Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, delivered remarks today on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery in France, honoring the Allied troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
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Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, delivered remarks today on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day at the Normandy American Cemetery in France, honoring the Allied troops who stormed the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944.
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“He spoke fairly.” Acknowledging the veterans, acknowledging the dead, and acknowledging the Allies whose soldiers also died on those beaches. Of course he honored the United States in particular, but this is to be expected.
May the world never forget: “Freedom isn’t free.”
He likewise cautioned these same Allies never to forget, nor forsake, what their forefathers knew. The dangers to peace and freedom are always out there, and in ever-changing forms. We all must be forever vigilant.
He is right to caution.
With the face of Europe changing daily, there may come a time when those well tended resting places of boys and men who fought for a now forgetful, ungrateful Europe and died there go the way of so much of Western civilization and Christianity. Churches sold and turned into mosques, historic graves on those churches’ grounds walked upon by the new “owners”, and so forth…
I pray not.
But I am watchful 🙏🏻
Thanks for that beautiful post! I saw zero coverage or mention on the airwaves yesterday. I gave an uncle who served in the Pacific who just turned 103 in April.
God bless the brave men of that day.
I was privileged to slightly know one of the survivors. He was the father of the pastor of our Baptist church in Port Charlotte, FL. At that church I also got to know a gentleman who had been Eisenhower’s aide, took care of sending and getting his messages and was his driver. Another lady had a job of ferrying planes to which ever base they needed to go to after being built. I think she was a WAC. Talk about the greatest generation – this group of people was filled with them. The one who worked under Ike told me about how they would let balloons loose at night so they would get caught in the enemy’s plane propellers. Some of you may already know this, but I didn’t and I loved listening to his stories of the war. I think this was in London, not sure if we were doing war in London. I was born in 1944 so wasn’t familiar with a lot of it. One of my uncles was in World War I, stationed in France. He told me about living in fox holes and wearing the same uniform for weeks at a time. So much greatness led the way to where we are now.
I met a French man who witnessed the GIs traveling through Bayeux, France in 1944. Bayeux was the first city liberated. I struck up a conversation with this fellow at the Rouen train station nearly 25 years ago. He was a young a boy on his family’s farm near Bayeux during the D-day landings. He described the long line of troops and vehicles traveling by. His family traded fresh vegetables from their farm for chocolate and chewing gum from the GIs. He told me that this was the first time that he had ever seen a GMC Jeep or African-American GIs – and they really could maneuver those jeeps! He had lots of stories to tell and his eyes lit up as he relayed those stories to me.
My father served in that war in the So. Pacific. His stories always ended in the phrase: The Golden gate, in ’48.
I watched Secretary Hegseth disembark from his aircraft… along with his wife and children, all appropriately dressed. Two of his lads were wearing military fatigues.
Further, I watched a brief clip of the entire Hegseth family chatting with veterans, many in wheelchairs. All the children shook hands with them and kept eye contact with whichever vet he or she was listening to. Mature beyond their years.
I smply cannot imagine another person so suited to his position than Secretary Hegseth.
A soldier’s soldier, a truth teller, even when it what he says upsets those who have no sense whatsoever of honour, duty, sacrifice.
His children will speak of his service, on and off the field of battle, with pride.
As I do now of his loyalty to the military first, all of whom he respects…and our nation.
Thank you, Mr Secretary for your dedication and patriotism… and Mrs Hegseth for keeping the home fires burning as you rear your children in the same mold.. You both have a family to be so proud of. Well done.
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
Just as with the President’s family…the children and grandchildren are a witness to the strengths of the parents. Congratulations Hegseths.
(All too often the children encountered in the day to day are an abiding witness to the weaknesses of their “parents “.)
yes, monti and bets. seems nowadays the starch is gone. but, beautiful to see it here on display
This is so true, dear Monti. Something of himself I suspect President Trump recognized in Secretary Hegseth when he interviewed him. Just a feeling…
SOW Pete’s skill sets may not have the maturity and seasoning of some previous SecDefs, but like so many in Our POTUS’s extraordinary cabinet, they are the right skills at the right time in the right place to serve Our Great Nation.
True historians will look back at the chemistry of this leadership team and struggle to account for how such a Heavenly Recipe came together under our CINC (Chef in Chief)! 🙂
“True historians” is the key phrase.
Not revisionists, not imposters with their own agenda or bought agendas. True patriot seeking to execute and defend the US Constitution and the Citizens of this great nation.
