representative Mac Thornberry of texas. [applause] senator thad cochran of mississippi. [applause] senator gary peters of michigan [applause] senator joe manchin of west virginia. [applause] and of course, our great friend and later, chairman pat roberts of kansas. [cheers and applause] with us today, we also have two president ial appointed commissioners. [applause] when a commission has been in business as long as this one, we have some who are no longer serving or sadly no longer with us. I want to introduce to special people whose husbands inspired his memorial many years ago. [applause] thank you for joining us. This is a special moment today for many of us. We are honored to be joined by the eisenhower family. By members of the eisenhower family. Susan, anne, wolfgang, david, adriana, and nicolas. [applause] we also have some impressive brass with us today. General px kelley, former commandant of the marine corps and cochair of the advisory committee. [applause] representing the uss eisenhower, captain craig stickola. [applause] and Brigadier General stephen giland, representing the United States military academy at west point. [applause] building a memorial takes a lot of resources. We have great help in that area. I would like to introduce former Senate Majority leader tom daschle, the cochairman of the finance committee. [applause] we are very honored to have with us, for world war ii veterans. Lets give them a big hand. [applause] it takes a team to move a project like this along. You have met our elected officials, the eisenhower family , and the fundraisers. But the people with the real hard jobs are the ones who have to take the legacy of this Great American and translate it into a Memorial Park in a nations capital. Where fortunate to have the worldrenowned frank gehry leading an incredible design team. [applause] frank, you and your team have created a masterpiece that will be visited by millions of americans and visitors from around the world for centuries to come. We are incredibly thankful. You have a fantastic team. The sculptor who is bringing eisenhower to life in bronze. [applause] the artist and engineer who will be creating a one of a kind mental tapestry, also a fellow californian, thomas osinski. [applause] and may i ask the team from Gehry Partners to stand and and their joint venture partner. Please stand and give them a hand. [applause] now, if you will please turn your attention to the screen behind me for the video honoring ike. [video clip] ready we must be ready to bear all for our country. We must be willing individually and as a nation to accept whatever sacrifices may be required of us. [dramatic music] we have heroes in america. Lincoln, washington look at the , great statues and monuments in washington. Dwight eisenhower was a nonpartisan here in america. As a military leader and the president , and a citizen, deeply dedicated to democracy, the eisenhower memorial will honor his legacy as the Supreme Commander of allied forces in europe during world war ii and as the 34th president of the United States. In order to do something, it has to have some gravitas, it has to have a borderline work of art is something. The story will be pretty powerful. We will use these blocks and carve these things and to those and give it some dignity for a memorial to such a great man. A person who was never going to i found a person who was never going to give up. He made the world a better place for all of us. Eisenhower, who after he left kansas, was in the military his whole life. He led the dday invasion, came out a fivestar general, became president of columbia, later went back as the supreme allied leader of nato. One thing i always liked about eisenhower is seen never try to is he never try to be too flowery. He always explained his position. Here is what i believe. Here is what im going to do. And heres why. He made a lot of sense to me. He told us in the 21st century as fundamentally in the 20th century, our security is provided by bridges. His entire career was the building of coalitions within the u. S. Army, within the allied structure in the second world war. And i would argue the absolute apotheosis of his ability to create bridges was the work he did in bringing nato to life. Like all of us, i think, in the military today, we draw its creation from general eisenhower. He became president eisenhower, but we cherish him for his role as an active officer in the military. He was extraordinary in some a different dimensions. You look at that generation, you look at those men and women who fought in world war ii, those who had given their lives in normandy and elsewhere for our generation, they are the generation who lived those values that we aspire to today. Some very tough times and some very difficult circumstances. When leadership was needed the most, they answered our call for duty. They are the role models for kids today. They are the shoulders on the cadets now stand. [applause] eisenhower embodied miss lesson or embodied midwesterner pride. He never stop and gave in. There is another kansan who embody those qualities. I am not sure if we would all be here today. As chairman, senator pat roberts has worked with unyielding focus, determination and tenacity to make sure this memorial would become a reality. And today, of course, that reality begins. