some alive though these men were born in the 1920s and it is 2019. a number of them will be there. french president emmanuel macron will give a speech to commemorate a special occasion. jillian: less than 500,000 of 15 million americans who served in world war ii alive as of late 2018. rob: the president arrived nearby where this ceremony will take place where thousands of americans who died in battles in france, the effort to take back europe from the nazis. it is supposed to be an absolutely remarkable powerful place to visit. a beautiful part of the world and very somber reminder of the sacrifice it took to keep europe free from horrible terror that

was the nazi regime. jillian: the celebration going on, celebrate the men who fought to give a life to change the scope of the war in 1944. let's bring in brigadier general anthony ta ta. the president and first lady touched down a few minutes ago on marine one. we will keep an eye on these photos to talk about the significance of this day, the significance of it being the 75th anniversary and the fact that a lot of these men might not be here again. >> reporter: thanks for having me on. as a former paratrooper in the 101st, and 82nd airborne division, i have a special connection with many of the veterans who jumped in on d-day. they would have been there 12 hours by now on the ground and having fought their way the mission to prevent german tanks

from counterattacking onto the beach as the allied forces landed in places like juno beach. the stories these men tolls and you gave the number, the line of veterans that exist today and the stories they are able to tell and communicate and serve as role models for the next generation coming up and other generations such as mine, a powerful group of men and women that served in world war ii specifically on d-day. the biggest battle of world war ii changed the tide, saved western civilization and entirely remarkable that yesterday, veterans jumping into the drop zone where they originally jumped in, 75 years ago and the 82nd airborne, the 50th anniversary, a big group of

paratroopers jumped in and welcoming from france, they do throw rose petal that your feet and love you as an american soldiers for helping save the country. rob: i imagine the respect you have for this day is tremendous. i cannot even fathom. you think about these stories. these were teenagers, early 20s, kids coming from the united states as american sacrifice goes to places they had never been before to fight a war for people vain had never met before and take them across the english channel at 6:00 in the morning and send them into bullets being fired from the nazis to liberate a continent none of them had visited. talk about the sacrifice and how much bravery that takes. >> exactly right. they were on both getting into england, rehearsing in england for months if not a fool year.

they had no idea what peril lay ahead. the german soldier rumored to be 10 foot tall and powerful and really tough environment, the training, the leadership of the american soldiers and their allies and brits and canadians all coming together. this is a real testament to the power of teamwork. general eisenhower, i have read the account, talked to men in the group, paratroopers, when he came up to them at the airplanes when they were getting ready to take off, the 101st airborne division, the strike brigade. i commanded much later in life. the soldiers talk about the fear they had but also they were

fighting for an ideal bigger than anything they felt was important. it was freedom, democracy, country and their buddy on the left and right in the airplane or the buddy on the left and right in that landing vehicle coming up to the beach. they wanted to save their buddy, save themselves, make it to the next foxhole, climb that cliff if they were one of the rangers and if they were a paratrooper they wanted to find other paratroopers that had been dropped and they were dropped off the drop zone scattered all over normandy and they pulled up in little groups of paratroopers and little groups of paratroopers became big groups and they ended up killing 9000 german troops and captured ultimately 200,000 after the beach landings and they were able to get up the cliffs.

jillian: a sergeant with the first infantry division among the first us soldiers hitting the beach this day and he says when we got within 1000 yards of the beach, the machine gun bullets, we were in the water over our heads, some had drowned, the boat next to ours but up. some of these men caught fire and we never saw them again. when we got to the beach i said to one of my men if there is hell this has got to be it. a minute later he got a bullet to his head. you read stories like this and hear stories like this. some of these men, a lot of us will never know. how important is it right now, the fact the majority of these men still living are in their 90s. how important is it to listen to their stories? a lot of them for a long time didn't want to open up and talk about what they went through but a lot of them want to talk now. >> reporter: a great point. think about posttraumatic stress and how that is viewed today, think about what these men went

