Chair senator pat roberts of kansas. [bugle] it causes my mind to go back to the abiding truths we learned at home, love of god, fairness in human relations, responsibility, concern for the welfare of others, and that each individual could, through his own efforts, achieve a full life. It is the firm duty of each of our citizens to fight and put because of his country before the comforts of himself. We must be ready to give out to our country, for history does not long entrust the care of history to the weak or unwilling. We must be willing to accept as a nation to accept whatever sacrifices must be required of us. A people who values privileges above principle will be dissolved. These men came here to storm these beaches not to gain anything for themselves but just to preserve freedom, systems of selfgovernance in the world. Many thousands died for ideal such as these. But these people gave us a chance, and they bought time for us, so that we can do better than we have before. We must find some way to gain an eternal peace. You and i, my fellow citizens, need to be strong in our faith that all nations under god will reach the goal of peace with justice. We pray that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nations, may have their great human needs satisfied. And that disgorge of poverty, disease, and ignorance will disappear from the earth. And that, in the goodness of time, all people will come to live together in a piece guaranteed by the binding force of Mutual Respect and love. Good evening, and welcome to the dedication ceremony for that dwight d. Eisenhower memorial. For everyones health and safety, please exercise safe social distancing, and ensure that your masks remain on when youre 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 tonight tonights colors. There will be accompanied by the president s owned marine band. The National Anthem will be performed by the celebrated group, voices of service, will be followed by kansas own rachel math, who be presenting her rendition of the pledge of allegiance. Please remain standing for the National Anthem and the pledge of allegiance. Please rise. [military music] [horns, drums] present colors. Oh, say can you see by the dawns early light what so proudly we hailed, at the twilights last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, oer 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. [harmony with soloist] oh, say does that starspangled banner yet wave, oer the land of the free, and the home of the brave. [applause] [static] [roaring sound] [applause] i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. [military band] [horns, drums] thank you to the 177th fighter wing from the new Jersey National guard for providing flyover coverage for this evenings ceremony. To give tonights invocation, we are pleased to have with us u. S. Senate chaplain black. Chaplain black serving in the u. S. Navy for over 27 years and completed his distinguished military career as the chief of navy chaplains. In 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 tonights ceremony, in prayer, here is chaplain black. You may be seated. Let us pray. Oh, 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 and mercy more than life. We praise you that his love for freedom summoned our nation to embrace our best hopes. Thank you, mighty god, for his ability to plant seeds of confidence. To build bridges that help to 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. Granted, that guided by your light, we may reach the light granted 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. Bless this evening our food, fellowship, reflections, and evening, our food, fellowship, reflections, and inspiration we pray in your sovereign name. Amen. To recognize those who made this memorial possible and to acknowledge tonights attendees, please welcome the vice chairman of the commission and the representative of the california fifth Congressional District, mike thompson. Good evening. I am congressman mike thompson, representing californias fifth Congressional District and the 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 inperson 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, d. C. Congress passed the bill to bill creating 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 ceremony, this memorial, 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 establish 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 joe mansion from west virginia. [applause] senator gary peters of michigan. [applause] senator sullivan of alaska. Congressman Sanford Bishop from georgia. From georgias second district. [applause] congressman simpson of idahos second district. [applause] former kansas senator bob dole. [applause] Commission Member alfred jidolic. [applause] Commission Member susan barnes harris, and Commission MemberCatherine Ann stevens. [applause] thank you all for your leadership and devotion to this magnificent project. I would like to acknowledge a few other people with us this evening. Secretary of interior, david bernhardt. Secretary of transportation, elaine chao. And secretary of education, betsy devos. [applause] important pieces of president eisenhowers legacy. Thank you for joining us to celebrate this occasion. Devosank you to secretary in the education department, in the building directly behind me, for being such gracious neighbors throughout the construction process. Pelosi,u, speaker nancy 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 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 malley, for being with us today. Thank you, general. [applause] i also want to recognize Brigadier General robert, representing the marine corps. In colonel michael gove bock of govocavic,l representing the 101st Airborne Division. [applause] thank you both for being here. We are also grateful to have the ambassador of the republic of china, and the deputy chief of mission from italy with us tonight. Thank you for representing your beautiful nations and the support youve shown for this memorial. I would also like to recognize tomas osimsky, the artist and architect who created the incredible tapestry you see behind me. [applause] this oneofakind piece displays the iconic normandy coastline in peactime, 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. Tomas, on behalf of the commission, thank you for your incredible work. [applause] i also want to recognize the Senior Leadership from clark construction, who are here with us. Randy, david, and