Oh say can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight in the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming in the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there jose does that starspangled danner yet wave oer the land of the free and the home of the brave [applause] allegiance] thank you to the 177th fire waiting from the new Jersey National guard for providing fire over coverage for this evening. To give tonights invitation, we are pleased to have barry c. Black. Chaplain black serve in the u. S. Navy and completed his distinguished military career as the chief of navy chaplains. Barry black was elected to serve as the 62nd chaplain of the United States senate and has been in that role ever since. To open tonights ceremony in prayer, here is chaplain black. You may be seated. Pray. Light of lights, how is your name in all the earth . We marvel that you care about have crowned us with glory and honor. Gratitude forour the life and legacy of president. Wight David Eisenhower who more than self his country loved and mercy more than life. You that his love for freedom summoned our nation to hopes. Our best thank you, mighty god, for his ability to plant seeds of confidence. Helpedd bridges that ividedunity to a dvide nation and world. May this memorial dedication remind us of americas opportunity to continue to strive to create a more perfect roll where justice will down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. Lord, give us the grace to love what you command and to desire what you have promised. Grant that guided by your light, we may reach the light that never fades. Illuminedned that by your truth, we may reach your truth that is complete. Bless this evening, food, fe llowship, reflections and inspiration, we pray in your sovereign name. Amen. To recognize those who made this memorial possible in to acknowledge tonights attendees, please welcome the vice chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and the representative of the congressional district, mike thompson. Good evening. I am congressman mike thompson. And the chairman vice chairman. Thank you for celebrating one of our countrys greatest leaders. Whether you are here in person or watching online, you are taking part in a unique tradition. This will be only the seventh residential memorial to be filled in washington dc. Whiless passed a bill president bill clinton was in office. Today, two decades later, we are gathered to dedicate this memorial and recognize a lifetime of Public Service. Memorial,ny, this would not be possible if it were not for the 12 member commission. Let me recognize my colleagues on the commission who gave their time and energy to establish the d. Ght d i memorial dwight memorial. Joe mansion of west virginia. [applause] senator gary peters of michigan. Senator dan sullivan of alaska. Bishop ofn sanford georgias second strict. Congressman mike of idahos second district. Thornberry ofc texass 13th district. Dole. Kansas senator bob [applause] member alfred. Commission member susan barnes harris. Member kathryn stevens. Thank you all for your leadership and your devotion to this magnificent project. I would like to acknowledge a few other people who are with us this evening. Secretary david earnhardt. And betsy devos. Your respective departments all hold important pieces of president eisenhowers legacy. Thank you for joining us to celebrate this occasion. Thank you to secretary betsy devos and the education department, housed in the building directly behind me, for being such gracious neighbors throughout the construction process. Thank you Speaker Nancy Pelosi for taking part of this and for a reality. Emorial we are grateful you are here and for all you have done over the years for this important project. Would also like to think the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. General mark milley for being with us today. Thank you general. Recognizent to Brigadier General robert, who is here representing the marine corps. Michael, who is here representing the one at a First Airborne Division thank you both for being here. To have thegrateful ambassador of the republic of and the deputy chief of with usfrom italy tonight. Thank you for representing our beautiful your beautiful nations and the support you have shown for this memorial. I would also like to recognize thomas. He is the artist on the architect who created the incredible tapestry you see behind me. This oneofakind piece iconic normandy coastline in peacetime, which general eisenhowers troops invaded on dday. And 450 at 80 feet high is not anothere tapestry like this anywhere in the world. ,n behalf of the commission thank you for your incredible work. [indiscernible] i also want to recognize the Senior Leadership from Clark Construction who are with us. Randy, david and jerry. Thank you for your dedication to completing this fantastic memorial. I also want to recognize alex and kayden eisenhower. President eisenhowers greatgrandson and great, great grandchildren who are here representing the eisenhower family. We also have the son of Mary Jean Eisenhower and a greatgrandson of the president as well. Honored to have you on the special day. On this commission to memorialize a truly Great American hero has been a tremendous honor. Thank you very much. To make a special recognition. Please welcome the host of full court press and voice of americas plugin. Good evening. If you think this weather is rough, just think of what it was like on the English Channel back in 1944. Likeweather is nothing what the members of our military did for us. This is a great night tonight. We honor general eisenhower. Doleure that senator bob would want me to mention the generals accomplishments. Without his service this nation and the world would be a very different place. The general did not stop with a military career, which you will hear about tonight. Many in world war ii when