through when they were in these landing craft, getting shot and people getting shot in the landing craft before they could get out. the bottom is filled with vomit from people that are seasick, much less scared and trying to get off and as the rambler is down, the machine gun fire comes in and understand the sacrifice of this entire generation and individual stories i can communicate the much larger pursuit of the ideal of defending democracy, something in the political environment seems to be in jeopardy and it seems when we are talking about d-day today and the sacrifice made and we put it in the context of yesterday or the day before, discussion about the politics of what are happening today it seems we might have taken our eye off the ball a little bit. when you get down and look at these veterans that have jumped

in, gotten off the landing craft, plowed across normandy and opened up the way for the rest of the allies, that is what america is about, that is what donald trump is talking about with america first and a real sense of national pride and this embodies it, these stories are the best stories. i sat down as a young paratrooper and listened to these men that jumped in behind enemy lines and talked about this and just amazing and we have got to get the story out and thanks to fox news and your team for getting this story out. rob: you did a good job giving us part of this story, general anthony tata so we may come back to you. we want to bring in martha maccallum. she is live at the american

cemetery in normandy, france. you haven't made it is part of the world, a solomons important place, tell us what it is like. and incredible seen today. >> reporter: you see behind me the ceremony just starting to get underway, the president landed on marine one a few minutes ago, and interview you will see tonight. it is a striking moment. i'm thinking about the 40th anniversary of the day when ronald reagan -- that moment, for many world war ii veterans a lot of them had just retired from a lifetime of working with civilians in america, first opportunity they had to come back so they might have been in their 60s. now you have the other end of that spectrum, these men in their 90s who are making their

trip back and many of them for the last time although having met a lot of these individuals over the last several months they may be going for quite some time. they are an incredibly resilient a bunch of individuals with strong spirit and incredible stamina so don't count them out. many of them are in the front row and i think about ronald reagan on the 40th anniversary and saying these are the boys who scaled the cliffs, these are the boys who took back europe to paraphrase some of that extraordinary speech. this is a big moment for donald trump on the world stage to speak directly to these veterans about their service and to speak more broadly about the ideals of what it means to be an american citizen. what it means to serve. what is our place in the world on his broadscale? think about the challenges we face whether it be with iran or

china which is obviously a very forceful power economically and militarily on the world stage, they are set on a track of dominance they want to achieve in the world. we face a lot of threads, very different scope perhaps in many ways to the threat faced in world war ii but they are grave as well. the president will address the country, address the world about what it means to stand for american values. it was and understood a moment of world war ii, crystal-clear back then that there was evil in the form of hitler and hero heat oh and tojo leading the forces of japan. the axis was clear on the threat it presented to the world. on the left, i went to you will jima several months ago and this is an extraordinary group of

individuals and we have to take a moment to review them, listen to their stories and realize we are really blessed to have them with us. jillian: what is the most important thing we should learn from these men? >> reporter: what strikes me as their humility. we live in a time when there is so much about self. selfys, facebook, social media and all the stuff so centered on self. this is a generation that was selfless. that is a virtue that we have lost in america, putting something bigger than yourself before your own interests, being willing to sacrifice. think about that. we don't do a lot of sacrificing. think about the trade issues and concerns about having to make the small sacrifices that might be required of things that might be more expensive or made less available and think about what was happening on the home front

during world war ii when people went without butter, they didn't buy a new car all those years during the war because all those factories, ford and gm were divergent to making military planes, engines. nobody was getting anything new during that time there wasn't a lot of complaining going on because there was a bigger purpose americans were all united in. i think it is very important to think about those values and what we have lost. the president talked about making america great again and people give him a hard time about that but this is the kind of thing he is talking about when he says that and this is a great opportunity to think about a time when america was great and america is still great but this greatest generation had specific qualities that are worth remembering and emulating when possible. rob: when you look at the sacrifice and what this day means. if you look at a map of what

hitler and the nazis had taken in europe it is impressive how much power they had over this continent until what would happen after this day, the invasion of d-day and northern france, police taking back that portion and the allies moving to paris, paris gets liberated, they move east and north to the battle of the bulge, then moving to germany. the soviets meet them in germany, take back germany and the atomic bombs, and without american involvement in that war, this war would have been won by the nazis. >> on the left-hand side of the screen with laura in command these individuals and one thing i was struck by looking at these gentlemen, there are individuals in this group who fought at normandy, then they fight in the battle of the bulge which you

