karen cucurullo. [applause] karen: good morning. i am the acting superintendent of the national mall and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the world war ii memorial on the 70th anniversary of the victory in europe. as ve day proclamation issued 70 years ago today, president harry truman made note of those who restored freedom to europe. we are honored and delighted today to welcome hundreds who fought on that continent. please give them a warm welcome. [applause] thank you. we are also honored to have among our speakers, as you heard, national security adviser susan rice. thank you for being here today. i also want to recognize joshua bunting, who has served our nation for nearly 50 years in the marine corps and army. he was an educator at a number of schools. he now serves as of the chairman of the friends of the national world war ii memorial, our partner in sponsoring today's ceremony. i would like to recognize the 25 representatives of the allied nations here this morning, representing, as fdr called them, the mass, angered forces of common humanity that marched together 70 years ago. we deeply appreciate your presence today. the national park service is proud to be the caretakers of the world war ii memorial. it is not merely a granite monument. this memorial reminds us that extraordinary things can come from people with otherwise ordinary lives. it helps us understand and monumental trials and sacrifices that shaped our nation, our government, and society. our national park service rangers, volunteers, and conservators, and many other specialists try every day to repay the sacrifice in some small way by caring for this wonderful memorial and preserving their memory against the tides of time. we are honored to be entrusted with its care. i can promise you that we will be here every day of every year watching over this place to keep it, to protect it, to pass on the stories of the heroism and sacrifice, of your heroism and sacrifices, to the future generations of america. thank you. [applause] alex kershaw: thank you very much. here to represent the ceremony's cohost, friends of the national world war ii memorial was the chairman of the board for friends, mr. josiah bunting iii. [applause] josiah: ladies and gentlemen, it is a singular honor to be here today and share this historic occasion with you. the friends of the national world war ii memorial were brought into being a decade ago, and our mission working with the national park service is to preserve in all of its elemental purity and an honest consequence this holy place. i would like to say only two or three sentences. first of all, 16.4 million americans wore the uniform of our country between 1941 and 1945. 16.4 million. the equivalent today would be approximately 42.5 million in uniform. god bless you. [applause] when the war ended, at ceremonies in the pentagon, the head of the army, george marshall, thanks and congratulated and praised that great, great generation, and he quoted winston churchill, saying that succeeding generations must not be allowed to forget their sacrifice. one of the reasons we admire and love that generation so much is not only what they did for us between 1941 and 1945, but the example of how they have lived their lives since then. that is the greatness and grandeur of that generation. [applause] and as the silent artillery of time gradually erodes their numbers, it is so important for us to act as evangelists in their behalf so that schoolchildren, high school children, college students, know their history and know what their debt to them is. god bless all of you, especially members of the greatest generation. [applause] alex: thank you very much, mr. chairman. i know that everyone here, mean particular, appreciate what you have done and what the board of the memorial have done, what the friends of the national world war ii memorial does every single day to continue to thank and honor our world war ii veterans and their families. thank you very much. [applause] today 70 years ago, the world learned of the german final surrender. there were euphoric celebrations in many capitals to mark the end of the most destructive war in europe's very bloody history. while civilians embraced around the world, some infantrymen, some ordinary soldiers brutalized and exhausted, sat alone with their grief, 70 years ago today. they sat in mournful silence. they knew the true price of victory. some 138,000 young americans would never see these shores again. audie murphy, the most decorated u.s. soldier in the war, who fought all the way from north africa to germany, wrote "there is ve day without, but no peace within." europe lay in ruins. the cost of the conflict was beyond comprehension. tens of millions dead. but barbarism had been defeated. nazi genocide had been halted. democracy could be restored. the men of evil, winston churchill the clear, are now prostrate before us. this afternoon 70 years ago, churchill stepped onto a balcony in london. he could barely hear himself speak, so loud were the cheers of the crowd. "this is your victory," he shouted. "it is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land." in all our long history, we have never seen a greater day than this. i am but one of many millions who have grown up in a europe that has been united democratic, and mostly prosperous, a europe that the veterans here set free. mine and other generations have since ve day enjoyed the most peaceful period in europe's history. thank you. [applause] today, while remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice, all of us from all of the allied nations can still joyously agree with churchill. in all of our long histories, we have yet to see a greater day than ve day. alex: i think we would now like to hear from the band once more, please. thank you very much. while i organize my notes. thank you. ♪ ["stars and stripes forever" playing] [applause] alex: i would like to now come ["stars and stripes forever" playing] [applause] alex: i would like to now come to our next speaker. secretary albright's deeply sorry that she could not be with us here today. instead, she has asked her sister, kathy silva, to deliver her remarks on her behalf. i would ask you to give a very warm welcome to kathy, please. [applause] kathy: i am very honored to be here today and to be able to convey my sister's most heartfelt feelings at this very important occasion. she is so disappointed she could not be