We must be willing to accept as a nation a people that values above its principles. These men came to storm these beach, just to preserve freedom. Many thousands died for ideals such as these. These people gave us a chance. We must find someone to get an eternal piece. We need to be strong in our faith that our nations under god will achieve the goal of peace and justice. We pray that people of all races, all nations may have their great human needs satisfied and that the scourge of poverty, disease will be made disappeared from the earth. That in the goodness of time, all peoples will come to live together in a peace guaranteed by the force of Mutual Respect and love. Good evening and welcome to the dedication ceremony for the dwight the eisenhower memorial. For everyones health and safety please exercise safe social distancing and ensure that your masks remain on if you are not eating or drinking. To begin our program, we are honored to be joined by the soldiers of the 101st airborne division. As they were with general eisenhower, the night before dday. To present tonights colors. It will be accompanied by the president s own u. S. Marine band. The National Anthem will be performed by these celebrated groups, voices of service, who will then be followed by kansass own rachel mast 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. National AnthemNational Anthem land of the free. music music and the home of the brave. music music [applause] jets flying applause i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america. For one nation for liberty and justice for all. Thank you to the 177 fighter wing from the new Jersey National guard for providing coverage for this evening ceremony. Tonights invocation we are pleased to have with us u. S. Senate chaplain barry c. Black serving in the u. S. Navy for over 27 years and completed his distinguished military career as the chief of navy chaplains. June 2003 the rear admiral was elected to serve as the 62nd chaplain of the United States senate and has been in that role ever since. To open tonight ceremony in prayer, here is chaplain black. You may be seated, let us pray. The lord, the light of lights, 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, accept our gratitude for the life and legacy of president dwight Davis Eisenhower who more than self, his country loved, mercy more than life. We praise you that his love for freedom summoned our nation to embrace our best. Thank you mighty god for his ability to plant seeds of confidence and 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 what you command and to desire what you have promised. Grant that guided by your light we may reach the light that never fades and for your truth we may reach the truth that is complete bles this evening, our food and fellowship and reflections and inspiration we pray in your sovereign name. Amen. To recognize those who made this memorial possible and to acknowledge please welcome the vice chairman of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and the representative of the fifth Congressional District, Mike Thompson. Good evening i am congressman Mike Thompson representing californias fifth Congressional 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 only be the seventh president ial memorial to be built in washington dc. Congress passed the bill to create the eisenhower memorial while president clinton was in office. Today, two decades later, we are gathered to dedicate this memorial and recognize a lifetime of public service. This memorial, this ceremony would not be possible if not for the 12 member commission. Let me recognize my colleagues on the commission who gave their time and energy to establishing the Dwight D Eisenhower memorial. For those of you in attendance, please stand when you hear your name. The chairman senator pat roberts of kansas. [applause] senator mansion from west virginia. [applause] senator peters, michigan. [applause] senator sullivan of alaska. Congressman bishop from georgia second district. [applause] congressman simpson of idahos second district. [applause] congressman thornberry of texas 13 district former kansas senator bob dole. Commission member alfred, susan harris, susan, and Commission MemberCatherine Stevens thank you for your leadership and your devotion to this sip project and secretary of interior, david burnheart secretary of transportation and secretary of education. [applause]. I would also like to thank the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general mark malley for being with us thank you Speaker Nancy Pelosi for taking part in tonights dedication and your personal attention helping to make this memorial a reality. We are grateful that you are here, and for 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 tonight. Thank you general. Also, i wanted to recognize Brigadier General robert fullfigured representing the marine corps. Colonel michael who is here, representing the 101st airborne division. Thank you both for being here. We are also grateful to have the ambassador of the republic of china, taiwan show and deputy chief of mission from italy mirage you with us tonight. Thank you for representing your beautiful nations and the support you have sean for this memorial. I would also like to recognize thomas. He is the artist and architect who created the incredible tapestry you see behind me. applause this is one of a kind piece displays yay chronic normandy coast in peace times, which general eisenhowers troops invaded on the day. Standing at 80 feet high and 450 feet long, there is not another tapestry like this anywhere in the world. On behalf of the commission, thank you for your incredible work. Ultra applause i also want to recognize the Senior Leadership from Clark Construction who are here with us. Randi, david, and jarrett. Thank you for your dedication to completing this fantastic memorial. I also want to recognize alex, kia and kate eisenhower. President eisenhowers great grandson and great great grandchildren who are here representing the eisenhower family. We also have morale at water, the son of Mary Jean Eisenhower and a great grandson of the president as well. You are honored to have you on the 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, full court press and the voice of americas plugged in. [applause] good evening. If you think this weather is rough, think of what it was like on the English Channel back in 1944. This weather is nothing like what the members of the military did for us. Its a great night tonight and we honor general eisenhower. Without his service, this nation, the world would be a very different place. The general of course as a military career. You will hear much about it tonight. Like others, many from world war ii went on to serve this nation other capacities. He became president and as president , he did incredible things. A few brief examples. In 1956, president eisenhower championed the formation of the interstate highway system. All across the great nation. In 1958, president eisenhower