just mentioned and a couple of them were then sent to the pacific and fought in okinawa. think about that triumvirate. that is an absolutely remarkable task to put on any individual. jackpot and was in okinawa as well as normandy, he was a medic in. just extraordinary stories of so much sacrifice that is truly extraordinary. in normandy, think about the relationship between the united states and france. i spoke with the ambassador to france the other day and france is our oldest ally. go back to thomas jefferson going to paris before the revolution, and it is are truly oldest ally and today you will see him annual macron under the pressure from the populist arm of the political scene in france

trying to improve the economy in france, has a lot of challenges ahead of him, immigration is a big challenge in france as well but this is our oldest relationship. our oldest foreign alliance and one that is very important to our country so that is something i'm sure the president will touch on and macron will touch on. they started with a chummy relationship, the first visit. things have chilled in the month in between. president macron talking about forming a eu military force which did not sit well with donald trump. donald trump tried to build up nato. there have been some tensions here. you will not hear that spoken about today but they will meet after this. prior to the american revolution. jillian: you were talking about past presidents and the speeches

they gave on d-day and can you talk about the significance of what donald trump is about to say? to no one's surprise there has been a lot of criticism how he handled this overseas trip, critical headlines back here at home. let's talk about the significance of his work today. >> reporter: a big opportunity for donald trump today. we understand president macron will speak for 15 minutes or something along those lines and then donald trump will set to the stage and speak for roughly 25 minutes. the reason for the prominence of this speech is this is the american cemetery in normandy and there are 9388 graves behind me, stars of david that mark the sacrifice by all these men. there are very few speeches that go down in history books and you don't know when they are coming. there is no doubt in my mind

they spent a lot of time and effort putting these words to paper. when the president was imports with, england, one of the take off points from england prior to the invasion, they collect the liberation force that came to france, quoted fdr and his prayers to come together and pray. no doubt he will make reference to those who have gone before him. of the are likely part of that speech, maybe ronald reagan may come into play. the president had the unique opportunity to talk about what he thinks is great about america and a lot of people in france, viewers of my show got to know over the past -- extra jillian: 18 years old and saved a lot of lives on the beaches and he's also the person -- those who gave their last breath on the beaches as well. getting off script, yesterday he

walked around behind me and paid tribute to some of those men. first time he has come back since he was 18 and never made it off the beach last time. the only time i was ever in france was on that beach and now i'm getting to know the people of france a little bit and he has been so struck how warm they are and they don't forget it was the americans who liberated them from the grip of the nazis. that was a heartwarming moment as these communities that welcome them with open arms and saw freedom, the faces of these 18, 19, 20-year-old men who came from america to liberate this great country of france, remarkable day. rob: that is great. the stories you have are fantastic, appreciate your time. we may have to come back to you. i know you will be standing by and witnessing all of this. john roberts hopefully can hear

us as this helicopter lands. who was in this chopper? do we know? >> reporter: probably the president of france flying in. i saw his wife, bridget, meeting with donald trump in the first lady when they arrived on the blackhawk marine one helicopter a little while ago. i would expect this would have to be emmanuel macron because i don't know any other helicopter that would be landing at this time. pointed words from martha maccallum in terms of the significance of this day which is one of the reasons why in the speech he will give in a little while donald trump is going to say among other things to all of our friends and partners, our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war and proven in the blessings of peace. our bond is unbreakable. when you think of it from a military alliance standpoint the

bond between the united states and france at this point is unbreakable. there was a time france had withdrawn from the nato alliance but now is back in. emmanuel macron support donald trump and his efforts to get greater contributions from nato allies. if you listen to the secretary-general of nato, despite the fact there's a lot of criticism at home donald trump may be weakening nato by leaning on member nations, to pony up more money, this is great for us, we have $100 billion we didn't have before and contributions continue to increase. very happy with the way donald trump is handling nato. there is macron, good guess on my part. i missed on bridget. somebody just looked like her because there she is beside her husband. the way the president is

