spread. knew only thence blinders of fear begin to taste freedom. none of that would have happened without the men who were willing to lay down their lives for people they had never met and ideals they could not live without. none of it would have happened without the troops president roosevelt called the lifeblood of america, the hope of the .orld barely more than boys at home, who turned -- return home heroes. to their great credit. war, some put away their medals.

they were quiet about their service, moved on. some, carrying shrapnel and harder.ound it was much many, like my grandfather, who served in patton's army, lived a quiet life, trading one uniform and set of responsibilities for another. a teacher or a salesman or a doctor or an engineer a dad a grandpa. our country made sure millions of them earned a college education, opening up opportunity on an unprecedented scale. the bottom homes and raise families and build businesses, lifting up the greatest the class the world has ever known. -- middle class the world has ever known. through it all, they were

inspired, i suspect, by memories , memoriesbrothers that drove them to live their lives each day as best as they possibly could. whatever the world makes you cynical, stop and think of these men. , stop andou lose hope think of these men. , who of wilson caldwell was told he could not pilot a plane without a high school degree so he decided to jump out of a plane instead and he did here on d-day with the 101st airborne, when he was just 16 years old. of a jewish son of russian immigrants who fudged his age so he could join his friends in the fight. don't worry, the statute of

limitations has expired. he came ashore at utah beach. back, wehe has come said he could have anything he wants for lunch today. he said a hamburger will do fine. what's more american than that? think of the man who sought a recruitment poster asking him if he was man enough to be up very , so he -- a paratrooper signed up on the spot. that decision landed him here with a regiment that would suffer heavy casualties. 70 years later, it is said that all across for bragg they know rock. 91-year-old rock merit still spends his time speaking

to the young men and women of the army. whenever the world makes you doubt thatenever you courage and goodness as possible, stop and think of these men. wilson and harry and rock, there here today. i know we already give them a rousing round of applause along with all our veterans of d-day, if you can stand, please stand, let us recognize your service once more. men sacrificed so that we might be free, they fought in hopes of the day when we would no longer need to fight. we are grateful for them. [applause]

gentlemen, i want each of you to know that your legacy is in good hands. and a time when it has never been more tempting to pursue narrow self-interest, to slough off common endeavor, this generation of americans, new generation of men and women have chosen to do their part as well. know thatnt you to there are those following in your footsteps. born in honduras, moved to the united states, joined the army.

after chores in iraq and afghanistan, suri cruise reassigned to the 82nd airborne. sunday, he will parachute into normandy. iraq andtours in afghanistan, he was reassigned to the 82nd airborne. sunday, he will parachute into normandy. rodriguez janice joined the army two years ago and was assigned to the 101st airborne. the women of today's military have taken on today's responsibilities including combat like never before. [applause] i want each of you to know that their commitment to their fellow service members and veterans endures.

sergeant first class brian hawthorne's grandfather served under patton and mccarthy. brian served two tours in iraq, earning the bronze star in baghdad. brian is here to participate in sunday's job. -- jump. he reenlisted in the army reserve just yesterday. 9/11generation, this generation of service members, they too felt something, they answered some call, they said i will go. they too chose to serve a cause that is greater than self. even after they knew they would be sent into harms way. for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour. served 10.rg has he sat with my wife michelle at

the state of the union address. it was here on the 65th anniversary of d-day were i first met him and his fellow army rangers, right after they made their own jump into normandy. wasnext time i saw him, he in the hospital, unable to speak or walk after an ied nearly killed him in afghanistan. over the past five years, he has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. me,first words he said to rangers lead the way. [applause] they have come back today, we

thank them for their service. they are a reminder that the tradition represented by these gentlemen continues. we are on this earth for only a moment in time. us have parents and grandparents to tell us about what the veterans of d-day did 70 years ago. one,was landing on marine told my staff, i don't think there is a time when i miss my grandfather more come on i would be more happy to have him here than this day. we have to tell their stories for them. best to upholdur

