75 years ago on may 8th 1945, the islands formally announced germanys surrender, ending 40 Million Deaths in europe alone. The president celebrations erupted all over the world including in the United States. Americans gather together to express a range of emotions. Theyre euphoria, friends and families would be coming home. The grief for hundreds of thousands who would never set foot on american soil again, and the fear for those Service Members still fighting the pacific. But for a moment, the world celebrated the hope of peace. I wish had lived to see this day. Their lives the forces of germany have surrendered to the united nation. After more than five years of conflict the war which had decimated families towns and cities, came to an end via and Unconditional Surrender on may 8th 1945. The flags of freedom fly all over europe. The power of our people to defend themselves against all enemies will be proved in the pacific war as it was proved in europe. Whether you wore a uniform, built a plane in a factory or grew vegetables in your garden, we want to thank you for your sacrifice to our nation. When i was a kid, almost every adult over the age of 30 was a member of the greatest generation. My uncle john, he was a lifelong army career guy and he used to put on a u. S. Air show during world war ii. He got stars like sinatra and bing crosby and all these guys to go around. When i got to do those shows, it was a huge honor. I got to go to desert storm and all these places. I learned a lot about the greatest generation. When i was a kid, people did not talk about the war experiences. It wasnt until you went through a dresser drawer or attended a funeral that you found out, what . Uncle mike was a silver star recipient . They just did not talk about it. They were ordinary americans who did extraordinary things under circumstances. When you think about the young men and women that served in world war ii, they walked away from their homes all across america, from their jobs, their careers, their hopes and dreams, and they decided to serve and volunteer in the millions to go defend their country abroad from facet some. I served abroad for many years and i also had the chance to combine my understanding of americas participation in world war ii and the ability to live in europe and walked many of those battlefields. Did not understand what the combat might have been like at that time. When you study the war, you have to be inspired by many who have served for many years often being wounded and going back into combat, but more importantly having no idea when the world war might and. It went on for years. Month after month serving in combat against the axis. It really inspires. On top of that, what we saw was these young men and women go home, return to the United States, take their uniform off and just pick up their lives and go back to work, pursuing a career, an occupation, getting married and building families. Those two things combined are why they really inspired me and remind us all that they were and are the greatest generation. Today people around the world are fighting a different kind of battle. One that cannot be defeated with military units. When that prevents us from joining together to commemorate the 75th anniversary of ve day. We will pay tribute to the greatest generation. To our world war ii heroes, we are placed. The women in u. S. European command and all allies salute you. Our nation and the world will forever be in your debt. In these Uncertain Times as ever, we are eternally inspired by your grit, Selfless Service and sacrifices and defensive freedom, democracy and one another. Victory in europe was gained four nine light force made of countries for the common goal to defeat evil and defend freedom. Introducing the man the greatest generation. Tom broke a. Ve day. I was five years old victory and europe and world war ii. An enormously important celebration. We had taken on hitler and europe and prevailed with the help of our allies. Now is the time to remember the glory of ve day. My dad was a major influence in my decision to join the marine corps. Seeing my dad in a uniform and what it represented. Honor, courage, Selfless Service inspired me to wear the uniform myself. The most senior officer in the military was also inspired by his father and mother. I would not like to introduce general mark milley. Both my parents were part of the greatest generation. They served in world war ii. My mother served with a navy in a hospital in seattle, taking care of the wounded returning from overseas. My father was with the Fourth Marine Division and made the landings, site can tinian hiroshima. Both of them have passed on, but i carry their example of integrity and Selfless Service as daily inspiration. Since the mid 90s, we have been losing these heroes at a rate of about 1500 a day. Now we are down to just a handful. Im glad we still have that handful here to thank. We are even more fortunate that you can hear a lot of them in their own words and pictures. Take a look at this. The british flew us into brussels. We had been cleaned up from the prison camps. We had been fed. I remember getting into brussels. They give us a couple of hours off. We went to a bar and drank some beer. Then we went to sleep. That was true liberation. I have no fears that we were going to lose the war. We were going to win. It was the end of a struggle i was on a be 17 crew victory. There was a small hill behind. They look beautiful. It was quite a display of celebration. They came back with a beer, so we had beer on ve day. We saved not only america, but western culture and civilization. World war ii veterans have been the subject of countless books, tv shows and blockbuster movies. If you are lucky enough to have had a veteran in your life, you know why. It discourage, Selfless Service and valor who continue to inspire generations that follow them. Take a listen to what made this the greatest generation. Fighting for your country is probably the high light of my life. 16 million of us served in the military. 8 million young women everybody was at war. It was to illuminate evil. We did that. All of us. Yuck when you signed and you are bakr. Then you get really good at what you are doing. We didnt realize how capable american women were. Hitler had said that he would not have trouble beating us. He said we spent too much time on cosmetics and not enough on production. The wars are one with a grunt. You plant your flag and you say we are in charge. That was the spirit of that 18 year old marine. Thats why we are here we are today. Black pilots, mechanics that support people when our country declared war against hitler, came forward and dispelled the biases and generalizations that because of the color of our skin we could not support our country and technical areas. The task was to keep the air clear of german fighters that were destroying our environment. We thought we had enough guns on the be 17s and be 20 force but it was not so. We also destroyed a lot of the germans war making on the ground. I am the proud daughter of colonel lawrence eat roberts. He was the member of the tuskegee airmen. I have an immense appreciation for the special brought that broadcast to honor our world war ii veterans for the sacrifices that led a peace for our great nation and for our allies all around the world. Thank you and bless you. May 