handling it, the people running nato are happy about it despite criticism back home. jillian: these men who fought so bravely and graciously for our freedom all those years ago they are sitting in the crowd in their 90s, what some consider the end of the greatest generation. how important is it? i know these men don't want to be called heroes, they say the heroes of the men who died in battle but they are truly heroes, you are among thousands of them. how special is that? >> reporter: it is quite incredible. the world war ii veterans, just to show you how quickly their numbers are dwindling. i was last here in the american cemetery in june 2004 with president bush to commemorate the 60th anniversary. there were 4 million veterans of world war ii still alive, fewer than 500,000 and the next

significant anniversary would be the hundred and it would be medically impossible for any of that generation to still be alive at that point but you never know. there might be one or 2. not just members of the world war ii generation, i have met veterans of the korean war, the vietnam war, a lot of veterans of the war in iraq and afghanistan who are here today and they are heroes all. every one of them goes overseas from the united states knowing they may never return, the last full measure of devotion in defense of their country. we talk about the greatest generation and there is something special about the greatest generation. even a fellow who is a veteran of the vietnam war involved in the tet offensive said i can't imagine hitting the beaches at omaha or utah or if you were

british or canadian in juneau, under the withering fire from the german army that was raining down on those first landing craft the touched the beach. it is quite extraordinary. i don't think many young people who are alive today could imagine what those young people went through. when you consider so many of them were 18, 19 years old. they had never been out of their home state little-known out of country and this was their first deployment after basic training and they were told to go into the teeth of hell in a landing craft in 8-foot waves. all of them so sick all they wanted to do was get their feet on dry land and face the bloodbath they face and still fights on trying to gain a beachhead here. just extraordinary, extraordinary bravery. personally i could not imagine going through that hell but they did. they went through it willingly, they went through it bravery and

they eventually won the war. rob: we watch the president of the united states and france walked down and move through we are about to get this underway. you mentioned in the last hour the man in the high castle telling the story of what the world would be like had this war not been won. on a day like today a great book to bring up. is a horrifying story to think this war was so close and what the world would have been like. >> reporter: philip k dick talks about the race for the atomic bomb and the television series was made of it as well. in the philip k dick novel the nazis won the race to develop the atomic bomb and dropped on washington and the united states surrendered. if it weren't for a few things that moved here and there the entire history of the end of world war ii could have been

different. one of the big turning points happened on these shores a few hundred yards from where i am standing 75 years ago today. jillian: for those just joining us 25 in it after 5:00 on the east coast looking at the normandy american cemetery where french president emmanuel macron and donald trump, meeting with veterans, 12,000 people in attendance at the ceremony including 160 world war ii veterans, the two presidents is to give speeches. emmanuel macron will bestow the highest honor on 5 american veterans after they are done, the speeches, they will go ahead to a part that overlooks omaha beach where everything happened in 1944. rob: this is an important day. this has been a good trip for the president. he was quite popular in england and meeting with a friend in france.

>> reporter: it looked like it was getting off to a rough start, going back and forth between the mayor of london and the president, the remark about megan markel, the american-born princess, she had been nasty to the president, they created headlines in the uk, some controversy back home and on monday when the president had a state visit with queen elizabeth that turned everything around. the pump and ceremony of that day. the way the president got along with queen elizabeth and prince charles and an interview with pierce morgan done in the uk, the president talked to harry and thought he was a tremendous fellow and the bilateral meetings with teresa man the press conference afterwards which the president was so

complementary of prime minister may and joked that she wants to stick around a little longer, scheduled to step down tomorrow to craft a free-trade deal with the united states so despite getting off to a rocky start, before he left for the uk, that trip to britain was a very good one. it came off very well. in a situation like that when you consider the personalities involved in the volatility of the politics, so many things could've gone wrong. but so many things with right and it was a good visit for the president. jillian: looking at the president shaking hands with veterans on hand for the ceremony. people can say what they want, agree or disagree about the president's policies, the way he goes about things on twitter but when it comes to our military and the respect he has for these great men and women of today there is no arguing that.