established nasa, the civilian space Agency Responsible for the space program, and look where it took us. To them. In 1954, when 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 in federal troops to uphold the Supreme Court decision, fighting segregation. He let us as president and he led us through years of no more of prosperity. It brings me to another world war ii fact. Robert dole. When it comes to personal stories, this story doesnt go back to world war ii, that was before i was born, but 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 guest that night. Senator robert dole. Senator dole is famous not only for being a member of congress, but as a quiet hero himself. He enlisted in the early years of world war ii and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant before shipping off to italy. While in italy in april of 1945, he was seriously wounded by german machine gun fire as he attempted to rescue a radio man during an assault of an enemy position. It has been reported that the soldiers, upon seeing the extent of his injuries, all they could do was give him the largest dose of morphine they dared, and wrote him on his forehead and his own blood, so that nobody else who found him would give him a second fatal dose. His chances of living were slim, but he did not give up and never has. With overwhelming odds was spending many years in a military hospital. For his military service to his nation, to all of us, those decorated three times, to purple hearts for his injuries and the bronze star with valerie to attempt to assist a downed radio man. In 2019, i was horrifiedj yo because as i was sitting there next to him talking to him about the Memorial World War ii, i said to him, how did this come about . 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 wreaked all the benefits of all the sacrifices of general eisenhower and all the world war ii vets, including senator dole had not raised the money for that monument, when we are the ones who ought to give thanks to him and everyone else who fought there. We know without generally general eisenhower and all the others who served, 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 indian rebuilding the nations that were host to the war. My conversation with senator dole did not stop with the world war ii memorial, because i wanted to change the topic. When he told me that the project was underway to build this memorial, this is something that he and senator roberts and kansas wanted to do, i thought i need to be part of this in some way, and of course thats what brings all of us here tonight. To this dedication of this memorial to general eisenhower and i just want to say, speaking tonight about general eisenhower, he is it is a great honor to be here tonight to thank all of the world war ii thats, all the current people serving in uniform. Senator pat roberts, and theyve all helped us get here. This memorial is a great inspiration. A great reminder to all america and to all the great things our nation does, and all the great leaders who lead us here. A special thanks to senator roberts, senator dole and for everyone else is participation in this project so that we can continue to remind ourselves of what we can do. Here is senator dole. I am 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 and he had an integrity. He was decisive, and he spent much of his time in world war ii trying to reconcile the interests 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 he made many, many tough decisions. So im 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 the chief Political Correspondent for fox news. applause good evening. I am brett. Was it wonderful to hear from senator dole tonight . It is a true honor to be here, obviously senator troll, a true senator dole, a true american hero, Public Servant. My job is to cover the news across the u. S. And around the world. I am also a huge fan of general eisenhower our 34th president. So much so, i wrote a book about him. Three days in january, Dwight Eisenhowers final mission. The thing i loved about ike is what has made him so beloved to this day two 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 and deeds, and when the war was over 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. 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 always trusted the American People to be smarter even then their leaders. In 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 here in this memorial. He knew that what made America Great was not its superiority with our weapon systems 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 dock. This is a really special event. We are sorry that it is raining, but it does not take away from this moment. I know i could speak on behalf of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and say that the 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 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 her 34th president. One quick reminder, obviously, for everyone, to keep social distancing, health and safety. We do ask the attendees tonight to practice that and keep your masks on during the event when you are not eating or drinking. Our next speaker is a world renowned 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, which he worked on, actually, as an apprentice. And his most recent is this. The Dwight 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 gary. I am so greatly honored to be part of this effort to memorialize dwight the eisenhower in washington, d. C. To prepare for this formidable task, i studied everything. I Read Everything and i could find on his accomplishments, and they were vast. What a legacy. At first glance, surrounded by traffic and office buildings, but that was it. With the help of many, starting with words of encouragement from and relentless support of the Eisenhower Memorial Commission learned by indomitable senator pat roberts, we got it done. There were sensitivities for sure expressed by many, including the eisenhower family. We listened to all and the result is better. We listened to all and the result is better. For my life this is one of my proudest moments and i regret that i cannot be there with you to enjoy this. Directed by colonel jason, please welcome the president s own United States marine band and their rendition of song of the marching band, an arrangement performed at both the 1953 and 1957 inaugurations for president eisenhower. music music music music music music music music the president s marine band sounds good in any weather. This event wouldnt be possible without the next speaker. Un senator pat roberts is a native from kansas and has been with the Memorial Commission since it inception in 2001. As the senior u. S. Senator of ikes home state, it is only fitting senator roberts joined the effort to build a memorial to honor one of kansass favorite sons. When he took on the role as chairman in 2015. Throughout his life, the senator senator has devoted himself to the citizens of kansas, and on a National Level has been a congress