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a truly Great American. The senator from kansas, senator pat roberts. [applause] sen. Roberts i think i will ask greta to introduce me every time i get up to talk. [laughter] sen. Roberts thank you, greta, for that introduction. Thank you so much for your longstanding support for this project. You have been a true soldier in the eisenhower memorial army. I know i speak for all gathered for this memorable event when i say it is great to be here today. [applause] sen. Roberts first, let us reflect for a moment about a few members of the greatest generation who brought us to this place today. Two giants in the senate who authored the legislation to create the eisenhower memorial. [applause] sen. Roberts when ted and danny started us down this path, it was an honor and privilege for me to be asked to help memorialize our most famous kansan, Dwight David Eisenhower. Then, there is a chairman emeritus another world war ii , veteran. [applause] for over a decade, he led our efforts. He did so with the qualities that made him successful in government and the private sector, integrity, and inclusion. When he called me and said it was time to pass the leadership torch and would i agree to succeed him as chairman, i said it would be an honor, but there was a qualification. I called another world war ii vet, a Great American who fought for our country on the battlefield, in the house of representatives, in the senate, and on the campaign trail as our republican nominee for president , another great kansan, bob dole, who also played a key role in making the World War Two the world war ii memorial in reality. [applause] sen. Roberts i said, bob, i cannot do this without you. As he has always done, he said, pat, ike is my hero. Im in. Im not sure we would be standing here today without support of bob dole. He called all the former president s and Vice President s and asked them to come on board, and not one of them said no. We were hoping bob could join us today. But please join me in thanking him for his lifelong commitment and service to this nation and to this project. Bob, thank you. [applause] sen. Roberts and i know we would not be standing here today without the support and the vision, the vision of the eisenhower family. Their commitment to making sure this memorial appropriately captured their grandfather, as both general and president , has ensured generations of americans will know his legacy. I think you are supposed to clap here, folks. [applause] sen. Roberts every time i stop, you clap. Got it . Ok, here we go. [laughter] being anrts eisenhower fan is it damage addition is a family tradition. In 1952, when i was just 15 years old, i was with my dad at the Republican National convention. Quite an experience. Later, during his inauguration, i met president eisenhower. When he entered the room, whether you immediately saw him , or not, everyone knew it. With that ready face and great smile, he had that special charisma. When i shook his hand that day, i never dreamed i would be here , this day, leading the effort for his memorial on the national mall. After all these years, why do we still like ike . If he had done nothing else in life, his service as supreme allied commander, should earn the respect and admiration of every human being whose life was made possible. It is not the magnitude of his service we revere. It is the manner in which he served, the quiet, the quiet humility, the strength and the humility, the strength, and the resolve. The man was so horrible that, upon the surrender of the german army, his message back to washington simply said mission said mission accomplished. , ike may not have coined the phrase walk quiet and carry a big stick, but he didnt embody but he embodied it. When he did speak, the force of his words were clear. The story of dwight david as in eisenhowerd dwight is the story of america. His ascendancy parallels americas. At the end of the 19th century, eisenhower was a young man in kansas when america was a young democracy, isolated and protected by two vast oceans. Over the course of his career, america matured politically and culturally, like that young man who left abilene, kansas, to go to west point. By the time eisenhower retired from public life, the United States was the leader of the free world and at the summit of historic prosperity and peace. It has taken a long time for the historians to discover and figure out eisenhowers greatness. President eisenhower anticipated problems and averted them before they ever became surprises. His steady hand, his quiet strategy. Now six decades later, for that kind of unique leadership, he is considered one of our greatest president s, which is why we are here today. Like lincoln, he came from very humble origins. He never forgot the hometown that made him the proudest to proudest thing i can claim is i am from abilene. He saw the promise that america holds for everyone and the reciprocal responsibility. Reciprocal response ability of the country that offered him so much. Ikes values were americas values strength, humility, discipline, integrity. Now, we live in an era where it can seem those things no longer matter. But they do. We wouldnt be where we are today without them. We are here today to ensure ikes place in american and world history, for his achievements, but as i like to print commander of europe and as the 34th president of the United States. When asked about his legacy, eisenhower responded, the United States never lost a soldier or a foot of ground in my administration. We kept the peace. People asked how it happened. By god, it didnt just happen, i will tell you that. We built this memorial today, not only to honor a single person, but as a symbol for all generations of the greatness of america and what our values have made possible at home and abroad. Lest anyone forget, what can be achieved in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Let them come here and understand what eisenhower and america have done. And what they in turn can do for themselves and our nations future. Thank you so much. [applause] greta thank you, senator. The class of 1915 was the class of the stars because it produces stars. Class of the our next speaker is responsible our next speaker is a superstar. In her final year of west point, she is the first captain of the four core of cadets the corps of cadets. She is the liaison between the core of cadets and the west point leadership. Time