>> reporter: people in the military don't appreciate the president but anytime i have been at an event the president has done with members of the military or people watching at the white house when the president is out for any event he gets standing ovations, men and women of the military wants to take pictures with him, appreciate he has put more money into the military than any president in history, appreciate the fact he is building back the military. a couple friends in the military are saying we are not getting as much money to do the operational things as we use to do because a lot of it is going to upgrading and refurbishing and buying new equipment but we understand this is to make the military stronger and not to a person but overwhelmingly the respect this president gets from the military is very genuine and he has a lot

of fans in the us military, no question about that. rob: everybody settling into place. tell us how beautiful is this part of northern france and tell us about the energy you feel when we go somewhere with a story like this? >> reporter: it is an incredibly beautiful part of the world and the american cemetery is extraordinary, beauty in its simplicity, the white marble crosses, white marble stars of david all lined up in rows and you see them lined up in rows horizontally, vertically and diagonally. such a simple construct and so elegant in its simplicity but really, you are standing on hallowed ground. last time i was here was 15 years ago. chills ran up my spine, the same thing today. we are a little bit older.

the majesty is exactly the same as it was the first time i set foot. jillian: doesn't feel different to be here for the 75th anniversary? >> reporter: it does from the standpoint that again, the 60th anniversary, world war ii veterans who were still alive, this is a very significant, 25, 50, 75, 100, this is the last big one these people will likely be at. for that standpoint it is different, no question. rob: we are watching what is happening on your screen and we moved to the president of the united states and friends. does it your mind the weight of mine that so many of these. are still alive? the number is wendling fast but these were men born in 1920s and next year is 2020. >> reporter: one fellow whose name escapes me now who parachuted yesterday, 97 years old. the mother veterans, 93 years old. they are playing lamarr says.

la marseilles. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ oh say can you see ♪ by the dawn's early light ♪ what so proudly we hailed ♪ at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars ♪ through the perilous fight ♪ over the land pa ramparts we d ♪ 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

♪ oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave ♪ over the land of the free ♪ and the home of the brave ♪ [applause] >> the invocation by the us army europe command chaplain. [speaking french]

>> almighty god, lord of us, figurative to us is the memory of our fallen and the sacrifices of our veterans on these waters, shores, fields and skies. we humbly ask for your holy presence here today in this ceremony. for many nations, their sacrifice poured out in blood, courage and even death, to secure liberty for your enslaved children and to smashed here any, remains our moral touchstone. for so great and act of love, we pray you will grant them eternal peace and their families lasting comfort. by their courage on d-day and afterwards we pray you will challenge us to love freedom more than comfort, privilege or even life itself. and that without thought of cost

or reward, we also will recommit ourselves to defend life, liberty and the pursuit of the common good no matter the cost. we are resolute in our request of god, we know we cannot achieve this without your divine blessing and guidance. lead us as our shepherd through the valley of the shadow of death towards the green pastures of peaceful freedom. all this we ask, oh father of mercy in your holy name, amen.

>> president and miss macron, president and mrs. trump, lady's injectable, welcome to normandy american cemetery and memorial for the commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the d-day landings on june 6, 1944. we honor and commemorate the 9388 interred here, the 1557 names on the wall of the missing and all of our world war ii veterans. [speaking french]

[speaking french] >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. [speaking french] >> ladies and gentlemen, the secretary of the american battle monuments commission. [speaking french] [applause] >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. welcome to our commemoration cemetery of the normandy landings. it is an honor for me to be with you today on these sacred grounds of the normandy american cemetery to celebrate the 75th

anniversary of d-day and we extend a warm welcome to the president of the french republic, emmanuel macron and his wife, bridget macron. [applause] >> into our president and commander in chief, donald j trump and first lady milania trump. [applause] >> to our many disinterest government and military leaders and families of our honored dead who travel to these now peaceful and how the grounds to bear witness to the sacrifice of their family heroes resting here. [applause] >> to the more than 160 world

war ii veterans seated on this stage who need no reminders of the horrors of war and remember well their comrades who never came home. [applause] [applause]

