♪ >> i am not a hero, i just did my job. the real heroes are laying here on the cemeteries. these are our heroes and we should never forget them. [applause] >> distinguished guests, the 46th president of the united states of america, joseph r biden jr. [speaking french] [applause] >> president biden: the hour had nearly come, monday, june 5th, 1944. the evil, which devastated the world. nazi germany subgi gaited europe through brute force, lies and twisted ideology of racial superiority. millions of jews murdered in the holocaust. millions of others killed by bombs, bullets, bloody warfare. hitler and those with him, thought democracies were weak, that the future belonged to dictators. here the coast of normandy, battle between freedom and tyranny would be joined here on that june morning the testing was at hand. president macron, secretary austin, secretary blinken, distinguished guests, most of all our honored veterans who met the test of ages to that moment 80 years ago. 80 years ago today. [applause] >> president biden: on behalf of the american people as commander-in-chief, it is highest honor to be able to salute you here in normandy once more, all of you, god love you. [applause] winston churchill called what happened here "the greatest, most complicated operation ever." after years of planning, operation overlord was ready to la launch, just as soon as weather turned. across the choppy english channel, the supreme commander, dwight eisenhower waited, largest force ever of its kind, men, guns, planes, naval craft of every description waited. the world, captive and free, waited. finally, eisenhower's forecasters said there is a window in the weather. it would open briefly on tuesday the 6th of june. the general weighed the options and gave the order. at dawn, the allies would strike. the great crusade to free europe from tyranny would begin. that night, generalizen hour drove to the english town of new newbury to visit pair troopers, men from all over america, it was estimated that 80% of them would be killed within hours, that was the estimate. they were brave. they were resolute and they were ready. one soldier told generalizen h eisenhour, don't worry, everything will be taken care of. that is what he said. because of courage and resolve, courage and resolve of allies, it was taken care of. from the sea and sky, nearly 160,000 allied troops descended on normandy. many to state the obvious, never came home. many kept is fighting for months until victory was finally won. and a few, notable band of brothers, are here with us today. ken kenneth plane smith is here. he operated a range finder and radar on the first american ship to arrive at normandy's coast, providing direct gunfire support for rangers scaling the cliffs on their daring mission to take out the germans. bob gibeson is here. he landed on utah beach 10 hours after invasion began. bull elts flying everywhere, tracers lighting up the sky. bob drove an m-4 tractor with anti-aircraft con on top, providing protection for infantry against the german air force. on that day and many days after, he continued. ben miller is here, a medic with the 82nd airborne. 3:00 a.m. on june 6, he and 13 other medics flew over the channel in a glider. his wings were ripped off by giant poles germans buried halfway in the ground to stop them from landing. they iscrashed, but they surviv and they did their duty, dragging engine soldiers to safeties, treat ing wounds, saving lives while the battle raged. every soldier who stormed the beach, who dropped by parachute or landed by glider, every sailor who manned the thousands of ships and landing craft, every aviator, all, all were backed by other brave americans, including hundreds of thousands of people of color and women who courageously served despite unjust limitation on what they could do for their nation. lewis brown is here, a truck convey made of african american drivers, they landed on normandy in the wake of d-day. they rushed supplies to rapidly advancing front lines. woody woodhouse is here, members of the tuskegee airmen, who flew during the war. marjorie stone is here, she enlisted in the woman's branch of naval reserve, became an aircraft mechanic, spent the war keeping american planes and pilots in the air. there has always been the story of america just walk the rows of the cemetery as i have, nearly 10,000 heroes buried side by side, officers and enlisted, immigrants and native born, different races, different faiths, but all americans. all serve with honor when america and the world needed them most. many back home did their part, as well. from coast to coast, americans found countless ways to pitch in. they know understood. the men who fought here became heroes, not because they are toughest or fiercest, although they were, but because they were g given an oaudacious mission knowing the probability of dying was real, but they did it anyway. they knew beyond any doubt there are things worth fighting and dying for. freedom is worth it. democracy is worth it. america is worth it. the world is worth. then, now and always. the war in europe did not end for another 11 months, but here the tide turned in our favor. here we proved the forces of liberty are stronger than the forces of conquest. here we proved that the idea of democracy are stronger than any army or combination of armies in the entire world. we proved something else here, as well. the unbreakable unity of the allies. here with us are men who served alongside the americans that day. wearing different flags on their arms, but fighting with the same courage for the same purpose. what the allies did together 80 years ago, far surpassed anything we could have done on our own. was a powerful illustration of how alliances make us stronger, a lesson that i pray we americans never forget. together we won the war, we rebuilt europe including our former enemies, investment in what became shared and a prosperous future. we established nato, the greatest military alliance in the history of the world. and over time -- [applause] >> president biden: you got it, it is. over time we brought more nations in to nato alliance, including newest members, finland and sweden. [applause] >> president biden: today nato stands at 32 countries strong and nato is more united than ever and more prepared to keep the peace, deter aggression, defend freedom around the world. america has invested in a alliances and forged new ones. not out of altruism, out of self-interest, as well. america's unique ability to br bring countries together is undeniable source of strength and power. isolationism was not the answer 