humanity. that's the ideology to subjew gate and hue mill yate and perpetrated matter murder on a massive scale. it was evil. the nations that joined together to defeat hitler's rush were not perfect. they made their share of mistakes. had not always agreed with one another on every issue. but whatever god we pray to, whatever our differences, we knew that the evil we faced had to be stopped. citizens of all faiths and of no faith came to believe that we could not remain as buy standers to the savage perptration of death and destruction. and so we joined and sent our

sons to fight and often die so that men and women they never met might know what it is to be free. . . >> bombers and fighter planes rolled off the assembly lines and ohio and kansas, where my grandmother did her part as an inspector. shipyards produced the largest fleet in history, including the lading clout from new orleans that made it here to omaha. -- including the landing craft

from new orleans. despite all the planning and preparation, despite the inspiration of our leaders, at the skill of our generals, the strength of our firepower and the unyielding support from our home front, the outcome of the entire struggle will ultimately rest on the success of one day. lyndon johnson once said that there are certain moments when history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. the-day was such a moment. -- d-day was such a moment. one newspaper noted we have come to the hour for which we were born. the allies failed pierre, hitler's occupation of this continent might have continued indefinitely. -- if the allies failed here, hitler's occupation of this continent might have continued

indefinitely. it made possible the achievements that followed the liberation of europe, the marshall plan, the nato alliance, the prosperity that flowed from each. it was a noble then, but so much of the progress that would define the progress then -- it wasunknowable then, it came down to the battle for a slice of beach only 6 miles long. nor particularly it came down to the man who landed here. those who now rest in this place for eternity, and those who are with us here today. perhaps more than any other reason, you, the veterans of america are why we still remember what happened on d-day. you are why we keep coming back. for you remind us that in the end, human destiny is not

determined by forces beyond our control. you remind us that our future is not shaped by chance or circumstance. our history has always been the sum total of the choices made and actions taken by each individual man and woman. it has always been up to us. you could have done what hitler believed you would do when you arrived here. in the face of a merciless assault from these clips, you have all the boats offshore, made a brush of bullets that lit the night sky. you could have hit in the hedgerows were way behind the sea wall -- or waited behind the sea wall. but that is not what you did. that is not a story you told on d-day.

your story was written by men like zane who parachuted into a dark marsh far from his objective and his men, lost and alone, he still managed to fight his way through the gunfire and helped liberate the town where a street now bears his name. it is a story written by men like anthony, an army ranger who saw half the men on his landing craft drown when it was hit by fire just 1,000 yards of this speech. he spent three hours in freezing water and was one of only 90 rangers to survive out of the 225 who were sent to scale the cliffs. as the story written by summoning no longer with us, by carlton baret. he was only supposed to serve for a guide for the first infantry decision, but became

one of its heroes. after wading ashore in deep water, he returned to the water again and again to save his drowning, rents. under the heaviest possible enemy fire, he carried them to safety. he carried them in his own arms. this is the story of the allied victory. it is the legend of units like easy company and the all american 82nd. it is the tale of the british people whose courage during the blitz forced hitler to call off the invasion of england, the canadians who came even though they were never attacked, the russians to sustain some of the worst casualties on the eastern front. and all those french men and women who would have rather died resisting tyranney than live within its grasp. it is the memories that have

been passed on to some of us about the service for sacrifice of a friend or relative. for me, it is my grandfather who arrived on this speech six weeks after d-day and marched across europe and patton's army. it is my great uncle who was part of the first american division to reach and to liberate a nazi concentration camp. his name ispaine and i am proud he is with us today. -- his name is charles panie. for those of you who make it, there is nothing that can keep you away. one says veteran, a man named jim noreen, was a member of the 502nd infantry division of the 101st airborne. last night after visiting the cemetery one last time he passed away in his sleep. jim was gravely ill when he left

his home and new he might not return. but just as he did 65 years ago, he came anyway. making the rest in peace with the boys he once led with. and made his family always find solace in the heroism he showed here. in the end, and jim came back to normandy for the same reason we'll come back. he came for the reason articulated by howard hubner, another. shubert here with us today. when asked why he made the trip, howard said it is important we tell our stories. it does not have to be something big. just a little story about what happened, so people don't forget. so people don't forget. friends and veterans, we cannot forget. what we must not forget is that d-day was a time and place where

the bravery and selflessness of a few was able to change the course of an entire century. within an hour of maximum danger, it made belleek circumstances, men who thought themselves ordinary found within themselves the ability to do something extraordinary. -- amid bleek circumstances, men found the ability to do something extraordinary. they fought out of a simple sense of duty, and sustained by the same ideals for which their countrymen had once fought for over two centuries. that is the story of normandy, but also the story of america, of the minutemen who gathered on a green in lexington, of the union voice from maine who repelled a charge of gettysburg, of the man who gave their last full measure of devotion.