>> and folks, a very special special welcome to the d-day veterans present today, approximately 35, 75 years ago on omaha and utah beaches and nearby landing fields took the first treacherous steps towards liberation as a watchful world anxiously awaited word of their fate. [applause] >> the monuments commission folks to commemorate and honor the service and sacrifice of the united states armed forces.

we do so by attending the graves and memorials of our fallen service men and women buried and memorialized at 26 american cemeteries around the world. we do so also by preserving the stories, the stories of their deeds and the endeavors of those who fought at their side, courageous actions that bequeath the blessings of freedom to generations yet unborn. 75 years ago this very morning, yards from where each of you are sitting, a generation of young american men joined by french, british, canadian and other allied actions did the unthinkable and accomplished the impossible. they came ashore and fought against tier any -- tyranny in a massive undertaking. the world war i veteran who wrote these words in his poem

the undead soldiers. they say we were young, we have died with remember us. they say we leave you our death. give them their meaning. so many gave us their death. for us, our children, for generations to come, to give them their meaning. our presence here today, a beautiful and inspirational cemetery, does does that. for the very character of the country can be determined by the way it takes care of its war dead. and is a measure of its very heart and soul. to the more than 9000 americans, we give our promise we will not forget. each year we gather here and everywhere they fought and fell our grateful hearts are filled

by what they did 75 years ago this morning. we shall remember you as when you were reverently lovingly placed in this hallowed ground. to them and to the world war ii veterans with us here today and in spirit around the world your service, your sacrifice will have meaning so long as those who follow you hold high the torch of freedom you kept burning through history's darkest hours, strengthened by their courage, by their valor, by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died. today i welcome you as we pause for a brief moment to remember and rededicate our efforts to the promise of our commission's first chairman, general of the army's, john j pershing, time were not dim the glory of their deeds, thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, the republican end of the republic of france, emmanuel macron. [speaking french] [applause] [speaking french] [speaking french] >> translator: in 1944, not only

troubled, the rough, crashing waves. for a few hours earlier. forged his famous, 1200. [speaking french] >> translator: the flotilla failed, to the rendezvous point called by operation overlord military staff figuratively focused. ahead of the tens of thousands of soldiers who took to the seas lay nothing, barely lit by the glowing lamps from the ships and the full moon. ahead of these soldiers lay the

dread of the unknown. a few hours earlier, they learn the purpose of their mission, their destination, utah, omaha, juno, and gold beach, were shrouded in uncertainty. only those who a few months earlier had taken part in the sicily landings had an idea what was to come. a bitter, difficult battle which would certainly claim the lives of many. tens of thousands of soldiers, drafted or volunteers, most were barely 20 years old. and yet, their days of youth seemed far behind them. the rolling hills of

pennsylvania, kentucky, or new jersey, far from their school years where they learned to trade, many had never had a chance to practice. far from the trailing that began in the mountains of georgia and continued as they came across the atlantic to the south of england. far from the british people waiting for an operation of which they knew nothing. far from the worried faces of their parents when they left home. far from the emotional goodbyes to their fiancés to whom they wrote as they left the english shores by candlelight or the flickering flame of the cigarette lighter, one last heartbreaking letter. what was running through their minds?

the minds of these young people frozen by the waters of the north sea? who knows? their thoughts are unfathomable. we cannot plunge the minds of human beings. what resonates still, 75 years later, is there incredible courage and generosity. the fortitude that carried them toward their destiny. that fortitude that took them thousands of miles from home to provide assistance to men and women who they did not know to free a land they had never set foot in. no other compass than a cause they knew was greater then themselves, the cause of liberty and democracy. today, france has not forgotten.

