What we learned at home. And that of their children. Love of god, fairness in human relations, independence and responsibility. As to the welfare of others in each free individual could through his own efforts achieve a full life. It is the firm duty of each of our citizens to fight because. We must be ready for our country for History Press the freedom we must be willing individually and as a nation to accept whatever sacrifices may be required of us people that balances it services. To storm these beaches not to gain anything for these cells but just to preserve freedom, systems of selfgovernment in the work. Many thousands died for such ideals as these. But these people gave us a chance and they bought time for stomach do better than we have before. We must find some way to gain an eternal peace of this world. You and i, fellow citizens in need to be strong in our faith in all nations under god for peace and justice. We pray that peoples of all races, all nations may have their great human need sacrific sacrifice. Those of them may disappear from the earth. And that in the goodness of time all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the driving force of Mutual Respect and love. [background noises] good evening and welcome to the dedication save entrance ceremony for the Dwight D Eisenhower memorial. Everyones health and safety, please exercise safe social distancing and ensure your masks remain on when you are not eating or drinking. To begin our program, we are honored to be joined by the soldiers of the 101st airborne division. And as they were with general eisenhower, the night before d day. To present tonights colors, they will be accompanied by the president s own u. S. Marine band. The National Anthem will be performed by the celebrated groups, voices of service who will then be followed by kansas own rachel mast who will honor our flag with her rendition of the pledge of allegiance. Please rise for the presentation of colors and please remain standing for the National Anthem and the pledge of allegiance. Jose can you see by the dawns early light what we so proudly we held at the twilights last gleaming whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight over the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that start spangled banner yet wave over the land of the free and the home of the brave [applause] [background noises] [background noises] [cheering] i pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of america. One nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for al all. Thank you to the 107th fighter wing from the new Jersey National guard for providing flyover coverage for this evening ceremony. To give two nights invocation we are pleased to have with this u. S. Senate chaplin barry c black. Chaplin black served in the u. S. Navy for over 27 years. And completed his distinguished military career as the chief of navy chaplains. In june, 2003, mary black was elected to serve as the 62nd chaplin of the United States senate. And has been in that role ever since. To open tonight ceremony in prayer, here is chaplin black. You may be seated. Let us pray. Ointerjection lord, the mites of light, how majestic is your name in all the earth. We marvel that you care about humanity and have crowned us with glory and honor. Today, except our gratitude for the life and legacy of president dwight David Eisenhower. He more than self his country loved, and mercy more than life. We praise you that his love for freedom summoned our nation to embrace thank you mighty god for his ability to plant seeds of confidence, to build bridges that helped bring unity to a divided nation and world. May this memorial dedication remind us of americas opportunity to continue to strive to create a more Perfect Union where justice will roll 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 lights, we may reach the light that never fades. That illumines by your truth, we may reach the truth that is complete. Bless this evening, our food, fellowship, reflections, and inspiration. We pray in your sovereign name amen. Cnet to recognize those who made this memorial possible, and to acknowledge tonights attendees, please welcome the vice chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and the representative of californias fifth congressional district, mike thompson. Good evening. I am congressman mike thomas representing the Fifth District and vice chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission. Thank you for joining us today, to celebrate 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 president ial memorial to be revealed in washington d. C. Congress passed a bill creating the eisenhower memorial while president bill clinton was in office. Today, two decades later, we are gathered to dedicate this memorial and recognize a lifetime of public service. This ceremony, this memorial would not be possible if it were not for the 12 member commissio commission. Let me recognize my colleagues on the commission who gave their time and energy to establish the Dwight D Eisenhower memorial. For those of you who are in attendance, please stand when you hear your name. The chairman, senator pat roberts of kansas. [cheering] senator joe manchin of west virginia. [applause] senator gary peters of michigan. [applause] senator dan sullivan of alaska. [applause] congressman Sanford Bishop of georges second district. [applause] congressman mike simpson of idahos second district. [applause] congressman Matt Thornberry of texas 13th district. [applause] former kansas senator bob dole. [applause] Commission Member alfred. [applause] Commission Member susan barnes harris. And Commission Member catherine and stephens. 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 evan. Interior, david bernhardt. Secretary of transportation, elaine chao. An secretary of education betsy devos. Your respective departments all hold important pieces of president eisenhowers legacy. Thank you for joining us to celebrate this occasion. And thank you to secretary devos in 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 in tonights dedication and for your personal attention, helping to make this memorial a reality. We are grateful that you are here and all that you have done over the years for this important project i would also like to thank the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general mark milley for being with us today. Thank you general. Also, i want to recognize Brigadier General who is here representing the marine corps. And colonel michael who is here representing the 101st airborne division. Thank you boats for being here. We are also grateful, to have the ambassador of the republic of china, and deputy chief of mission from italy with us tonight. Thank you for representing your beautiful nations and the support you have shown for this memorial. I would also like to recognize thomas, the artists and the architect who had the incredible tapestry that you see behind me. [cheering] this oneofakind peace displays the iconic normandies coastline in peacetime, which general eisenhowers troops invaded on dday. Standing at 80 feet high and 450 feet long, there is not another tapestry like this anywhere in the world. Thomas on top of the commission, thank you for your incredible work. [applause] i also want to recognize the Senior Leadership from Clarke Construction who are here with us. Randy, david, and jared. Thank you for your dedication to completing this fantastic memorial. [cheering] i also want to recognize alex and kayden eisenhower. President eisenhower great grandson and great, great grandchildren who are here representing the eisenhower family. We also have moral atwater, the son of Mary Jean Eisenhower and a great grandson of the president as well. We are honored to have you on this special day. Serving on this