jared, thank you for your dedication to completing this fantastic memorial. [applause] i also want to recognize alex, kia, and kaden eisenhower, president eisenhowers great grandson and great great grandchildren, here representing the eisenhower family. We also have merle 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 full court press and the voice of americas plugged in, greta van sustern. [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 the members of our military did for us. It is a great night. Tonight, we honor general eisenhower and his spectacular military career. I am sure senator bob dole would want me to mention some of the generals accomplishments, because without this service, this nation, and the world would service, this nation and the world would be a very different place. The general did not stop with the military career which will you will hear about tonight. Like many others, he went on from world war ii and went on to serve the nation in other capacities. He became president. As president , general eisenhower, president eisenhower did incredible things. In 1956, president eisenhower championed the formation of the interstate highway system. Look where that took us all. 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 the moon. In 1954, when the Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in schools, and one Arkansas School district defy the law, it defied the law, it was president eisenhower who sent troops to uphold the Supreme Court decision, fighting segregation. He led us in war, as president , and he let us in no war through fairness and prosperity. Which brings me to another world war ii vet, robert dole. The story does not back to world war ii, before i was born. But it 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 following day the memorial would be dedicated. I had the perfect guest that night, senator robert dole. Senator dole famous for being a member of congress and a Senate Majority leader from kansas, but as a quiet hero himself, he enlisted in world war ii and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant before shipping off to italy. While an while in italy, in april, 1945, was wounded by the machine gun fire as he attempted to rescue a radioman during an assault on enemy position. Soldiers upon seeing the extent of his injury thought all they could do was give him the largest dose of morphine they dared and wrote m on his forehead so nobody else would give him a second fatal dose. His chances of living were slim but he did not give up, he never has. He faced overwhelming odds while spending many years in a military hospital. For his military service to his nation, to all of us, robert dole was decorated three times, two purple hearts for his injuries and a bronze star for attempting to rescue the a downed radioman. When i said to him, i said, how did this come about . We were just 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 reaped all of the benefits of all of the sacrifices of general eisenhower and world war ii vets, including senator dole, had not raised the money for the monument when we were the ones who owed a great thanks to him and everyone else who fought there. We know that without 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 in the end, rebuilding the nations that were host to the war. My conversation with senator dole didnt stop at the world war ii memorial. I wanted to change the topic. When he told me that the project was under way to build this memorial, something he and senator roberts of kansas wanted to do, i thought, i need to be part of this in some way. And, of course, thats what brings us here tonight, to this dedication of this memorial to general eisenhower. Speaking tonight about general eisenhower is a great honor, and it is a great honor to be here tonight to thank all of the world war ii vets, all of the current people serving in uniform, senator pat roberts, and they all helped us get here. This memorial to general eisenhower, a great inspiration, great reminder to all america and to all the great things our nation does, and all the great leaders who led us here. A special thanks to senator roberts, senator dole, and everyone else who participated in the project, so we can continue to remind ourselves of what we can do. Here is senator dole. I am sorry that i could not 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, 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, and because of his brilliant approach, we won world war ii, and then eisenhower moved on. He became a Great American president. Eight years of peace and prosperity. And he made many, many tough decisions. So i am very proud to be from kansas, not from abilene but not very far away, and i am very 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. Wasnt it wonderful to hear from senator dole tonight . It is a true honor to be here. Obviously, senator dole, a true american hero, Public Servant. My day job is to cover the news across the u. S. And across the world, but i am also a huge fan of general eisenhower, our 34th president. In fact so much so i wrote a book about him, three days in january, Dwight Eisenhowers final mission. The thing i loved about him is what has made him so beloved to this day 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 an extraordinary duties and deeds. And when the war was over, he was humble about it. He realized 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. Than their leaders. And his own personal code was to associate with and learn from people who knew more than he did. Throughout his lifetime, he 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 dog. This is a special event. We are sorry that it is raining, but it doesnt take away from this moment. I know i could speak on behalf of the eisenhower Memorial Commission, and say that this ceremony wouldnt be the same if it were not for all of you here tonight and all that youve done. Whether you are here inperson 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, for everyone to keep social distancing, health, and safety. They do ask of 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 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 idylwild, california, 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 inperson, but he did provide a recorded greeting. So please welcome frank gehry. Frank what a day today. 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 did not seem great, surrounded by traffic and off