toion, she finds complete her own studies and serve on the crew team. For you virginians in the room, she is a hometown girl. Graduate of Fairfax High School in 2014, you have every right to brag about that that she is from , fairfax. Please join me in welcoming a young woman who is undoubtedly one of the stars of tomorrow, first captain simone astew. [applause] captin askew not sure about superstar, maam, but we will see what the future holds for me. It is very humbling to be here today. The only to speak, but to west point. Of the mostone distinguished graduates. As an aforementioned, the west point class of 1915 is most referred to as the class the stars fell on. As nearly as 40 of the classes 164 graduates attained the rank of general officer. Most of the class included notable leaders such as fivestar general omar Bradley Young david d. Eisenhower. When general eisenhower and his classmates received their commission as Army Officers on that june day more than a century ago, they had no idea what history would have in store for them or what history would demand of them. Yet they rose to the challenge, answered the nations call, and served when we needed them most. Since then, generations of west point graduates have assumed, leading around the globe in places such as vietnam, panama, bosnia, and most recently iraq and afghanistan. My classmates and i grew up in a nation at war. When we chose to come to west point, we knew we would enter the army as officers in a nation still at war. Like the generations who came before us we did not know for , sure what would be demanded of us, but we can say for certainty that we are ready. We are ready because of the example and inspiration of those like general eisenhower who came before us, upon his shoulders today and future generations of west point is now stand. We are grateful to general eisenhower and members of the greatest generation for their legacy of duty and Selfless Service to country. We are grateful for the inspiration they have given this generation. We proudly and happily commit ourselves to continuing that legacy, so that future generations may be inspired by their example. General, president , and above all, a leader of character, Dwight D Eisenhowers life and career were dedicated to his , water, duty, honor, and country. The men and women who serve their and the tens of thousands of graduates who make up the long gray line, this memorial will serve as a reminder of general eisenhowers life and legacy, and inspire junior generations for years to come. You for the privilege. I remind you army, go army, beat navy. [laughter] [applause] when ike and mamie married in 1916, they could not have imagined the life that awaited them after many decades emerge. Many decades of marriage. Today, three generations of eisenhowers represent a crosssection of america that would astonish ike and mamie and make them immensely proud. Professors and policymakers, philanthropists, artists actors, leaders of ngos, government officials, and so much more. One of them is our next speaker, susan eisenhower. Ladies and edelman, ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to susan eisenhower, representing the eisenhower family on this very special day for the family and for the rest of us. [applause] thank you very much for that charming introduction. This is a very emotional day for the eisenhower family. I have to tell you that. Growing up as a child, i never would have imagined this honor would have been bestowed on my grandfather. Im sure my siblings feel the same way. Thank you, our previous speakers, for the most eloquent description of the reason we are honoring this man today. Let me say that it is a personal pleasure and i appreciate enormously the honor to stand here to express the thanks of the eisenhower family or the conception andhe realization of the memorial to dwight d. Eisenhower washington, d. C. Todays ceremony represents many, many years of hard work. There are so many people to thank, from our many friends on both ends of pennsylvania avenue, to the countless numbers of them across america. Giving the shortness of time, i will mention a few. It is with gratitude but also gratitude, but also with sadness, that our two visionaries are not here with us today. We are grateful to them for initiating and guiding the development of this memorial. We would also like to decorate my the dedicated efforts of senator pat roberts and senator bob dole. Honestly, senator roberts, this would not have happened without you. [applause] i would also like to offer special appreciation to secretary james baker for his contribution to bringing us to this point. Finally, i would like to thank frank gehry and his team for their professionalism, their hard work, and their flexibility in creating this striking memorial that will be placed at this spot. To many, it seems we have traveled a long road to get to this point. By historic standards, we have arrived here in good time. The fdr memorial took 43 years. So, i would say we are way ahead of the timeline. [laughter] this has been possible because strong motivation to rising and peter generations. This must be done as we seek to make a statement of who we are today and what we still believe in as a country. The tapestry, the backdrop of the memorial itself, will demonstrate the beaches of normandy in peacetime, a fitting image that captures the transformational era during which eisenhower led us in world war ii and later during the cold war. Normandy is an iconic spot that forever symbolizes sacrifice, but also liberation and freedom. It is hallowed ground. Which reminds us, not only the valor of those who served, but also Dwight Eisenhowers leadership. The day was a risky operation when stakes in europe were drawn perilously by the day. And ouressf of it ultimate victory depended on millions of men and women who followed, servicemen not just from the United