the values that they were prepared to die for. we have to honor those who carry forward that legacy, recognizing that people cannot live in freedom unless free people are prepared to die for it. end,day's wars come to an this generation of servicemen and women will step out of uniform and they will both families and lives of the round. they will become leaders in commerce,unities, and industry, and perhaps politics. the leaders we need for the beachheads of our time. god willing, they will grow old and the land they hope -- helped to keep free. generations,future whether 70 or 700 years hence, will gather at places like this to honor them. and to say that these were generations of men and women who proved once again that the united states of america is and

will remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. may god bless our veterans and all who served with them, including those who rest here in eternal peace. and may god bless all who serve today for the peace and security of the world. the god bless the people of france and may god bless our united states of america. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, president hollande and president obama will lay a wreath in honor of those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice to liberate europe. please now observe a moment of silence.

>> ladies and gentlemen rise for a 21 gun salute and a flyover by the united states air force f-15s.

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>> ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats to ndesident hollande am president obama thanked veterans and then move to the observation point at omaha beach. an announcement will be made when the ceremony has ended. ♪

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>> lady vengeance a man, please stay seated. gentlemen, please stay seated.

>> ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's ceremony. thank you for attending. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> and a live look here from the american cemetery and memorial. omaha beach for today's events 70thng the anniversary of d-day. we are president obama and president hollande speak. we may see be president's helicopter take off. we will have more live coverage of today's events marking the d-day.niversary of president obama heads to the international ceremony marking the anniversary. that takes place about 40 miles to the used, close to another

allied landing at sward beach. we will have live coverage of that ceremony at 8:30 a.m. eastern on our companion network, c-span2. >> a couple of live events to tell you about. and thoughtscalls on today's ceremony. that is that 8:30. our guest is, stevens album, and "washington journal" is coming up live on c-span at 7:00 a.m. eastern. if you missed any of the ceremony we just covered, you can watch about arles video library at c-span.org and throughout today's events. we invite your thoughts on the 70th anniversary of d-day. you can weigh in at facebook.com/cspan, or on twitter #cspanchat.

yesterday on the senate floor, republican senator jerry moran of kansas talks about the d-day anniversary and the nation's debt to veterans. here are his remarks. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. i certainly appreciate the remarks of the -- my colleague, the senator from texas, in regard to honoring those who served our country so nobly and so courageously 70 years ago, as we recognize this weekend the anniversary of that invasion of europe called d-day. we have many veterans in our country, many military men and women who continue to serve and many who now are veterans and have served in the past, and we are -- i'm here today to pay tribute not only to those d-day military men and women and those who served our country on such a special occasion in which the course of history was changed,

but also to pay tribute to all of those who have served our country in all circumstances. mr. president, i'm not a veter veteran. i have great regard for those who are. my life is shaped by the fact that the vietnam war was ongoing during my days as a high school student, and much of my time was spent talking to those a few years older than i who were volunteering or who were drafted and those who were even a little bit older than that who returned home after service in vietnam. i clearly remember as a 16, 17-year-old watching the evening news, ""cbs evening news" with walter cronkite "" and every day the news was consumed with reports from vietnam, the consequences that we found ourselves in and the sacrifice that men and women were make on tha --were making on that battld every day.

again, i didn't serve in vietnam but i learned a couple of things from my time observing our country and seeing the sacrifice and service of those who were willing to serve in that war. mr. president, one of the things that i take from that experience is that we will always honor, care for, respect those who serve our country in its military in whatever circumstance they've been called to duty. mr. president, it was a month ago that i was on the floor in this spot concerned about the department of veterans affairs and the way that our veterans were currently being treated, and i asked for the dramatic step of the secretary of the department of veterans affairs to submit his resignation and for president obama to accept it. as i indicated a month ago, that

was the first and only time as a united states senator that i've ever asked a cabinet secretary to depart his or her position and i didn't do it lightly. but what had transpired, what has transpired over a period of time is a department of veterans affairs that many veterans no longer believe are capable of caring for them and, in fact, what was so discouraging and disappointing to me was the number of veterans, men and women who served our country, who had lost faith, who had lost hope in the department of veterans affairs. that department was created in 1930 for purposes of providing the benefits and health care, supporting those who called to duty, those who responded to their country's call. and i certainly know that throughout the time, the course of history that the department of veterans affairs has had its challenges.