here personally and share the following remarks with you. ladies and gentlemen, members of the diplomatic community beloved veterans of world war ii, i'm deeply honored to join you in commemorating a monumental victory and celebrating those who fought and bled to achieve it. in doing so, i speak to you not as a former secretary of state but as someone whose own life is deeply intertwined with the events we reflect upon today. that is because i was born in czechoslovakia only two years before hitler's troops marched into prague. my father was a diplomat and at the time subject to arrest by the nazis. so my parents and i fled to england, where we spent the war. among my first memories are those of sitting with our neighbors during the air raids huddled together in a shelter while enemy bombers flew overhead, waiting for the all clear to sound. our anxieties were heightened because the war in europe had not begun well and it seemed that we who had found refuge in great britain might be left to fight alone. but then one day, wonderful news came from across the sea. a brave nation had answered the call and was on its way to rescue freedom. soon, american soldiers arrived in england, bringing with them their boundless energy confident wisecracks, and funny way of walking. on the streets of british cities and towns, children like me trailed along behind them in awe of their uniforms and all that they represented. in early june 1944, the troops were suddenly nowhere to be seen. operation overlord, the largest amphibious landing in history, had been launched. in the months that followed, almost an entire continent had to be taken village by village hill by hill. it was an assault against dug in positions, amongst mud and rain and darkness. winnable only through unbelievable courage and unbearable loss. in those days, the entire spectrum of human possibility was on display, from the soulless horror of buchenwald and auschwitz to the selfless bravery of allied warriors. my father, who also volunteered to serve as an air raid warden was head of broadcasting for the czechoslovakian government in exile. as the fighting progressed, he reported each breakthrough to the millions of people back home, secretly listening in the sellers and attics. i still remember celebrating the allied victory and for the first time, but not the last, falling in love with americans in uniform. reflecting on the meaning of v.e. day, a historian once described how america and its allies were able to defeat the axis powers so decisively. he said, "their courage was a match for the force of the enemy, their ingenuity for his cunning, their free industry for his slavery, their faith for his cynicism. courage, ingenuity, faith, and industry, these are the hallmarks of world war ii generation. and since the 70 years since ve day, we have seen the veterans display these qualities in parades and picnics and schools. we have seen the pride they had taken and their medals and ribbons, and many of us thought perhaps what a fine thing it must've been to be tested in a great cause and to have prevailed. but as this memorial reminds us, behind each metal and ribbon there is a story of heroism, but also profound sadness. for world war ii reflected not only the height of human spirit, but also the depths. so today we are here to honor those veterans from that generation with us here today. we remember the more than 180,000 american troops they -- . who gave their last full measure in the campaign to liberate europe. we pay tribute to the heavy sacrifices made by our allies, including russia, which lost more than 20 million of its own people during its long battle with the nazis on the eastern front. as we reflect and give thanks, we can never forget we are the recipients of a precious gift from those heroes whose consciences could not accept the theft of liberty or the reality of aggression and genocide. for if we are to be true to these heroes today, we must never forget why world war ii was fought and how it was won. we must maintain solidarity with one another, never allowing our differences to interfere with the most profound values we share. and we must be willing to uphold that principle by defending democratic institutions and values throughout the world. in the weeks after v.e. day, i returned to czechoslovakia with my family. because the fighting was over, my parents and i did our best to settle in and resume a normal life. but within a couple of years the government of czechoslovakia was taken over by communists. once again, my family was forced into exile, this time sailing across the ocean to a new and welcoming home. i will never -- forever be grateful for the warm reception we received in the united states and for the opportunity i had to grow up in a country that cherished freedom. and i will always be mindful that this opportunity only came about because of the millions of american men and women who worked and fought to achieve the historic victory we commemorate today. i cannot tell you how grateful i am that i'm able to say thank you once more to all of those who brought v.e. day about. above all, the veterans here with us this morning. you have our eternal respect and deepest admiration. may god bless you all and thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, it is now time for the official wreath laying at the freedom wall. ♪ ♪ [applause] >> representing the united states of america is kathy silva, accompanied by world war ii veteran, mr. les jones. representing the national park service and friends of the national world war ii memorial the superintendent of the national mall, karenirman of the board for friends of the national world war ii memorial mr. josiah bunting iii, and world war ii veteran, mr. ewing miller. representing the country of australia is brigadier david green. he is accompanied by mrs. barbara martin. [applause] representing the country of belarus, the charge d'affaires. representing belgium, and accompanying his excellency, is world war ii veteran mr. clarence faulkner. representing the country of brazil, its secretary, accompanied by holocaust survivor mr. stephen denby. [applause] representing the country of canada, deputy head of mission dennis stevens, accompanied by world war ii veteran mr. james t. mills. representing the country of the czech republic, deputy chief of mission, and the world war ii veteran mr. abdul kareem. [applause]
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