8th, 1945 will forever be known as ve day a victory in europe day. It is the day world war ii and european Theater Operations officially ended. By the middle of april 1945, the u. S. Armys 69th Infantry Division linked up with the soviets at the elbow river. General paton penetrated jeep deep reaching as far north as austrian czechoslovakia. As the allies closed in, adolf hitler committed suicide and his berlin bungler on april 30th. His successor knowing the world was lost, he signed the instruments of surrender in france on may 7th. Field marshal then signed Unconditional Surrender in berlin on may 8th. Officially ending six years of brutal warfare in europe. In june of 1944, my father hit the beach inside pan with the marines, his brother was at normandy on the other side of the world. It is an incredible tale of courage. It helps to illustrate the scope and scale and the conflict our nation was fighting. That was a step forward. Each of them serving a cause bigger than themselves. The greatest generation understood that we live in an exceptional country. A country worth defending. The message i would like to pass along to the world war ii veterans and their families who are watching right now is very simple. I just simply want to say thank you. Hello, i am j. D. Crouch ceo and president of the u. S. Of. The u. S. Owes mission of strengthening our armed forces by connecting them to family, home and country began during world war ii. During that war, more than 1 million americans volunteer to the u. S. Army. On behalf of all u. S. Employees and our 30,000 volunteers around the globe, we proudly commemorate your service and sacrifice on victory in europe day. Thank you to all the veterans who courageously served during world war ii. Like a lot of americans, i had forefathers who served in world war ii. One of them pay the ultimate price. I am very grateful to the veterans who are still with us today and for the United States of america that we live in. The land of the free. The home of the brave. Thank you. I want to take a moment to say thank you for all of your incredibly selfless and harrowing acts of service. While defending the liberty of the United States of america against fascism. The world remains in your debt. There is a reason you are called the greatest generation. You set the standard, you set the bar. A grateful nation hopes we can live up to it. Thank you for your service and thank you for the victory that you secured 75 years ago. God bless you all and your families. In democratic america, everybody is doing his bit. There goes Jimmy Stewart on his way to enlist. One of the most popular stars on the screen joining the air force as a private, jimmy has now been promotion. Today he is lieutenant stewart usa. Joe lewis, the army can use that fighting spirit and joe lewis is now a corporal at cavalry somewhere in the list. A movie star of modern times sworn into service. Tyrone power. He will go on a daring exploit on the silver screens of the war. He will now be a marine. Franklin roosevelt junior is in uniform. His fellow officer is douglas fare banks junior and you lieutenant in the navy. Like his famous father, every inch a man clark cable at 41 renounces his throne as americas most popular film star to join the United States army air force. Enlisting as a private, he wants to become a gun or in the crew of a bomber. This is the peoples way of saying, from the home front to the battle front, from movie stars to salesclerks, americas 130 million citizens are in the war. Enlisted Service Members are the backbone of the military both in world war ii as well as today. They have an advocate in the position that did not exist during world war ii. The senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, ramon lopez. Today, always we must never forget that our nation has faced faced many challenges and our purpose remains the same. To protect our freedom. The greatest generation embodied the love and loyalty for the ideals set forth in our constitution. We know it is now our turn. The greatest generation did this for our country. We shall do the same. I salute you and your families and trust that we will keep the torch burning and trust that we will keep america free. I just want to give a shout out and a sincere thank you to all the world war ii veterans. Your service, allowing us to serve today, thank you so much. We as a society cannot thank you enough. Thank you for showing me what valor looks. Like thank you for your bravery, your sacrifices and for paving the way for us. We appreciate your service and everything you have done for our country. Without you we would not be. Here god bless you. You truly our national heroes. Thank you. Thank you. The legacy of our greatest generation lives on in those who are in the uniform. Many of those serving in the United States today were inspired to use and raise their right hands because of the father or grandfather, a mother, an and. It was my father who inspired me to join the United States marine corps. Thanks pop. For all those who are currently serving and to those whose booed steps we are following, thank you. amercian anthem amercian anthem thank you for joining us for the commemoration of ve day. Even though we are part, we are never alone. The greatest generation show the world that no matter the sacrifice required, americans will face any challenge with grit, ingenuity and a can do attitude. In recent weeks, americas First Responders military and Health Care Professionals have shown that that same victory spirit is alive and well. We salute you. For more Inspiring Stories on world war ii, is it defends. Gov. The lavish apartments. The uptown flats. The shrugged estates. The modest houses of the suburban streets. Everywhere, the men were borrowed or taken for keeps. The youngest, the cleanest, the best. Wanted each men went a battle in his own way doing his own job. More than half of them saw combat service yuck. Apostle percentage of these, not nearly as many as you may imagine, were in the front lines and within shell range of the enemy. For anyone of this latter group, a very special experience. He was that any moment. Exterminated. For him the baseball parks were full of late exciting rallies. For him, the beach parties were not as pleasant as they had been a few summers before. For him, the rivers ran high. Big the boating was not so good. For him, the flight decks were not as wide as the fields of texas. For the rest, there were 1000 who had jobs each dependent on each other. Each bridal to the winning of the war. Each made memorable by the fact that it represented the protection and lives of security of all of us. But whether in combat or not, whether a machine gun at 300 yards from the enemy, or a switchboard operator 300 miles from the enemy, the servicemen learned about war. He knew the on a terrell loneliness of it. He knew the unending boredom of it. He knew the mud of it. The dust of it. He knew the food of it. He knew the coffee of it. Weather in the heat of the equator or the cold of the arctic, through it all, he worked and waited and suffered and endured. Until one day, he heard the bells of peace. Turned his back on the dark battlefields and raised his arms to the bright new future. I want to extend our welcome to all the viewers out there who are joining us. It is a great pleasure for me to be able to talk to my friends