of all the young men and women whose goodness and valor still carry forward this service of sacrifice. it is a story that has never come easy, but one that always gives us hope. as we face these hardships of maritime and arrive at that hour for which we were born, we cannot help but draw strength from those moments in history when the best among us were somehow able to swallow their fears and secure a beach head on an unforgiving short. to those men who cheat that victory 65 years ago -- to those men who achieved that victory, may god bless you and god bless the memory of all those to rest here. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, four of the normandy veterans story with us today will be awarded the legion of honor in recognition of their efforts and bravery. the legion of honor is france's highest decoration. it was created by napoleon bonaparte in 18 02. today's recipients will be awarded the order of officer of the legion of honor. >> [speaking french]

♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the presentation of the leader of honor zane of the united states, jack woods of the united kingdom. military personnel, attention to orders. [speaking foreign language] [applause]

[speaking foreign language] [applause] [speaking foreign language] [applause] [speaking foreign language] [applause] ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, president obama, his royal highness, the prince of wales, prime minister brown, prime minister harper and president sarkozy will now lay a wreath at the memorial in honor of those who served and those who made the supreme sacrifice. [speaking french]

>> ladies and gentlemen, we will now observe a moment of silence for our fallen brothers. [speaking french]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please rise for a 21 gun salute, the plane of taps and a flyover by the french, british, and u.s. air forces. [speaking french] [gun shots]

[gun shots] [gun ahots] [gun shots] ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. >> [speaking french] >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in place until the official party has parted the ceremonial area. >> [speaking french] ♪

>> will the military escorts please come forward to escort the veterans back to the vip tense -- as for the veterans back to the vip tents? guests, please delay your departure to allow veterans to depart. again, the guests allow or delay your departure to allow veterans to depart. family members, you can meet your veterans at the vip tents. family members, you can meet the veterans at the vip tents. again, ladies and gentlemen, please remain in place until the official party has departed the ceremonial area. thank you. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> will be veterans plea exit to the left? will the veterans please exit left? ladies and gentlemen, please make room so we can get the veterans of the stage and over to the comfort of the vip tents? please allow a little room for the veterans. >> president obama and european leaders wrapping up ceremonies and colleville-sur-mer, france at the 65th anniversary of the d-state lands at normandy beach. -- 65th anniversary of the d- day. the president saying the lesson of d-day is don't forget actions

that they changed the course of a century and we cannot forget. we must not forget. the president and first lady, michelle obama, also marking the anniversary by laying a wreath at the site at normandy. later today, the president will travel back to paris and return to washington tomorrow. if you missed any of our coverage of this ceremony, we will reiterate today on c-span starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern. earlier today, president obama and nicolas sarkozy met in an informal setting, and afterwards answered questions from the media from the middle east peace process, or three's nuclear weapons and the policy towards iran. this is about 35 minutes. >> i would like to say to the president of the united states of america how proud france is to welcome him. for the second time this year. this afternoon we will be

talking about these ceremonies and the commemoration of the d- day landing, but i want to say in the strongest, most sincere terms that never in the history of our two countries, the united states and france, have been so close to one another on major issues, major questions. i said to be president -- i said to the president that we are determined to help him in his decision to close down guantanamo. i told president barack obama to what extent we support his open outstretched hand initiative to russia. we approved and endorsed this policy. i said to the president that we totally agreed with him on the israeli and palestinian issue.

two states that need to live alongside one another, an israeli state, whose security we are very attached to and is secure palestinian state. and to what extent we support american diplomacy when it requested a stop be put to settlements. on the iranian matter, i have said this very frank to the iranian foreign secretary. how important it is that he'd taken the extra japan by president obama -- that he take the outstretched hand by president obama. france and the united states are totally aligned on this. we cannot in any way except the insane statements made by president ahmadinejad on north

korea. -- on north korea we have total convergence with the american presidents and of course france is delighted to have fully reintegrated nato, as i said to the american president. so it is a pleasure to work with barack obama. we work regularly together. he knows that france is a friend of the united states. we basically are coordinated on all issues and hope to continue that. barack obama, welcome. welcome to your family. >> it is wonderful to be back in france, particularly on this day, because this day marks not only the triumph of freedom, but it also marks have the

transatlantic alliance has allowed for extraordinary prosperity and security on both sides of the atlantic. the fact that france fully reintegrated into nato this year under president sarkozy's leadership is just one further indication of the degree to which u.s., french cooperation can help to underpin not only security in europe, but also a more secure and prosperous world beyond europe. i very much appreciated president sarkozy's leadership on a whole range of issues. he mentioned a number of them. france's leadership within europe in understanding the need for us to have tough diplomacy

with the iranians, to reach out to them, but also insist we cannot afford a nuclear arms race in the middle east. our close collaboration on a whole host of issues with russia. france's willingness to accept a guantanamo detainee, but more broadly to help us as we want to deal with the terrorist threat, but do so in a way consistent with our values and ideals. the assistance that all nato allies as well as others are providing in helping to bring about a more peaceful and democratic afghanistan. on all of these issues, president sarkozy has not just