commission to memorialize a truly Great American hero, has been a tremendous honor. Thank you very much. [applause] to make a special recognition, please welcome the host of tvs for court press and the voice of americas plugged in, greta. [applause] s two good evening. Just a start if you think this weather is rough, just think about what it was like in the English Channel back in 1944. This weather is nothing like the members of our military did for us. Its a great night tonight. We honor general eisenhower im sure senator bob dole would want me to it mention the sum of the generals accomplishments. Because without his service the nation, the world to be a very different place. Didnt stop of the military for which you are going to hear much about tonight many from world war ii went out to serve this nation shun and as president generalized eisenhower did incredible things. Just a few brief examples. In 1956, president eisenhower championed the formation of the interstate byway system. Look where that took us all. All across the great nation. In 1958, president eisenhower established mass of the civilian space Agency Responsible for the Space Program and look where it took us, to the moon. And in 1954 in the u. S. Supreme court struck down racial segregation in schools and one Arkansas School district defied the law it was president eisenhower who sent his federal troops to uphold the Supreme Court decision fighting segregation. He let us in war as president. And he let us through years of no war in fairness and prosperity. Which ring brings me to it another world war ii vets, robert dole. And when it comes to history, the story does not affect world war ii, that is before i was born. It goes back to april 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 in mind. Senator robert dole. He was a member of congress, Senate Majority leader from kansas, but as a quiet hero himself, he listened to early years of world war ii and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant before shipping off to italy. In italy of april 1945, he mysteriously wounded by german machine gun fire as he attempted to rescue a radio man an assault on an enemy position. It is been reported that these soldiers and have seen the extent of his injuries that all they could do was to give him the largest dose of morphine they dared and right m on his forehead so no one else that found him give them a fatal dose. His chances of living were slim. He did not give up and he never has. He beat overwhelming odds will spending many years in a military hospital. For his military service to his nation, to all of us, dulles decorated three times two purple hearts for his injuries and the bronze star of valor to assist a down radioman. In 2019 i was horrified, embarrassed 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 . We were killing time. He said world war ii veterans lobbied congress for the land. And world war ii veterans raised the money. I was horrified. My generation which reaps all of the benefits of all of the sacrifices of general eisenhower and all of the world war ii veterans including senator dole, had not raised money for that monument. Our thanks to him and everyone else who fought there. We know that general eisenhower and all of the others, this would be a very different world. How noble they were. Fighting for ideals and upon winning the war, not taking one square foot of land. And in the end rebuilding the nations that were host to the war. My conversation with senator dole did not stop with world war ii memorial. Because i wanted to change the topic. And so he told me the project was underway to build this memorial, something that he and senator roberts wanted to do, i thought i need to be part of this in some way. And of course, that is what brings us all here tonight. To this dedication of this memorial to general eisenhower. And i just want to think about general eisenhower is a great honor. It is also a great honor to be here tonight to thank all of the world war ii vets. All the current people serving in uniform. Senator pat roberts and they all helped us get here. General eisenhowers a great inspiration for it a great reminder to all of america and to all the great things our nation does. And all of the great leaders who led us here. Special thanks to senator roberts, senator dole, and for everyone else who has participated in this project. So we can continue to remind ourselves of what we can do. Here is senator dole. Im sorry i cannot be with you this evening. As you honor a Great American. Dwight David Eisenhower. He was a wonderful man. He was honest, he was sincere, he had an integrity. And he spent much of his time and 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. And 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 they made many, many tough decisions. So i am very proud to be from kansas, not from abilene, but not far away. And i am really proud to call general eisenhower, president eisenhower, major eisenhower, whatever, my hero. [applause] ladies and gentlemen please welcome bret bayer, chief Political Correspondent for fox news. Good evening i am bret bayer, wasnt that wonderful to hear from senator dole tonight . Its a true honor to be here. Obviously senator dole a true american, hero, public servant. My day job as a cover the news across the u. S. And around the world. But i am also a huge fan of general eisenhower, our 34th president. In fact so much so i read jim wrote a book about him. Dwight eisenhowers final mission. And the thing i loved about like, was what has made him so beloved to this day. Two generations like mine and younger were not around during his era pretties perfectly reflecting the american ideal. He was an ordinary man who answered the call to have extraordinary duties and deeds. It with the war was over, he was humble about it. He realized his fame was earned as he put in the blood of his followers in the sacrifices of his friends. Called to serve once more as president , he was fully aware of his shortcomings. He was a soldier not a political animal, not a politician. But he was always trusted. And he trusted the American People to be smarter, and even than their leaders. And his own personal code was to associate with and learn from people who knew more than he di did. Throughout his life, eisenhower maintained the manner of the scrappy kid from kansas. And you see that here in this memorial. He knew that what made America Great was not superiority with the 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 it is raining. But it does not take away from this moment. I know i can speak on behalf of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and say this ceremony would not be the same if it were not for all of you here tonight and all that you have done. Whether you are here in person, watching on cspan, or streaming online, thank you for coming, thank you for watching and recognizing americas Supreme Commander during world war ii and our 34th president. One wick reminder obviously for everyone to keep social distancing, health and safety. We do ask attendees tonight to practice that and to keep your 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 house in california at which he worked on actually as an apprentice. And his most recent is this. The Dwight D Eisenhower memorial. His first design for a public project. Unfortunately he is unable to join us tonight in person but he did provide a recorded briefing. So please welcome frank garrett. I am so greatly honored to be part of this effort to memorialize Dwight D Eisenhower in washington d. C. To prepare for this formidable task, i studied everything. I Read Everything that i could find on his accomplishments. And they were vast. What a legacy. At first glance the site didnt seem great. Surrounded by traffic and office buildings. But that was