States, but for but from more than a dozen countries, including the many courageous people who fought from the underground. Under his command, the outcome, the end of the war in europe was monumental, even as the cost in lives and treasures cannot be replaced or forgotten. At a victory celebration and the presentation of honorary citizenship of london at the guild hall on june 12, 1945, eisenhower stood before a sea of faces as londoners poured the street to honor him. Without a note, he delivered his acceptance speech. Humility must always be that be the portion of any man earned by his followers and friends are co in ike won the presidency in a 1952, landslide victory. During his eight years in the white house, he led the country along the path of what he called the middle way, one marked by extraordinary cooperation he fostered between white house and congress, especially during the six years both branches of government were held by rival parties. His administrations accomplishments were many. Senator roberts articulated so many of them today, from the building of the interstate highway system and balancing the budget numerous times to advancing major milestones and civil rights to establish key judicial precedence, including the appointments of fit several judgeships to lay the groundwork. Eisenhower was committed to building a middle class in this country, a bulwark of political stability from which americas new role in the world could be advanced and sustained. In foreign policy, eisenhower strengthened nato. He brought the end of the korean war. During the next seven years of his presidency, he employed time employed sound Crisis Management to the desk to avert the loss of any further american combat troops. At the same time, he stood for freedom, without losing an inch of territory, while containing the soviet union and managing the nuclear threat. My family and i can think of no better legacy that do have this legacy than to have this Memorial Service a reminder of the virtue he espoused, them patriotism espoused, humility, fairness, service to our fellow citizens, as well as sacrifice, peace and prosperity at home and abroad. My family and i hope that the national dwight d. Eisenhower president ial memorial will serve to celebrate not just ikes life, but those American Values that, under his leadership, made our country, in war and peace, a beacon of hope for the worse i beacon of hope for the rest of the world. Think you very much. Thank you very much. [applause] susan, thank you for your support of the memorial to your grandfather and, of course, to our president. Now we have a special treat from , abilene, kansas. They are ages 17 and 15, to farm two farm kids from abilene, kansas. They are involved in sports, marching band and 4h and attended ikes alma mater, abilene high school. In grade school, they volunteered at the eisenhower president ial library in having a history project in which they portrayed ikes younger brothers. Did i mention emma and annie like to sing . But, they sure do. They have been singing all of their lives. They have come all the way from abilene, kansas, to washington just to sing for us. , my great pleasure to introduce to you emma and annie. [applause] [singing america the beautiful] [applause] now it is time for the moment , we have all come for today, the moment that so many have worked so hard for and waited for. Without further ado, we would like to invite the following people to come up on stage. Memorial designer, frank gehry. [applause] the eisenhower memorial commissioners we have here with us today, senator pat roberts [applause] congressman Mike Thompson [applause] senator gary peters [applause] senator joe manchin. [applause] congressman Sanford Bishop [applause] congressman mike simpson [applause] congressman Mac Thornberry [applause] and now, of course, members of the eisenhower family. [applause] david eisenhower. [applause] susan eisenhower. [applause] and anne eisenhower. [applause] are you all ready . Everyone, please put your shovels into the dirt. Ready, set, dig. [applause] [applause] [playing god bless america] [applause] ladies and gentlemen, right here in my hand, i have a Building Permit for the National Park service [laughter] [applause] at last, at last, we are building at last. [] laughter laughter [laughter] we are ready to go. So frank, the guild betting company, gsa, and court frank,ion, lets so clarke construction, lets get this thing done. We want to see you all on may 8, 2020. Thank you so much for coming. Pplause] join us on cspan three this weekend for American History tv. Here are a few highlights. The 50th anniversary of the public broadcasting act, the library of Congress Holds a discussion about the history of news and Public Affairs programming. At 8 00 p. M. Eastern on lectures in history, university of kansas discuss the role of African Americans in politics and how we gain experience in organizing and running political office. Eastern, World War Ii Navy veterans who took place in battles. On railamerica, the film dreams of a quality, featuring a recreation of the 1840 eight womens rights convention. American history tv, all weekend, every weekend, only on cspan3. Announcer next, on American History tv, from a symposium that looks at the struggle of black women to get Voting Rights. Gloria Brown Marshall takes a look at the struggle of black women to obtain Voting Rights and compares this with the experience of white savages and black men, ratified in the 15th 1870, amendment gave Voting Rights to africanamerican men. Until 1965 the amendment became a reality for most back black voters. The session is about one hour. Good morning, everyone. My names john mccartle. Im the vice chancellor and president of the university of the south here at suwanee, tennessee. Also im proud to say a member of the history department. And in those several capacities, its a pleasure for me to