france has not forgotten those fighters to whom we owe the right to live in freedom is we've not forgotten the 135,000 american, british and canadian soldiers, luxembourg, dutch, norwegian, danish, polish, australian, south african and french troops landed on 6 june on the beaches of normandy and forever changed the course of history in europe and the world. france is not forgotten the thousands of paratroopers who just a few hours earlier had been dropped behind the lines and with supportive french resistance fighters would take hold of strategic bridges, roads and railway lines and would take over from their brothers in arms who made it out alive from the emerald shores. france has not forgotten the 2

million soldiers who at the end of this longest day would continue fighting on for weeks to free the towns and villages of normandy and go through the hell of combat in normandy countryside which was more treacherous than the combat on the beaches. on behalf of my country and france, i bow down before their bravery. i bow down before the sacrifice of the 37,000 killed, the 19,000 reported missing who died as heroes in normandy between june and august 1944, and who for many were to rest for eternity. i bow down to our veterans and i say thank you. >> we owe what we know to you

veterans, on behalf of my nation, i just want to say thank you. [applause] [applause] >> translator: many of our veterans are here in this cemetery and they died for our

freedom. they are your brothers in arms. they are those who you attempted to save. you volunteered to take part in the second omaha wave. on the sixth on 6 june you put yourself at great risk to remove the wounded from the beach under the hail of german fire. the brothers in arms with whom you fought from omaha beach right through to belgium on the way participating in the battle of karen's and and the breakthrough that would free the region. your brothers in arms, those who you accompanied through the treacherous normandy countryside, you who fought nonstop from the seventh 7 june

through 8 july, the brothers in arms who accompanied you to the arden region, luxembourg and the countryside of czechoslovakia, those brothers in arms who saved you standing when you were wounded twice and then in the arden and gave you the strength to head back into combat across the ride river where you took part in the liberation of the concentration camps and father faces of the survivors and the faces of the executioners alike. and maybe then, in the raw moments, truth of that moment, you understood what you were fighting for. your brothers in arms, you worked first as radio operator and deliberately decided to go to france to lead military operations in normandy, france

and the rhine region. there are times, dear stanley, harold terrence, in recognition of your unwavering efforts for france to regain its freedom, i will in a few minutes award you the order of the knights of the legion d'honeur. [applause] >> the legion of honor is the highest we know what we owe to the united states of

america. the united states of america did donald trump president, which is never greater than when it is fighting for the freedom of others the united states of america, that is never greater than when it shows it's loyalty to the universal values that the founding fathers defended. when nearly two and a half centuries ago france came to support its independence but we owe you more. [applause] [applause] we owe you more. we owe you the thousands of civilians who lost their lives we have not forgotten. we owe more than medals and

awards. we peace that you have left us, our debt worthy of the promise of normandy. being worthy of the promise of normandy means never forgetting the free peoples, when they join forces, can surmount any adversity. the victory against barberrism would never have been possible without the decisive support of the united states. without the mitted men and women without the support of the american people and american industry. on the beaches of the channel in the green normandy countryside and the highest levels of the military the armed forcesy forcs were united. the royal air force assisted the infantry because the resistance fighters opened up the line elsewhere to the

united states armed forces in decisive moments of the battle as youian, people from australia, denmark and dutch airmen arrived in the battle. the poll liquor tanks made all the difference. it's because of that that this wild gam to be free europe from the nazis hold by way of the sea could be won. we shall never cease to perpetuate the alliance of free peoples. that is what victor i can't recall did. immediately after the germans and japanese surrendered. when they created the united nations that is what the united states did when it created the north atlantic treaty organization: that is what a few years later the leaders of europe did in

bringing about the european union. france wishes to continue to support this promise of normandy, understand its purpose. this is what we owe to our homeland. what we owe to countries that share the same values. what we owe to democracy and liberty. the lessons are clear, liberty and democracy are inseparable. young americans died here. they died for their country, and they died for the freedom of the world. they knew that. the french who died on the same beaches by their side fell for the liberation of their country. but they also fell so that

their nation, once this task completed, would rediscover its tradition of liberty. we need to be true to their memory. and to do that, we must never sacrifice what -- we must never renounce what their sacrifice united. the promise of normandy will be supported by france with all its might. i promise this will be the case. and this is at the heart of america's destiny, too. president of the united states of america, ladies and gentlemen. all along the roads of france, the beaches fro beachesg those roads taken by the heroes we are honoring today as of the summer 18944, all