This is the story of the first infantry division, the red one fighting the war grew from dday, north africa to ve day, germany. All combat pilot is now for occupation duty. Ludlow eight campaign and three amphibious landing. But youre not the far back at the revolution. To preserve the union in the civil war or in combat in world war one, when all units were combined into a regular army division. Regiment 41, they came from world walks of life, a new generation of recruits. Boy, do i remember them first. Guys who we learned quickly enough that from that rugged training we got here in over three still, when we left england in 42, we felt pretty good at a swell peak. Barry allen a frightening general. We like him and he liked that. So the outfit relaxed at the front. Hill on a chilly november dawn and the north africa out there in the dark. We knew action was for everyone in the wait. I dont know which was cold or water or the feeling in my stomach when they opened up on. In three days the rain was odd. Need three. We thought we knew what war with like. But jerry thought its different when. We die from it. Thanks those early. 88 going, we got our work their way through. Flunked out of the nazarene but we learned that war started to teach. Jerry a few things that ann arbor. We ran way back to and ronald wrote it all gets up when we throw up it back then plan to the in then we fly not the mature. Nor. Mines, walls of machine gun. It was a nightmare war. Artillery, hidden mines, walls of machine gun fire. Meanwhile. When we shook hands it was over. After tunisia the crazy rumor got around that we were going to load the boats for home. We loaded on boats all right. It was no place like home. This time the beach was rough. After we broke through it took 18 towns and 37 days. We had to stop and slug it out in the mountains. After 21 yes 21 it looked like this. We won all right, but we paid. After that they sent us back england. Our new general put us through the hoops again. This speech we knew was going to be the payoff, the biggest show of all. We went out on june 6, 1944. Normandy with we were getting some artillery, mortar, machine gun fire like i never think of omaha as a big town in nebraska, not anymore. It was a piece of beach in normandy where men got killed. Eight days close to being rained out. They yelled get off the beach. We got the off and ran into hedge growth where they set up using the hedge growth. Like a chinese, we found out the next was loaded. We had to digging all the time for cover. If you didnt. In a weeks time we plowed our way to , where we waited for the other outfit to come up on our flanks. The french were tickled to see them getting licked by plane americans. We got a chance to clean up. It had to be short. It came on july 25th missing the whole air got in on it. Threw. Patton running all the fourth and ninth divisions opened up. Patents tanks went running all over. It was the boys who did the cleaning up. Combat engineers took up minds like cabbages. They cleared away roadblocks. In all that time the infantry kept coming along for the final kill. They were slugging and slogging, shooting march, grab and eat why you height, see rations and a lot of dust. That is what the schoolbooks called victorias pursuit. Eating dust even when you were on a truck you ate dust. It was a of a way to see france. We drove clear across france. We rolled across the belgian border, we tied, and we kept scooping them up all the way to the line. We cracked it in three days. We were in hitlers backyard. It looked like the final round was coming up. We did some preparing. Hitler decided to hold out an army. Gave them a slogan. They were fighting for the honor of the National Socialist german army he said. House to house, four weeks. We had a slogan. No mission to difficult no sacrifice to great duty first. The payoff our slogan had more punch. We clean them out house by house, street by street. On the 21st of all over, what was left of it, they surrendered. But we had not seen the worst yet. When it. Hurt can really bring down the outfit. But we cleaned out jerry then general landreth paid all this out for our hitler really trimmed down the outfit. General andrews pulled us out for first rest in six months. You would not believe it. Even when we got back to belgium it was too good to last. It didnt. Hitler shot the works with one last gamble. Back in the line we went to hold the northern shoulder. Mean weather, then us counterattacking for keeps. When we got going again after the bowls we found the rhine river ahead of us. The ninth armored grab the weird looking ridge and we got over fast. After that we just threw away the rakes and kept rolling. We plowed right through the belly of germany. They told us in may the war was over. You know where we were . Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia. And brother were we tired. They call the infantry the queen of battle dont ask me why. They are not pretty but they are real men. October 28, 1929 is remembered as black monday with the Dow Jones Industrial average continued following at a star stock market crash that led to billions of dollars lost and the great depression. Vertex in the nuremberg trials where leading officials were handed down on all over first, 1956 the trial culminated in 19 defendants being convicted of charges including crimes against humanity. 12 were sentenced to death, three others acquitted. On october 1619 62 the cuban missile crisis began when the u. S. Discovered Nuclear Missile sites under construction in cuba. For 13 days president kennedy and his administration navigated the confrontation with Nikita Khrushchev and the soviet military. After tense negotiations a diplomatic resolution was reached and the soviets agreed to dismantle in cuba. The path we have chosen in the present is full of hazards as all pouts are. It is the one most consistent with our character and courage as a nation and our commitment around the world. The cost of freedom is always high. Americans have always paid it. One path we shall never choose that is the path to surrender her not peace at the expense of freedom, but piece of freedom and we hope around the world wane 2023 American Battlefield trust annual conference here in franklin, tennessee. We really appreciate you all coming out here and being a part of