but what seems so compelling to me over the last several years is the sense that no longer was there a plan, no longer was there the effort to make certain that that department lived up to its commitment to those who previously served our country. a lot's transpired in the last month and there's now an acting secretary of the department of veterans affairs and, of course, we have reports from across the country of secret lists, concerns about waiting times and the potential of servicemen and women, veterans who have suffered as a result of those lists, as a result of having to wait. and i guess we will know more about that over the course of time. i'm surprised and disappointed to learn that kansas hospitals, kansas facilities, the v.a. hospital in wichita is on that list, where investigations are now ongoing and where the

department of veterans affairs has admitted to a list that delayed access to health care. i would not have expected that in our state. i think we're different, we're special. but the reality is, this challenge that we face and the problems that are there are systemwide and across the country. what we want here is a department of veterans affairs that is worthy of the sacrifice and service of the men and women who served in our military. we don't want damage control from the department of veterans affairs, and what we want is the end of damage to those who served our country.the purpose of my conversation on the floor today is to make certain that we don't lose sight. the news cycle comes and goes, and while there are serious issues that our country faces in many facets, i don't want this senate to lose sight of its responsibility to make certain

that the department of veterans affairs is caring for those who need our care and treatment. and, mr. president, i'm worried and i hope that my worries are unfounded. i've only served in the senate for four years. i've been frustrated by being a member of the united states senate. i came here to accomplish things on behalf of americans, on behalf of kansans. and my plea is, my plea is to the democrat leaders, to the republican leaders, to individual senators, whatever party they are, let's not follow the path that we have followed so many times in the short period of time that i've been here in which there's a republican plan to fix a problem and there's a democrat plan to fix a problem. surely our veterans deserve something more than each of us being able to say we cast a vote for their benefit. surely they deserve the opportunity to actually have legislation that will address the challenges and problems at

the department of veterans affairs -- that the department of veterans affairs has. my plea and my request of all in this body is for these veterans, is to make certain that we conduct ourselves in a different way than unfortunately i've seen in most instances as a united states senator. we have this phrase around here, "well, we'll get a side-by-side," meaning that there's a democrat plan and a republican plan. and when you talk about that, what that means is that we never expect either one of those plans to pass. and so to the chairman and ranking member of the senate veterans' affairs committee, to senator reid, the majority leader of the united states senate, please, take us down a path that demonstrates once again the senate can rise to the occasion and do something worthy of the veterans who have served our country. every once in awhile in this

frustration about the way this place doesn't work, i'll put on my running shoes and i'll walk down to the lincoln memorial. and it's an inspiring visit certainly to the lincoln memorial, but perhaps more importantly is on that walk, you now go by the world war ii memorial that memorializes those that the senator from texas was talking about on d-day. you then walk by the vietnam wall, the war that was ongoing in my teenage years. on your way back, you come by the korean war memorial, the forgotten war. what i'm reminded and what i would call to the attention of my colleagues is not a person recognized in any of those memorials volunteered or drafted for purposes of advancing the cause of the republican party or the democrat party. there was no interest in partisan politics by those who served our country.

they served their country because they believed in a higher calling. they believed they could make a difference. they believed that it mattered to their kids and grandkids. it was about freedom and liber liberty. it wasn't about who scores points in the next election. please, leaders of the united states senate, all of my colleagues, make certain that we rise to the occasion, that we have the same standard, the same motivation, the same reason that we come here every day be the same as theirs -- to make america a better place, to make sure our kids and grandkids live with freedom and liberty, to make sure the american dream is alive and well. and if there is an issue that we ought to be able to do that, an issue perhaps different than anything else we deal with, surely we have the ability as a united states senate to deal with the issues necessary legislatively to resolve and address the problems of the