80 years ago and it is not the answer today. [applause] >> president biden: we know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago, they never fade. aggression and greed, desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force, these are perennial. the struggle between dictatorship and freedom, it is unending. here in europe, we see one stark example, ukraine, has been invaded by a tyrant bent on domination. ukrainians are fighting with extraordinary courage, suffering great losses, but never backing down. [applause] >> president biden: they have inflictod russian aggression and suffered tremendous loss, russia, numbers are staggering, 350,000 russian troops dead or wounded, nearly one million people left russia, they no longer see future in russia. united states and nato and coalition of 50 countries st standing strong with ukraine. we will not walk away. [applause] >> president biden: if we do, ukraine will be subjigated and it will not end there. ukraine's neighbors will be threatened, all of europe will be threatened and auto accurates of the world are watching closely to see what happens in ukraine. to see if we let this illegal aggression go unchecked. we cannot let that happen. to surrender to bullies, bow down to dictators and simply unthinkable. [applause] >> president biden: were we to do that, it means we would be forgetting what happened here on the hallowed beaches. make no mistake, we will not bow down, we will not forget. let me end with this, history tells us freedom is not free. if you want to know the price of freedom, come here to normandy, come to normandy and look. go to other cemeteries in upper yoo, where fallen heroes rest, go back home to arlington cem cemetery. tomorrow i will pay respect at the point, unchecked tyranny is blood of young and the brave and their generation and their hour of trial, the allied forces of d-day did their duty. now the question for us, in our hour of trial, will we do ours? we living in time democracy more at risk across the world than any point since end of world war ii, since the beaches were stormed in 1944. now we have to ask yourself, will we stand against tyranny, against evil, against crushing brutality of the iron fist. will we stand for freedom, defend democracy? we stand together, my answer is yes, and only can be yes. [applause] >> president biden: we're not far off from the time, last living voices those that fought on d-day will no longer be with us, we have a special obl obligation, we can't allow what happened here to be lost in silence of the years to come. we must honor it and live it and must remember the fact they were heroes here that day does not absolve us from what we have to do today. democracy is never guaranteed, every generation must preserve it, defend and fight for it. that is the test of the ages, in memory of those who fought here, died here, literally saved the world here. let us be worthy of their sacrifice. let us be the generation when histories written about our time in 10, 20, 30, 50, 80 years from now, it will be said, when the moment came, we met the moment, we stood strong. our alliances were made stronger. we saved democracy in our time, as well. thank you very much, may god bless you all. may god protect our troops. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> distinguished guests, in honor of the veterans gathered with us today and those commemorating this hallowed ground, lieutenant commander will read. [speaking non-english] >> detail. attention. center face. >> when a sailor retires, it is traditional a younger service member read the watch. today we want to read the watch for all world war ii veterans here today. both behind us and all around us. 80 years ago, these sailors stood the watch. while some of us were in our bunks at night, these soldiers stood the watch. while some of us were in school learning our trade, marines, airmen, and coasties stood the wa watch. yes, even before some of us were born into this world, the men behind me and their brothers and sisters who lay before me stood the watch. in those years, when the storm clouds of war were seen brewing on the horizon of history, they stood the watch. many times they would cast an eye ashore and see family standing there needing guidance and help. needing that hand to hold in those hard times. but still, they stood the watch. they stood the watch 80 years ago. they stood the watch so that we, our families, and our fellow countrymen and women can sleep soundly and safely each and every night knowing that these veterans stood the watch. today we are here to say, world war ii veterans, the watch stands relieved. relieved by those you have trained, guided and led. american world war ii veterans, you stand relieved. we have the watch. >> arm. [applause] >> center. face. >> distinguished guests, please rise if you are able as we salute those memor lied here and stay standing for the playing of taps and departure of the official party. [speaking noneng -enon-english] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [playing taps] ♪ can [cannon firing] [applause] >> so the president is leaving the stage, so is president macron and martha maccallum is standing by taking this in front and center. we were watching from the couch in new york. martha, your take from the ceremony? >> martha: we just watched intense flyover at the end of the 21-gun salute. i don't think there is a dry eye in the house. missing man formation. think of the pilots who flew the skies and how many were lost in early days of the normandy invasion. it is a very stirring, stirring ceremony here that we have witnessed. we just watched president biden speak forcefully about democracy. he said when it is our turn, will we stand up to tyranny, yes, we will. he called out russia and their invasion of ukraine. much will be said in the analysis about efforts being made to achieve that goal successfully. he said clearly that the allies are strong, that nato is think stro. he talked about addition of f finland and sweden and i think it was message in sync with emmanuel macron. he did not say that europe must join in forceful fashion as the united states because it is so important. i think those are some things we'll talk about in the days and hours to come. >> lawrence: uh-huh. >> ainsley: you've done a great job there, martha, i'm sure it is emotional to be there. we talked about the 21 gun salute, 21 is symbolic, it is sum of 1717, 1 + 7 + 7 plus 6 and tradition stem from naval tradition when war ship signifies lack of hostility it fires until all ammunition is spent. >> brian: pete hegseth is with us and jay