YES, CD… truths are endearing, despite the authors… 🙂
Certainly “endearing” but, more importantly…. ENDURING! ::)
I always remind myself that Secretary Hegseth fought not only on the battlefield where he knew who the enemy was; but now is fighting another type of battle within the Pentagon against unnamed forces who are unhappy that he is there. I am willing to bet there are more brass than we can imagine who resent having to salute a man whose rank in the military was lower than theirs. And who are probably…how shall I say this…not as comfortable with his requirements as they might be if they came from “one of their own”.
That he has stood publicly mute is a testament to his professionalism (except when he is maliciously attacked in hearings by Democrats who have none of his qualities or his military fibre, and certainly none of his love for the men and women who serve under him on his orders).
He may have been thrown in at the deep end, but by golly, he learned to swim pretty quickly…think about the first bombing of Iran and his leadership so that it was executed perfectly, no leaks, no loss of life.
And yes…history will judge him and judge him as the exact right man for the mission set before him by his Commander in Chief whom he respects. Salute, Secretary Hegseth…
Here, here, Miss B!
I can tell you there are legions of senior active and retired “combat” veterans bristling at our SOW… essentially because they have a blind spot in their true character. Regrettably too many of them value form over substance, and frankly, I would NEVER trust them with the lives of my children or grandchildren in combat. 🙁
We’ve seen their kind, dear MHB. And their CiCs. We have thousands of young men and women who will never return to their families because of them. By those losses, we know their qualities, or more specifically, the lack of them.
And today is Secretary Hegseth’s birthday…
There is something almost prophetic that he was born on June 6…
Just as there is about President Trump’s falling on Flag Day, June 14.
🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸
And it’s really wonderful when these two wonderful dates have a personal meaning (to my family): My son and his wife celebrate their wedding anniversary on June 6 (17 years today) and their daughter celebrates hers on June 14.
Best wishes to all of them, Carolyn. No excuses for husbands forgetting 💕
And this is yet another blessing of the CTH, where we can come together and celebrate GOODNESS in God’s Light whenever and wherever It Shines… 🙂
In my best Frank Sinatra voice emulating Marilyn Monroe…. “Happy Birthday to YOU…..” 🙂
There were no women who died on D Day. It was all men and we will not share our glory with women who didn’t fight.
You don’t salute the person, you salute the rank! It’s called respect!
When “on base”, when Reveille or To the Colors was played over the loudspeaker, I had to stop and turn to the bugle playing, and salute! Courtesy! The flag was either going up or coming down!!! I always looked foreword to Mess Call, as they kinda starved us whipper-snappers then! We were lean and mean, LOL. America’s finest! I absolutely hated “kitchen duty”.
Tulsi is a Lt. Col. in the Reserves. That’s 2 steps below a Flag Officer (Brig. Gen. O-5). I always complained when I had to salute every officer. Dad said, don’t complain, I had to salute EVERYBODY!
He was forced to retire as O-4 due to a medical issue (heart attack)
I saw them also and my thought was – what an awesome life they are living and how much they are learning as they travel the world with their father. Someone posted about Jr. ROTC and that might be why the two were in uniform.
It may well be. It wouldn’t surprise me. Like father, like sons. They couldn’t have a better man to follow.
I believe that one of the singularly most-important qualities of Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense XXX War, is that he is quite-visibly a soldier.
Here’s a “SECDEF/SECWAR” who’s out there with you at 5:30 AM, and he’s going to run “PT” with you, and he’s going to keep up! Lo and behold, that’s precisely what he does. There’s nobody with a camera and a motorcycle (and, a spare motorcycle). Nope, he’s really doing it.
For a “fellow warrior,” there is zero substitute for that.
Indeed: Why should I entrust “cabinet-level responsibility for ‘Defense XXX War'” to someone who physically knows nothing about what “warfighting” means? “Put up or shut up.” He has “Put Up!”
“Impressive.”
Amen, Mike. I think you explain also why Congress and the bureaucratic state who write regulations by the thousands upon thousands year after year are enemies of anyone trying to run a business. Ideas out of the minds of those who never held a real job or tried to keep a business going. And who will never have to work under their life draining effects.
Secretary Hegseth has been where the boots have been. And I believe he wouldn’t ask if he’s not willing to subject himself to the same, or hasn’t been where he might have to send them.
Impressive…yes sir. He could do not less.
Even if Secretary Hesgeth has not been where all “the boots have been,” he has nonetheless worn “the boots.” And I truly think that this represents qualifications that . . .