department of veterans affairs and to make certain that every veteran has the service -- who has served our count country hae ability to access the health carely and health care that's quality and provided in a timely fashion -- health care care that's timely and quality and provided in a timely fashion and that once again the united states senate doesn't do what it's done too many times and that is we all cast a vote and we can claim we've done something, we supported something, but the end result is that nothing happened. let's avoid nothing happening. mr. president, finally, let me conclude by saying that that world war ii memorial is special to me. i have a 98-year-old father home in plainville, kansas, a world war ii veteran. i walked up to the world war ii memorial 10 years ago as just a few days before it was being dedicated. and i wanted to see what it was going to look like.

it was an inspiring moment. i happened to have my cell phone with me and i walked over to the kansas pillar and thought about those who've served our country in that war, including my dad back home. i walked away from the memorial and used my cell phone to call my dad at home. the message i delivered to my dad that day was, "dad, i'm at the world war ii memorial. it's a memorial built for you. dad, i want you to know that i thank you for your service, i respect you and i love you." that event, that conversation fortunately took place on an answering machine -- unfortunately took place on an answering machine, not in person. it was easier to deliver. although i would tell you that my dad a few minutes later, my cell phone rang and my dad said,

"gerald, you left me a message but i couldn't understand it. could you tell me again." the point i want to make is, we are called upon as american citizens, certainly as members of the united states senate, to do all the things that we can do to demonstrate that we thank our veterans for their service, we respect them, and we love them. the senate needs to rise to the occasion and not let the partisan politics of this place and this country divide us in a way in which we only symbolically respond but the end result is that we failed those who served and we failed our veterans who depend upon us just as we depended upon them for their service to our country.

mr. president, i yield the flo >> that was kansas senator jerry d-daytalking about anniversary, the nation's debt to veterans. here on c-span, we are marking d-day from the world war ii memorial on the mall with your calls and thoughts on today's anniversary. that is at 8:30. prior to that on today's "washington journal," focus on president obama's three country, four-day trip to europe. our guess is the executive director of the transatlantic academy. you can watch "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern. that is about half an hour away. with more live coverage marking the 70th anniversary of d-day. president obama is next heading to the international ceremony marking the anniversary. that is taking place about 40 ands away from omaha beach

the american cemetery and memorial. the president not excited to speak. you'll be in attendance. french president francois hollande will be speaking there. we will have live coverage of that ceremony at 8:30 a.m. eastern on our companion network . meanwhile, today's events, we invite your thoughts on this 70th anniversary of d-day. you can weigh in at facebook or twitter using #cspanchat. about a half an hour away again, "washington journal" coming up. a little earlier, the president spoke at the american cemetery and memorial, which overlooks omaha beach. we will show you his remarks. peopleident hollande,

of france, friends, family, our veterans. if prayer were made of sounds, the skies over england that i would have destined the world -- that night would have deafened the world. captains tap their decks, pilots men poured over maps, fully aware that for all the marks of meticulous planning , everything could go wrong. tieddes, thee element of surprise, and above all, the audacious but that what waited on the other side of the channel would compel men not to shrink away but to charge ahead.

gi's rubbish trinkets, and kissed pictures of sweethearts, check and recheck their equipment. one, give me guts. hours,the predawn es rumble down runways, gliders and paratroopers slipped through the ,ky, giant screws began to turn and more than 150,000 souls set off toward this tiny sliver of sand upon which on more than the but rather the

course of human history. hollande,all distinguished guests, i am honored to return here today to pay tribute to the minute women of a generationan who defied every danger, and gentlemen we are truly humbled by your presence here today. [applause]

[applause] just last week, i received a citizen.om a french dear mr. president and the american people, he wrote, we are honored to welcome you, to thank you again for all the pain and efforts of the american in our commoners struggle for freedom. say the same to the people of france. thank you.

