On our national Mall now sits 7 acres of bronze, granite, and gardens that memorializes the greatest generation, those who fought and died in WWII. Perhaps you've seen it. There are 56 tall pillars that encircle the memorial stand for the states, and districts, territories of our country. When it was dedicated the speakers ranged from General Kelly, Tom Brokaw, who wrote the book The Greatest Generation, Tom hanks who was the spokesman for the memorial, Fred Smith co-chair and Bob Dole chair of the building committee, and the Presidents Bush One, Clinton, and George W. Bush.
They have rightly been called the Greatest Generation. Here are some statistics about WWII. From 1940 to 1945
- Total service members: 16,112,566 soldiers, sailors, air forces, and marines
- Battle deaths: 291,557
- Other deaths in service: 113,842
- Non-mortal wounding: 671,846
These veterans are quickly fading but many are still alive. It gives you an understanding of how young they were then. But it wasn't only the soldiers who put forth an effort during that time, as President Bush pointed out in his dedicatory speech, there was a participation by all citizens of the United States: 60% of the vegetables grown at that time were grown in back yards and rooftops.
If there is any question as to why this period of time was so important: World wide 50,000,000 people died as a result of the war. The central focus of the memorial is the gold star war, thousands and thousands of gold stars for those who gave their lives. The marker in front says simply: "Here we mark the price of freedom."
And now on this D-Day as 1,056 of these veterans die each day let us remember their sacrifice with a moment of silence. Let us remember this the greatest of our generations.
ONE MINUTE PAUSE
Today on the beaches of Normandy the people gather gather to talk about the fight for freedom which occurred on this day. And the shadow of Ronald Reagan always looms large. If Normandy was the beginning of the end of the War, Ronald Reagan was the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
I remember the Berlin wall speech at the Brandenburg Gate, one of the greatest speeches ever made. The words were prophetic: General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Thus began the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He had a profound respect for the office he held. He never took his coat off in the Oval Office. He had a great sense of humor, which was disarming. When he was in the emergency room after nearly being assassinated, his wife Nancy ran in and he said to her, "Honey, I forgot to duck." Just before the surgery he look at the doctors standing there and said, "Please tell me that you're all Republicans." After he recovered from the anesthesia, he quipped, borrowing the old line from W.C. Fields, "All things considered I would rather be in Philadelphia."
He did three things: He defeated the Evil Empire, turned the nation's economy around, and gave America back her morale.
As president Bush said: He had the confidence that comes with conviction, the strength that comes with character, the grace that comes with humility, and the humor that comes with wisdom.
This is D-day. No one embodies more, the reasons why we fight for freedom. Let me close this memorial with Reagan's own words: I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead, the best is yet to come.