Trump Recalls Nation's Founding In Memorial Day Speech At Arlington National Cemetery

Forbes Breaking News

President Trump delivers a Memorial Day speech in Arlington National Cemetery.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much.

00:19Thank you very much.

00:21Very special place and a very special day.

00:26Thank you to Vice President Vance, doing a

00:29terrific job.

00:30Thanks also to a man who has devoted his life to

00:34service members and veterans, Secretary of

00:36Defense Pete Hegseth, who's doing really well.

00:40He went through a lot, didn't he?

00:42But he's doing really well.

00:43He's a tough cookie.

00:44That's what we want, is a tough cookie.

00:53And we're grateful to be joined as well by

00:56Chairman Cain, terrific military person.

01:01Members of the Cabinet, members of Congress, members

01:04of the United States Armed Forces, veterans, and many

01:08other distinguished guests.

01:10We gather today to honor the incredible service members

01:15who rest in glory in this cemetery and burial grounds

01:19around the world and in a thousand lonely places known

01:23only to God.

01:25In every hour of peril and every moment of crisis,

01:28American warriors have left behind the blessings of home

01:32and family to answer their nation's call.

01:36They've offered all that they had within them and given

01:39their last breaths to each and every one of us that we

01:44might live safe and breathe free.

01:49This morning, we pay tribute to their immortal deeds.

01:53We share in the sorrow of their beloved families.

01:56And as one nation, we give thanks for the ultimate gift

02:00they have so selflessly given to all of us.

02:04These warriors, and that's what they are, is great, great

02:06warriors picked up their mantle of duty and service,

02:11knowing that to live for others meant always that they

02:14might die for others.

02:16They knew that.

02:17They asked nothing for it.

02:20They gave everything, and we owe them everything

02:24and much, much more.

02:29Each of the service members who have made the supreme

02:33sacrifice for our nation has also left an unfillable

02:37void and an unbreakable silence in the lives

02:41of all who love them.

02:44For the families of the fallen, you feel the absence

02:48of your heroes every day in the family.

02:51These are great families.

02:53These are wonderful families.

02:55In the familiar laugh no longer heard, the empty space

02:58at Sunday dinner, or the want of a hug or a pat on the

03:03back that will never come again.

03:07Every gold star family fights a battle long after the

03:10victory is won.

03:11And today, we lift you up and we hold you high.

03:18Thank you for giving America the brightest light in

03:21your lives.

03:21It's what you've done.

03:23We will never, ever forget our fallen heroes, and we

03:26will never forget our debt to you.

03:31This Memorial Day is especially significant as

03:34we commemorate 250 years since the first American

03:38patriots fell on the field of battle.

03:42Two and a half centuries ago, at Lexington Green,

03:46Concord Bridge, Bunker Hill, brave minute men and humble

03:51farm boys became the first to give their lives for a

03:54nation that did not yet have a name.

03:59With their deaths, men like John Brown, 23, Samuel

04:04Hadley, 28, and Abner Hosmer, 21, ignited the flame

04:11of liberty that now lights the inspires everybody and the

04:18entire world.

04:20Those young men could never have known what their

04:23sacrifice would mean to us.

04:25But we certainly know what we owe to them.

04:29Their valor gave us the freest, greatest, and most

04:33noble republic ever to exist on the face of the

04:35earth.

04:37A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard

04:40four years.

04:41That was a hard four years we went through.

04:44People pouring through our borders, unchecked people, doing

05:01things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss.

05:06But the republic that is now doing so very well, we're

05:10doing so very well right now, considering the

05:14circumstances, and we'll do record setting better with time.

05:18We will do better than we've ever done as a nation, better

05:21than ever before.

05:22I promise you that.

05:23In every generation since, at Trenton and Yorktown, at

05:35Vicksburg and Shiloh, and in faraway places with names

05:41like Chateau, Terere, Anzio, Iwo Jima, Quezon, Kandahar,

05:50really just a few chosen names.

05:54And these are names that have become so important on the

05:57altar of freedom.

06:00They plunged into the crucible of battle, stormed into the

06:03fires of hell, charged into the valley of death, and rose

06:09into the arms of angels.

06:12The sacrifice that they made was not merely for a

06:15single battle, a long-ago victory or a fleeting

06:18triumph decades or centuries past.

06:22Their sacrifice was for today, tomorrow, and every

06:26morning thereafter.

06:28Every child that lives in peace, every home that is

06:31filled with joy and love, every day the republic stands

06:35only possible because of those who did what had to be done

06:40when duty called, and the cost was everything to them and

06:46to their families.

06:48Our debt to them is eternal, and it does not diminish with

06:52time.

06:53It only grows and grows and grows with each passing year.

06:58The greatest monument to their courage is not carved in marble or

07:02cast in bronze.

07:04It's all around us, an American nation, 325 million strong, which

07:10will soon be greater than it has ever been before.

07:15It will be.

07:17And so today, we uphold the memory of our heroes, as

07:21people have done since ancient times, by telling their stories

07:26and exalting their names.

07:29Senior Master Sergeant Elroy Harworth was a young, beautiful

07:34man from Earhart, Minnesota, when he enlisted in the Air Force and

07:39was sent to Vietnam.

07:42Fifty-nine years ago this very week, Elroy and his crewmates

07:47climbed into the dark skies over Da Nang on a classified mission known

07:53as Operation Carolina Moon.

07:57Their aim was to blow up a key enemy bridge.

08:00And while other crews had tried and failed, they were determined to

08:04try and get it done in the face of extreme danger.

08:08And they knew how bad it was.

08:10As their C-130 closed in on its target and Elroy jockeyed his 5,000

08:17pounds of explosives into position, the aircraft came under

08:22unbelievably intense fire.