Well, wasn’t “Ike” the latest President? . . . no, it was Carter. A President who actually served in the Military? (My mistake: “George Bush the Senior,” Navy aviator, Lieutenant Junior Grade, who actually got shot down. Mea culpa …) Since then, a cabinet member who did the same?
“‘War’ isn’t ‘hypothetical!'” Unless you(!) can run five-plus miles at the break of dawn . . . “along with the (wo)men.”
And today is Pete Hegseth’s 46th birthday — he must be one of the youngest men to hold this position.
The Governor of Maryland just brought legal proceedings to halt the work of Jack Nicklaus at Andrews Air Force base to renovate the two dilapidated golf courses, and add an additional special needs 9-hole course for wounded warriors.
To display the spitefulness of the Communist Democrats, you’ll notice that Mr. Nicklaus’s signature golf tournament is taking place this weekend even as we speak!
The Memorial
Yes, Jack’s tournament is called “The Memorial” because it’s dedicated to the Services, it used to be played on Memorial Day (and there was a lot of controversy over how he was forced to move it).
We’re fighting dyed-in-the-wool America hating communists!
Here in the State of Georgia, the State Parks proudly advertise several golf courses which were either designed-by or renovated-by … Jack Nicklaus. He created a company which specialized in these projects, leveraging his personal experience as a golfer.
“The Governor of Maryland” is an idiot. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Retired Magistrate here: When I was young, many eons ago, people remembered D Day and the heroics of the young men who stormed the beaches, arrived in gliders, many of which crashed landed, parachuted into the wrong places and were targets of the Nazis and those that survived the beach head landing died later fighting in the hedgerows.
Now most people don’t even know what D Day is and the sacrifices made. We have lost so much of our history no wonder the average citizen doesn’t realize what a wonderful country we have let alone all the illegals who came here for the free stuff.
GOD bless the few survivors we have left of D Day and World War II and their families.
In our neighborhood, D-Day was held near-mythical awe and admiration of the sacrifices, daring, and achievements of the American Fighting Man. ANY neighbor who had worn the uniform was looked upon with reverence and deference by both the children and spouses.
Today’s “Thank you for your service” greeting is a welcome departure from scorns of the protestors of the Vietnam era, but pales in comparison to the giants (mainly young boys) who stormed those beaches and fought on battlefields across the globe. 🙂
The number of individuals for which this accolade remain … from WW2 D-Day … might well have by now dissolved to zero. But, there are countless others for which we can still say it: “Thank you.”
wonderful comment, Marcia.
my uncle was there, Captain in the Army Combat Engineers.
(he and his unit later went on to the Battle of the Bulge.)
his mother’s (my grandmother) stories of him as a child were of a rambunctious,
risk taking, headstrong, adventurous, somewhat rebellious youth.
so much so, that in 1939, at the age of 19, and against his mother’s wishes, he enlisted.
served the entire duration of the war in combat.
as a child many years after the war, i thought of him as a somewhat hard man.
but we, the generations that followed, can never know what it was like for them,
and those who served deserve a lifetime’s worth of our respect and consideration.
i pray that all the blessings of Heaven have been granted to them.
there will never be another conflict like that, modern warfare having evolved
into something very different.
but if you know the stories from your family, tell them.
try to wrap your head around what it took to put on your helmet and boots
on June 6th, 1944 and head for your assigned beach,
knowing what you faced was going to be h*ll.
in my family we always acknowledged D-Day, followed by an inevitable moment of silence.
we remember, and we NEED to remember for our own sakes as well.
(if you want to read up on your family member’s service record,
contact the National Personnel Records Center:
https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center
Thank you for your historical family story and for the link to the archives.
Your uncle: “Thank you for his service.” I mean that.
My father landed at Utah beach on June 7. Army medic, he hated the smell of rotting fkesh….most other stories were about Paris and good times with his buddies. He went on to the Battle of the Bulge, then Berlin. He and my uncles always had nightmares about the war. Born 10 years after D Day, i learned why on a different battlegroud.
My mother was OSS in a large southern port. She knew an awful lot about the sounds of aircraft engines, the number of engines running, and underwater cables to thwart submarines entering the bay. Insisted that we learn spanish, even though we lived and farmed in the Mississippi River delta.
They got married on June 6 in the late 40s, they just laughed when we woukd ask why that day.
D Day was a sacred day to remember inour town of 450, the county seat. Dad came back home after the war and law school, stayed a small town attorney and was the first in our state to use Miranda v AZ in the court appointed defense of a mentally challenged black teen who shot, killed and raped the mother of his friend. That defense was successful because the police beat him into a confession. he was later convicted of stealung gold from her house the same night, in a seperate case, and sent to the hospital for the criminally insane.