on to serve this nation in other capacities. He became president and president eisenhower did incredible things. Just a few brief examples. , president eisenhower champion the formation of the interstate highway system. All. Where that took us all across the great nation. In 1958 president eisenhower established nafta, this of nasa, the civilian space Agency Responsible for the space program. Look where it took us. To the moon. In 1954 when the u. S. Supreme court struck down racial and oneion in schools district defied the laws, it was president eisenhower who sent in several troops to uphold the Supreme Courts decision fighting segregation. He led us through years of no war of fairness and prosperity. Which brings me to another world war ii vet. Robert dold. I will come to a personal story. This story does not go back to world war ii, that was before i was born, he goes back to april of 2004. The night before the opening of the world war ii memorial just down the street. I was doing a live show that night next to the memorial, celebrating the fact that the following day that memorial would be dedicated. I had the perfect guest that night. Senator robert dole. He is famous for not only being a member of congress and majority member from kansas, but he listened to early years of world war ii and is commissioned as a Second Lieutenant before shipping off to italy. Ofle in italy, in april 1945, he was seriously wounded by german machine gun fire as he attempted to rescue a radio man during an assault on an enemy position. Theas been reported that soldiers saw the extent of his injuries and thought that all they could do was to give him the largest dose of morphine and dared and right am m on his four head so no one would give him a fatal dose. This chances of living were swim desks slim, but he did not give up. In aent many years military hospital. For his military service to his nation, to all of us, he was decorated three times, two purple hearts and the bronze star with valor for the attempt to assist a downed radioman. In 2019, i was horrified and in paris because as i was sitting there next to him, talking to him about the memorial of world war ii, i said to him, how did this come about . He said, world war ii lobbied Congress Veterans lobbied congress for the land and world war ii veterans raised the money. Im horrified. Our generation, which reaped all the benefits and sacrifices of general eisenhower had not raised the money for that monument, when we are the ones who own a great thanks to him and to everyone else who fought there. We know without general eisenhower, and all the others who served, this would be a very different world. How noble they were fighting for idls and not taking one square end,of land and in the rebuilding the nations that were host to the war. My conversation did not stop with the world war ii memorial because i wanted to change the topic. When he told me the project was under way to build this memorial, its something that he and the senator wanted to do. I thought, i need to be part of this in some way. And thats what brings all of us here tonight. To this dedication of this memorial to general eisenhower. Tonight, speaking about general eisenhower is a great honor. And its a great honor to be here to thank the current people serving in uniform. Senator pat roberts, and they all helped us get here. General eisenhower is a great inspiration. A great reminder to all america and to all the great things are nation has done, and all the great leaders who let us here. To senatorhanks roberts, senator dole, and anyone else who produce abated in this project so we could continue to remind ourselves of what we can do. Here is senator dole. Senator dole i am sorry i cannot be with you this evening to honor a Great American, dwight David Eisenhower. E was a wonderful man he was honest, he was sincere, he had an integrity, he was decisive, and he spent much of his time in world war ii trying to reconcile the interest of the british and the french and the americans. But he did it with expertise. He kept everybody on board. Because of his brilliant approach, we won world war ii and then eisenhower moved on and became a Great American president. Eight years of peace and prosperity. And he made many, many tough decisions. O i am very proud i am really proud to call general eisenhower, president eisenhower, major eisenhower, whatever, my hero. [applause] ladies and gentlemen please welcome chief Political Correspondent for fox news. Good evening. Wasnt it wonderful to hear from senator dole tonight . Its a true honor to be here. Senator dole is a true american hero, public servant. Is to cover the news across the u. S. And around the world. Fan ofm also a huge general eisenhower. So much so i wrote a book about january e days in Dwight Eisenhowers final mission. Is thing i loved about ike what made him so beloved to generations like mine and younger who were not around during his era. How he was perfectly reflecting the american ideal. He was an ordinary man who answered the call to perform extraordinary duties. Over,en when the war was he was humble about it. He realized that his fame was earned, as he put it, in the blood of his followers and the sacrifices of his friends. Call to serve once more as president. He was fully aware of the shortcomings. He was a soldier, not a political analyst or a politician. He was always trusted and he always trusted the American People to be smaller smarter, even then their leaders. His own personal code was to associate with and learn from people who knew more than he did. Throughout his life eisenhower maintained the manner of the scrappy kid from kansas, and you see that in this memorial. He knew that what made america superior 80t in with our Weapon System or the dominance of our economy. As he liked to say, what counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. This is a really special event. We