especially for the generosity that you should have shown the americans that have come here over the generations to these sacred placeo this of rest for 9387 americans. at the end of the war, when our ships set off for america, tens of thousands of liberated europeans turned out to say farewell. they pledged to take care of the more than 60,000 americans who would remain in cemeteries on this continent. in the words of one man, we will take care of the fallen as if their tombs were our children's. and the people of france, you

have kept your word like the true friends you are. we are forever grateful. [applause] here we don't just commemorate victory, as proud of the victory as we are. we don't just honor sacrifice, as grateful as the world is. we come to remember why america and our allies gave so much for the survival of liberty at this moment of maximum peril. we come to tell the story of the men and women who did it, so that it remains seared into the memory of a future world.

we tell this story for the old soldiers who pulled themselves a little straighter today to salute brothers who never made it home. we tell the story for the daughter who clutches the faded of her photo, forever young. for the child who runs his fingers over colorful ribbons, hey no signify something of great consequence, even if he does not fully understand why. we tell this story to bear what witness we can when the boys of america reached omaha beach. by daybreak, blood soaked the water, bombs broke the sky, thousands of paratroopers had dropped into the wrong landing

sites, thousands of rounds bit into flesh and sand, entire companies worth of men fell in minutes. hells beach had earned its name. by 8:30 a.m., general omar bradley expected our troops to be a mile inland. six hours after the landing, we "we held only 10 yards of beach." in this age of instant commentary, the invasion would have swiftly and roundly been declared a debacle. but such a race to judgment would not have taken into account the courage of free men. success may not come with rushing speed, president roosevelt would say that night, but we shall return again and again. paratroopers fought through the countryside to find one another. rangers pulled themselves over

those cliffs to silence nazi guns. to the west, americans took utah beach with relative ease. to the east, the british tore through the coast. fueled by the fury of attacks. the canadians, whose shores had not been touched by war, drove far into france. and here, at omaha, troops who finally made it to the seawall used it as a shelter, where a general barnes, if you are rangers, lead the way. by the end of that longest day, this beach had been fought, lost, re-fought and won. a piece of europe once again, liberated and free.

hitler's wall was breached, letting loose patton's army to pour into france. within a week, the world's bloodiest beach had become the world's busiest port. within a month, one million allied troops thundered through normandy into europe. one pilot said it looked as if the very crust of the earth had shaken loose. the arc de triumph lit up for the first time in years. and parents was punctuated by shouts of viva la france. [applause] -- and paris was punctuated by shots of viva la france. [applause] of course even as we gather at

normandy, we remember that freedom's victory is made possible by so many others who wore america's uniform. to use before he committed -- two years before he committed the armies eisenhower's troops , through north africa. three times before d-day, our gi's stormed the beaches of sicily, salerno. divisions like the fighting 36 bawled their way through italy, fighting through the mud for months, marching through towns past waving children before opening the gates to rome. as the dog faces marched to victory in europe, the devil dogs, the marines clawed their way from island to island in the pacific in some of the war's fiercest fighting. back home, an army of women, including my grandmother, rolled up their sleeves to help build a mighty arsenal of democracy.

it was here on these shores that the tide was turned in the common struggle for freedom. what more powerful manifestation of america's commitment to human freedom than the sight of wave after wave after wave of young men boarding those boats to liberate people they had never met. we say it now as if it could not be any other way, but in the annals of history, the world had never seen anything like it. when the war was won, we claims ed no spoils of victory. we helped europe rebuild. we claimed no land, other than the earth where we buried those who gave their lives and where we stationed those who still serve.

america's claim, our commitment to liberty, our claim to equality, our claim to freedom, and to the inherent dignity of every human being, that claim is written in the blood on these beaches. it will endure for eternity. normandy, this was democracy's beachhead. our victory in that war decided not just a century, but shaped the security and well-being of all posterity. we worked to turn old adversaries into new allies, we built new prosperity, we stood with the people of this continent for a long struggle until finally, a wall tumbled down and an iron curtain, too.

and from south america to southeast asia 70 years of , democratic movement spread. nations that once knew only the blinders of fear begin to taste freedom. none of that would have happened without the men who were willing to lay down their lives for people they had never met and ideals they could not live without. none of it would have happened without the troops president roosevelt called the lifeblood of america, the hope of the world. barely more than boys at home, who returned home heroes. but to their great credit, that is not how this -- after the war, some put away their medals.