Family was there when the territory was Spanish, and farmed and ranched on a land grant from the King of Spain, kept intact, I think, by Daniel Boone. I grew up working that land. Our ancestors freed their slaves in the 1850s, but that made little difference in how we were treated during that case. It was a dangerous time in the Delta. Today’s arguments about race and all are just absurd ypto thise who lived it back then. Just sayin’.
Nevertheless, we all grew up respecing D Day and those who served and returned, and those who did not return. Today it is stunning to see so little on the news about such a momentous day. All the soldiers were respected.
When I came home it was different. Scorn and spit. I knew then that things were different. Never forget.
@taspok: “I thank your father for his service.” And likewise, your mother. May they together rest in peace.
I try not to overlook anyone . . . In those days, everybody did what they had to do.
Thank you.
Retired Magistrate here: Yes, my brother came back from Viet Nam and was spit on and called a baby killer. He was proud of his Navy uniform and wore it when he disembarked off the Midway at the port of San Francisco; big mistake and he never wore his uniform again.
My brother died last year of ALS as a result of his exposure to leaking barrels of Agent Orange when he was in port during the War. The VA acknowledged that it was the Agent Orange that caused the ALS and paid for his care; however, he was on a vent and a feeding tube for 3 years and at the end could only communicate by blinking his eyes. I am sorry that you received the same treatment my brother did and yes you are correct things changed a lot from those returning soldiers from War War II to the ones returning from Viet Nam.
May he rest in peace.
A correction, I was born 10 years after Pearl Harbour, not D Day, so a little older.
My parents were awesome, ancestors served in every conflict since the orignal revolution.
Thank you for your kind words.
and a few Indian wars along the wesr.
Have been checking the CBC website all day for any mention of D Day and the brave Canadian soldiers who gave their lives for freedom. Not a word. How very sad a country Canada has become.
Pathetic. You have my sympathies.
“Sorry that their government somehow missed it.” But, we still remember them. And, we thank them.
This was a good speech. He has done a good job this year and last. All my life, here we are with 25 veterans in attendance now. I am extremely privileged to have lived in the time of these veterans.
The war was very real as I grew up in my family. My grandparents ministered to the official refugees the FDR administration aloud at Fort Niagra. My mom and aunt were exposed to the stories of escaping first hand as kids. None of the experience was hidden from me.
It is nice that our Secretary takes this day seriously.
Let us now “thank them for their service” … all the many families, such as yours (and, by extension, mine …) who tried to mop up the human-carnage detritus of World War.
God Bless our brave men that fought for and gave us America, home of the free, home of the brave.
D Day mut never be forgotten.
Problem is other countries (than the USA) have opened up to never ending invaders from other countries to flood their beaches and towns .
The NEW invasion coupled with idiotic climate change rules have left countries barefoot walking on coals of illegals and dumb climate rules.
Land of the free BECAUSE of the BRAVE.
Absolutely!
D Day memorial in Bedford, Va. Well worth the visit to remember…..
If I remember correctly Bedford lost more men than any other American town during D Day
For a small town, Bedford lost more per capita on D-Day, 20 men. That is why it is the site of the D-Day Memorial. May God continue to bless their memories and families.
So much can be said to express gratitude for the American 🇺🇸 soldiers and airmen-
and their families who still serve.
Almighty God,
may You continue to bless the USA.
Amen
In JESUS PRECIOUS & HOLY NAME, AMEN, AMEN & AMEN
Having most of my family serve in the Pacific theater, principally on Leyte and Luzon and in the Battle of Manila as well as in the Admiralty Islands, what I feel remains an over emphasis on “D Day” for my entire life of 77 years does not inspire me to denigrate the landing on June 6th, but rather wish the Pacific’s many landings might be remembered, especially the 20 Oct 1944 landing at Leyte.
They are not forgotten, Jad. D-Day was the seminal counterstrike by the Allies signifying the symbolic and real turning of the tide of the European theater. US domestic propaganda needed a boost and the beaches in Normandy were straight out of central casting as the largest amphibious invasion in human history and counting.
Okinawa, with its horrendous military and civilian casualty count was the Pacific counterpart as the first amphibious assault on the Japanese homeland.
Of course, the Marines got the well-deserved, signature Pacific theater propaganda piece at Iwo Jima, and the ensuing iconic memorial at Arlington. Wartime correspondents and combat photographers have spent over 80 years trying to top that one!