are sorry its raining, but it does not take away from this moment. I know i could speak on behalf of the commission and save his ceremony would not be the same if it were not for all of you here tonight and all that youve done. Whether you are here in person or watching on cspan, or streaming online. Thank you for coming, thank you for watching and recognizing americas Supreme Commander during world war ii and the 34th president. One quick reminder, for everyone to keep social distancing, health and safety. We do ask the attendees to practice that and keep their masks on during the event when you are not eating or drinking. Our next speaker is a worldrenowned architect. Whose works include the Guggenheim Museum in spain. The walt disney concert hall in los angeles. The art gallery of ontario in toronto, and many other prestigious buildings around the world. In 1957 he completed his first professional design, his own california, which he worked on as an apprentice. Most recent is this, the dwight d. Eisenhower memorial. His first design for a public project. Unfortunately he was unable to join us tonight in person, but he did provide a recorded greeting. So please welcome frank gehry. [video clip] what a day today. I am so greatly honored to be part of this effort to memorialize to idea out dwight d. Eisenhower in washington, d. C. To prepare for this fermentable studied everything, i Read Everything that i could find on his accomplishments. They were vast. What a legacy. At first glance the site did not seem great. Surrounded by traffic and office , but that was it. And with the help of many, starting with words of and relentless support of members of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission, led by the senator pat roberts, we got it done. There were sensitivities expressed by many, including the eisenhower family. We listened and the result is better. For my life, this is one of my proudest moments, and i regret that i cannot be there to enjoy this with you. [end of video clip] directed by colonel jason fatigue, these welcome the president s own United States marine band and their rendition of song of the marching man. An arrangement performed by the band at both the 1953 and 1957 in operations for president inaugurations for president eisenhower. [applause] own marine band sounds good in any weather. Tonight event literally would not be possible without our next speaker. U. S. Senator pat roberts is a native kansan and had been with the Eisenhower Memorial Commission since its inception in 2001. As the senior u. S. Senator of ikes home state, it is onlys only fitting that senator roberts help with building a memorial to help with one honor one of kansas favorite sons. When he took on the role of chairman in 2015. Throughout his life the senator has devoted himself to the citizens of kansans. And has been a congressional leader in the sectors of agriculture, health care, and defense. The most importantly, senator ,oberts is a man of character and that is best shown through his ability to balance his lifelong career as a public servant, along with a steady devotion to his family. Together, he and his wife of over 50 years, who has joined us tonight, have three children and seven grandchildren. We are grateful for his service to our country for his leadership with the eisenhower commission, and for being here to speak with us tonight, live, rain or no rain. I present to you, senator pat roberts. [applause] sen. Roberts thank you. As an eisenhower author yourself, i know that you share our into the oven for his legacy and we appreciate you so much. This is dday. The 101st, ok, lets go, so here we go. Greetings to all of our guests here tonight, and to those of , now we wish we could all be together in person to celebrate the completion of this magnificent memorial. However, the legacy of dwight d. Eisenhower cannot be constrained by the size of the crowd because it is reflected in the freedoms that we live every day in america. The memorial designer and his partners are unfortunately not able to join us tonight. But if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that you dont have to be in the same place together. Know your team is watching the brilliance of this will reverberate around the world and lift the legacy of dwight d. Eisenhower ton ending mobile audiences. Tonight, as we dedicate this memorial we stand on this shoulders shoulders of giants made it possible. My favorite, senator lisa murkowski, who kept the full effort alive through her great support. Rate, we could not have done this without you, lisa, and i appreciate it. I want to thank my fellow commissioners. Who allowed us to conduct our way,ess and a bipartisan in an image of the man that we honor tonight. I want to thank one commissioner , and he has already been thanked, and that is bob dole. A man who fought bravely on the battlefields of italy under ikes command, although gravely backed, he fought his way to both health and strength and had a wonderful career in the United States senate. He apply that same tenacity on behalf of this memorial. Because of his tireless efforts, the remaining heroes of the greatest generation can now come here and finally salute their commanding officer. Not bes to say, we would here today without the guiding influence of the eisenhower men. I would like to recognize David Eisenhower and his wife Julie Nixon Eisenhower were with us tonight. Please stand. I cannot see you, but hopefully others will. And thank you for coming. David is a renowned author in his own right. , susan, mary jane. Input, we your valued have a fitting memorial to your beloved grandfather. Now, we persevered, then we persevered, and then we persevered, and then we got it right. Thank you to the eisenhower family. I want to thank our donors, some of whom are here tonight, because of you this memorial is complete. Donations come in all sizes and we are grateful for every