johnson. mr. secretary, great to see you both. get your reflection what you witnessed. you have been first hand, your thoughts. >> two thoughts, i will predict at 100% anniversary of this, there will still be veterans alive, somebody will be there, i guarantee you. they will be 120 years old. >> steve: there is tom hanks right there. >> the thing that occurs to me, when you look at the maps with the flow chart of the different military unitses converging from different nations, you wonder could we as a nation today, we're so divided, could we come together for such a common purpose with such determination? i worry about that. i worry whether we'd be able to do that today. what happened 80 years ago was such a tribute to character of our nation. >> lawrence: what do you think it will take for us to come together for a moment like this? >> i used to say a crisis. we had a crisis with covid and we were divided then. these days, in my post-government life, working with the american bar association on how to strengthen and restore democracy and i think a lot of it goes back to basic civics education, what this country is all about, what citizenship means, the responsibilities of being a good citizen. greatest generation understood that. >> brian: same question, pete. >> pete: yes and ashes men. the young sailor said the watch stands relieved. i did not know that. world war ii generation, you did your part, your watch is relieved and now it is on us. that is the question, are we passing that esto thos off, the thrill when you hear 21-gun salute or taps. i'm used to hearing seven rifles, that was three guns, seven shots each. i've stood in iraq hearing a 21-gun salute for a brother of mine. when you hear that, it jars you. you don't have to experience that to understand significance of that. may we pass to next generation to understand significance of that 21-gun salute. take your kids to any cemetery, every town has one and every metropolitan has to a child what looks like forever of crosses and grave markers to give them a sense of what has been paid for them. we can all do that. >> steve: department of homeland security, and general counsel at the air force and department of defense and you have worked with these people and lloyd austin, you work with him. what happened back then, 80 years ago is personal. you have two uncles who were tuskegee airmen. >> yes, and another was in famed golden 13, first black officers in the united states navy. a grandfather who fought in world war i. ancestors that fought in the civil war and american revolutionary war. and my son wears uniform of our nation, as well. >> steve: life of service. >> ainsley: beautiful. >> life of service, i like to think so. >> ainsley: we were watching that video and quotes i wrote down, talking about the boats and when the hatch was opened, they called it higgi, ins boat. help each other and don't get killed. one said my mothers prayers saved me that day and another said they were willing to stand up and not all of them came back. what was most powerful thing watching this, what stands out to you? >> the veterans who were hovering around 100 years old, who were able to stand for the commander-in-chief. how many 100 year olds travel such a distance to be at something like this. that is the most moving. 80 years ago, they were everyday americans from various parts of our country, ordered in to combat, they did not choose that. >> ainsley: pete? >> pete: talk about something that never changes, stick with each other, stay together and don't get killed. the modern fighting man is saying the same thing with brothers in rememberas. when we rolled out whatever formation we rolled out in, that was the mindset. may we have military and nation befitting sacrifice of men we saw there. they did it with far less in intelligence, les preparation and training and a fortified enemy in way we can barely imagine today and did it with courage because they loved the na nation. >> lawrence: how do we take moments like this, we have celebrations, whether the 80th anniversary, memorial day, veteran's day and use as rallying call for that day. how do we take this memory, this celebration, and move it forward to recruitment and getting young men ready. >> pete: i mean, that is on families, on parents, on communities. i'm a big believer in civic ritual. i'm a big believer in parades and ser ceremonies. we made our kids sit out at memorial day ceremony, there were not many kids there. it was not interesting for many kids. one part strikes them, it is meaningful. schools, churches, need to reflect that and push that. in schools, you mentioned in civics, if our kids are not taught the exceptional things these men and women have done, they won't want to stand up. we are being taught we are bad, you can't keep a country when you teach kids that country is evil when it is not. >> one of the many responsibilities at dhs was to naturalize new citizens and always very moving to naturalize somebody who is already wearing uniform of this nation, who signed up for the u.s. military as resident and becoming a citizen after having put on the uniform of our country, what an example. >> pete: i was in charge with my company of helping guys wearing our uniform become citizens and nothing cooler. >> ainsley: that is amazing. >> steve: that is great. >> brian: do you worry about our school system teaching we are an exceptional nation. >> i do worry about that. i got that education in social studies 50 years ago, i was a senior in high school. the basics, our local congressman came to our high school, i thought that was such a huge deal. i do worry about whether or not 17 and own year olds today are getting even the same basic civics education someone on the path to naturalize ation gets. how many americans can name all three branches of government, how many members of the u.s. supreme koufrt there are, how many u.s. senators there are per state, you would be surprised how many do not. >> steve: sad commentary, thank you for joining us. pete's book is number one best selling "war on the warriors" available everywhere. >> lawrence: stay with us, judge jeanine and bill mcgurn are next, we will continue with the wreath laying ceremony. that is next. nexium 24hr prevents heartburn acid for twice as long as pepcid. get all-day and all-night heartburn acid prevention with just one pill a day. choose acid prevention. choose nexium. your best days of the year start here, at kubota orange days. it's the year's biggest selection of kubota tractors, zero-turn mowers and utility vehicles, including the #1 selling compact tractor in the usa. pl