Hegseth also delivered remarks honoring the approximately 160,000 Allied troops, 73,000 of whom were Americans :
"Eighty-two
years ago today, the survival of Western civilization hung in the
balance. Dark forces had swept across Europe. Hitler boasted that his
[coastal defensive] Atlantic Wall was impenetrable. But our enemy made a
fatal miscalculation: they underestimated the unbreakable will of the
American fighting man," Hegseth said early in his remarks.
As
we face an increasingly complex threat environment, we apply the
lessons from 82 years ago learned on these beaches: strong allies, each
fully committed to doing their part, win wars," he said.
Hegseth
further explained that the men who fought and died at Normandy were
part of a war fighting alliance where every partner brought its "full
measure of industry, courage and sacrifice," as opposed to "empty
slogans" and "lavish summits."
"Each nation pulled its weight;
each nation bled. America will lead — and we must — but capable allies
must be right there with us, shoulder to shoulder, in the breach, when
it matters," Hegseth said. [....[
"We forgot that freedom is not
free. We forgot that peace is not wished into being. It is bought with
purpose, with honor and with strength. The men who landed on these
beaches knew this; the question we ask ourselves is, do we?" Hegseth
said.
Hegseth also met with some U.S. service members to tell them that
they were clearing the way to help them do the best job they could do,
and that he and the president had their backs.
.@SECWAR “It’s nothing but an honor to have the chance to lead you—my job is to serve you.
Our job at the Pentagon is to run as fast as we can and cut as much bureaucracy as we can…” pic.twitter.com/8Mm87zKAUS
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