they were quiet about their service, moved on. some, carrying shrapnel and scars, found it was much harder. many, like my grandfather, who served in patton's army, lived a quiet life, trading one uniform and set of responsibilities for another. a teacher or a salesman or a doctor or an engineer a dad a , a grandpa. our country made sure millions of them earned a college education, opening up opportunity on an unprecedented scale. and they married those sweet new homes,ght and raised families and build

businesses, lifting up the greatest the class the world has ever known. -- middle class the world has ever known. through it all, they were inspired, i suspect, by memories of fallen brothers, memories that drove them to live their lives each day as best as they possibly could. whenever the world makes you cynical, stop and think of these men. whenever you lose hope, stop and think of these men. think of wilson caldwell, who was told he could not pilot a plane without a high school degree, so he decided to jump out of a plane instead and he did here on d-day with the 101st airborne, when he was just 16 years old. think of a jewish son of russian immigrants who fudged his age so at enlistment so he could join

his friends in the fight. don't worry, harry, the statute of limitations has expired. he came ashore at utah beach on d-day. now that he has come back, we said he could have anything he wants for lunch today. he helped liberate this coast, after all, but he said a hamburger will do fine. what's more american than that? think of the man who saw a recruitment poster asking him if he was man enough to be a paratrooper, so he signed up on the spot. that decision landed him here with the 508 regiment, a unit that would suffer heavy casualties. 70 years later, it is said that all across fort bragg they know rock. not just for the splits on d-day , but becausers

91-year-old rock merit still spends his time speaking to the young men and women of the army. whenever the world makes you cynical, whenever you doubt that courage and goodness is possible, stop and think of these men. wilson and harry and rock, there here today. although i know we already give them a rousing round of applause along with all our veterans of d-day, if you can stand, please stand, if not, please raise your hand let us recognize your , service once more. these men waged war so that we might know peace these men , sacrificed so that we might be free, they fought in hopes of the day when we would no longer need to fight. we are grateful to them. [applause]

gentlemen, i want each of you to know that your legacy is in good hands. for in a time when it has never been more tempting to pursue narrow self-interest, to slough off common endeavor, this generation of americans, a new generation, our men and women of war have chosen to do their part as well. rock, i want you to know that isff sergeant melvin following in your footsteps. he just had to become an american first because melvin

was born in honduras, moved to the united states, joined the army. after tours in iraq and afghanistan, he was reassigned to the 82nd airborne. sunday, he will parachute into normandy. i became part of a family of real american heroes, he said, the paratroopers of the 82nd. thatn, you should know specialist janice rodriguez joined the army two years ago and was assigned to the 101st airborne. and just last month earned the air division101st air assault soldier of the year, and that is inspiring, but not surprising, when the women of today's military have taken on today's responsibilities including combat like never before. [applause] i want each of you to know that their commitment to their fellow service members and veterans endures.

sergeant first class brian hawthorne's grandfather served under general patton and general mccarthy. brian served two tours in iraq, earning the bronze star in baghdad for saving the life of his best friend, and today he and his wife use their experience to help other military families navigate there'irs. brian is here to participate in sunday's jump. he reenlisted in the army reserve just yesterday. this generation, this 9/11 generation of service members, they too felt something, they answered some call, they said i will go. they too chose to serve a cause that is greater than self. many even after they knew they would be sent into harms way. for more than a decade, they have endured tour after tour. sergeant first class cory remsburg has served 10.