And let’s never forget that the Philippine campaign was the first Pacific Island campaign where the indigenous peoples, formerly under the American protectorate, fought alongside the Allies, with horrific losses and suffering on their side during the span of the Japanese occupation. 🙂
Well done Secretary Hegseth!
You honored the brave warriors who made the ultimate sacrifice for liberty 82 years ago.
You spoke truth to our gutless “allies” about their cowardice in modern times. Your words were a very appropriate punch in the face to those gutless wonders and I pray that they heed your words.
You gave a much needed history lesson to today’s Americans about the proud history of the warriors who defend us. It might be of interest to some that Yogi Berra, Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees, was a part of that fighting force 82 years ago.
You reminded us that, when all odds are against us and our enemies look indestructible, courage and faith will prevail. That’s a lesson worth remembering today.
God bless Pete Hegseth and his family. He represents the very best of us.
One of the best things I ever did was take my young kids (then aged 11 and 8) to Normandy. We toured Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery above Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, the museum at Arromanches, and so much more. The road from Utah Beach towards Omaha Beach has signs along the way bearing the names of a soldier who died fighting at that spot. I lost count fo the number of signs… Of everything we saw the cemetery remain most memorable. The grounds were immaculate, and the crosses and stars of David, they went as far as the eye could see. It was quite a site and a very moving experience. What the men who are spending eternity there did for all of us will never be forgotten at least not by my family.
Blah blah blah… WWII was decided when the Nazis attacked Russia. Three years later the mop up began.
Sundance, thank you for posting this.
I might’ve not seen it otherwise.
Signed, daughter of D-Day veteran (God rest his soul)
YouTube video of Detroit sergeant who landed on DDay plus 1. Age 19. He weighed 120 pounds when he enlisted and weighed 120 pounds when he was discharged. Proud to say it’s my dad, RIP, age 80.
Wow. This was “your Dad?” To say to him, “thank you for your service,” is not nearly enough. (And, if you followed in his footsteps, the same to you.)
He is now forever memorialized – in video. May he forever rest in peace … unless he’s now busy doing something new, just to show you someday. 😀
Thank you for the kind words. His 3 brothers also served. My username PcesofEight is because I’m one of 8 children. My son recorded the video of dad for a HS history project.
Nice!
Thank you.
November 2024.
The whole ceremony was very moving. I really enjoyed General Caine’s speech as well. Words cannot really express how grateful we are for these awe-inspiring courageous patriots who selflessly gave their lives for our freedom from tyranny. If you have known any of the WWII veterans you may know that remarkably, they didn’t view themselves as heroes, but would always say, “We were just doing our duty.” They did love the accolades and being showered with attention though! Having attended annual WWII veteran’s reunions for over 20 years I can say it was one of life’s most meaningful times to be able to be a part of the efforts to honor them. It still breaks my heart that so many of them never made it home.
We will never forget this Greatest Generation and all that they did for us. It will be a great loss to the world when they have all left us. It has been an honor and a true privilege to know them. There will never be another generation like them and I am sorry for the younger generations who have missed out on this. It was an amazing gift to see so many of the veterans still able to attend the ceremony today!
What secretary Hegsteth did not include in his speech Is verse 6.
Psalm 20:6-9 NKJV
Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.
[7] Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
[8] They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.
[9] Save, LORD! May the King answer us when we call.
For the Scots amongst us…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gZeY8-FXBCs
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zauVyHkSMw4
“…you and I are Scottish”….
And the Brits they were on the way to support, heard the pipes…can you imagine?
We should’ve invaded Britain and taken London
Hegseth is a true warrior and patriot and this powerful talk carries great weight for that reason!! Hegseth gave honor to the men who gave their all for freedom but most importantly he ended by paying homage to the King of kings who rules supreme over this world and this King was the source of strength for these same great men that morning in Normandy.
We are blessed to have such men and we are blessed to have sec. Hegseth at this pivotal time for our country. I pray for Hegseth and Cain every day.
Visit the WW2 Museum in NOLA . Just sayin’ ….
So thankful he didn’t say “our men and women “ even one time!!
Aggiegirl, Were you the one who put up the link for information about getting our relatives’ military history?
Would you put it up again? When I went back, it was gone. Thanks.
If only European leaders would heed Sec Hegseth’s words and fight the invasion occuring on other European beaches today.
I don’t know but it is very sad to think that Europe may already be lost.
Truly freedom is only one generation away from extinction.