i have told his incredible story heore, most recently when sat with my wife, michelle, at the state of the union address. beach whereat omaha i first met cory and his fellow .rmy rangers the next time i saw him, he was in the hospital, unable to speak or walk after an ied nearly killed him in afghanistan. over the past five years, he has grown stronger, learning to speak again and stand again and walk again. earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane again. the first words cory said to me, after his accident echoed those words set all those years ago on this beach rangers lead the way. , [applause] so cory have come back today

along with melvin and janice and brian and many of their fellow active-duty service members. we thank them for their service. they are a reminder that the tradition represented by these gentlemen continues. we are on this earth for only a moment in time. fewer of us have parents and grandparents to tell us about what the veterans of d-day did 70 years ago. as i was landing on marine one, i told my staff, i don't think there is a time when i miss my grandfather more, where i would be more happy to have him here than this day. we have to tell their stories for them. we have to do our best to uphold

in our own lives the values that they were prepared to die for. we have to honor those who carry forward that legacy, recognizing that people cannot live in freedom unless free people are prepared to die for it. as today's wars come to an end, this generation of servicemen and women will step out of uniform and they, too, will both families and lives of the round. they will become leaders in their communities, and commerce, industry, and perhaps politics. the leaders we need for the beachheads of our time. god willing, they will grow old in the land they helped to keep free. and someday, future generations, whether 70 or 700 years hence, will gather at places like this to honor them. and to say that these were generations of men and women who proved once again that the united states of america is and

will remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. [applause] may god bless our veterans and all who served with them, including those who rest here in eternal peace. and may god bless all who serve today for the peace and security of the world. may god bless the people of france and may god bless our united states of america. [applause] >> president obama at the american cemetery and memorial overlooking omaha beach, one of the landing bots during the d-day invasion. we will have more live coverage of today's events marking the 70th anniversary of d-day. president in route now to the international ceremony marking the anniversary, taking place about 40 miles to the east in ouistreham, france, close to

another site of allied landing at sword beach. we will have live coverage of that ceremony at 8:30 a.m. eastern on our companion network, c-span2. >> on a lonely windswept point on the northern shore of france, the air is soft but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke, and the cries of them, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. at on on the morning of the sixth of june, 1944, 225 rangers jumped off the british landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion. to climb these desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. the allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here, and it would be trained on the beaches to stop the allied advance. the rangers looked up and saw

the enemy soldiers at the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades, and the american rangers began to climb. >> this weekend, american history tv will mark the 70th anniversary of the d-day invasion of normandy. starting saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. eastern, watch this years the memories from the world war ii memorial in washington, and that is followed at 11:30 by author and historian a 12:30, hes, and will take your questions and comments live. back at:30, a look presidential speeches commemorating the day, all on american history tv saturday on c-span3. and united states is a ation which believes in mission, and our missions are pretty similar. we believe in freedom, we believe in distributing our core values, which suddenly

disappeared in the 1990's and the 2000's, but it did not go anywhere, it was still there, so the biggest nation or russia during all those years was the victory day. that is our main national holiday, and that is what unites the whole nation is the fight. and how it was presented to the nation by president clinton is are in ukraine, those fascists who came to power, and he illustrated that with the former ukrainian liberation army, who were allied with us during world war ii, and so the use that to prove that these are fascists who are

fighting against both russian it israinian nations, so not that we are just looking to protect russians, no, for the overwhelming majority of russians, we are continuing world war ii, and we are liberating, really liberating ukraine from the fascist threat. >> as best we can on the sign, a look into the holidays of putin's russia, saturday morning at 10:00 eastern on c-span2's book tv, live today coverage of fest, andrs row lit on c-span3's american history tv, the 70th anniversary of the d-day invasion of normandy the getting saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. eastern. minutes, with focus on president obama's three country, four-day trip to europe. our guess is stephen szabo,

executive director of the transatlantic academy. at 8:30 a.m. eastern, we mark the 70th anniversary of d-day from the world war ii memorial on the mall. "washington journal" is next. >> good morning. it is friday, june 6, 2014. president obama is and at normandy, france, where he beach, remarks at omaha on the anniversary of the d-day invasion. we will show those remarks this morning on "washington journal" and talk about the 70th anniversary of d-day is retake viewers live to the national world war ii memorial in washington dc. opening up our phone lines to viewers to discuss the exchange of army sergeant bowe bergdahl.