08:24They'd never seen anything like it.

08:27Try as they might, they were hit as the plane swung low and they went down

08:33deep in enemy territory.

08:35Elroy was just 24 years old when he gave his life for America, leaving

08:40behind a beautiful young wife who was seven months pregnant.

08:45That meant Elroy would never know the joy of meeting his son, Troy, or seeing

08:50him grow, and he would never have the pride to watch his son follow in his

08:56father's footsteps and serve two decades in the U.S. Army.

09:02Sergeant First Class Troy Harworth is with us today, joined by his wife,

09:08Sonya, and their son, John.

09:10The grandson, Elroy, never got to hold.

09:14Thank you, Troy, and thank you, John.

09:16And above all, thank you, Elroy.

09:19Thank you very much.

09:20Please stand up.

09:23Wherever you may be.

09:29Thank you very much.

09:34Great family.

09:37Corporal Ryan McGee of Fredericksburg, Virginia, knew from the time he saw the

09:42towers fall on 9-11 that he wanted to be an Army Ranger.

09:47He was an American guy, all American.

09:50He was a tough guy.

09:52He was the top of everything.

09:54In high school, he was captain of the football team and was voted friendliest and most charming

10:00by his peers.

10:02Ryan joined the Army soon after graduation, and after three tours in Afghanistan, he deployed

10:07to Iraq.

10:09He and his unit were tasked with hunting down a weapon facilitator and a suicide bomber

10:16cell near Baghdad, a vicious, vicious cell killing many, many people.

10:22Sixteen years ago this month, they engaged the enemy in a firefight, and Ryan was mortally

10:28wounded.

10:30He gave his life at 21 years old, and today he rests until the end of time in the famed

10:35Section 60 here at Arlington, where we have buried our honored dead from the war on terror.

10:43We are joined today by Ryan's mom, Sherry, and Sherry, all of America shares in your grief,

10:50and more importantly, we share in your pride and your wonderful son.

10:54And thank you so much for being here, Sherry.

10:56Thank you, Sherry.

11:01Thank you, Sherry.

11:11Thank you very much.

11:13On behalf of everyone, this crowd is so big, she's hard to find.

11:18Once I saw her, she really stands out.

11:20Thank you, Sherry, very much.

11:23Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent grew up in Pine Plains, New York, before enlisting

11:30in the Navy in 2003, and she quickly became one of the rising stars.

11:35She was an absolute winner.

11:38As a linguist, translator, and cryptologic technician, Shannon worked alongside elite special

11:46force units like Delta Force and Navy SEALs to help them capture and kill terrorists.

11:53She was among the first women ever to do it, and she did it better than anyone.

11:58In January 2019, Shannon was on her fifth combat deployment, embedded with a team hunting

12:05ISIS terrorists through the streets of Syria when a suicide bomber detonated his weapon-killing

12:13senior chief Kent and three other wonderful, beautiful Americans.

12:20She left behind her husband, Joe, and their two sons, three-year-old Colt and 18-month-old

12:26baby Josh.

12:28Today, Shannon rests in peace on these grounds alongside her comrades.

12:33To her boys, Colt and Josh, who are here this morning, now aged nine and seven, let me

12:40say your mom was a hero, and her love, her strength, and her spirit are always with us

12:47and always be with you.

12:48She loved her boys.

12:50To Joe, the boys, Shannon's parents, Mary and Stephen, and her sister, Mariah, Shannon's

12:58name will live forever in the chronicles of true American patriots.

13:02I just want to thank you, and thank you so much for being here in honor of your magnificent

13:08family member.

13:11Stories like Shannon's, Ryan's, and Elroy's remind us of the real meaning of the day.

13:15And I want to just say, please stand up wherever you may be.

13:19The boys, I want to see those boys.

13:21Where are you?

13:22The boys, I want to see those boys.

13:39Thank you very much for being here.

14:06All of you, thank you so much.

14:08We should never forget, even for a moment, that freedom is a gift of the highest cost

14:12and peace is won at the most precious price.

14:16These extraordinary American heroes and their immense and ultimate sacrifices they offer

14:22only the faintest glimpse at the infinite grace we have received from all who laid down

14:30their lives for America over the past 250 years.

14:34We're going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years.

14:40In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was because I wouldn't be your

14:47president for that most important of all.

14:50In addition, we have the World Cup and we have the Olympics.

14:54Can you imagine?

14:54I missed that four years.

14:56And now look what I have.

14:57I have everything amazing the way things work out.

15:01God did that.

15:08I believe that too.

15:09God did it.

15:15You know, I got the World Cup and I got the Olympics.

15:23The 250 years was not mine.

15:26I'd like to take credit.

15:27But I got the Olympics.

15:28I got the World Cup when I was president.

15:31And I said, boy, it's too bad.

15:32I won't be president then.

15:33And look what happened.

15:34I turned out and we're going to have a great time.

15:37We're going to have a great celebration.

15:39But most important of all is the 250th anniversary.

15:42That blows everything away, including the World Cup and including the Olympics, as far as

15:47I'm concerned, in any corner of this cemetery, at any resting place for our war dead, anywhere on

15:53earth, you'll find untold stories of equal heroism and heartbreak, unmatched patriotism and

16:00devotion and acts of selflessness and courage so enormous they defy comprehension.

16:08Most people can't even imagine it.

16:10Great poets have written that it's love which moves the sun and the stars.

16:15But here on the sacred soil, right where we are, we're reminded that it's love which

16:22moves the course of history and moves it always toward freedom, always.

16:27From Bunker Hill to Bastogne to Cantonese to Coral Sea, from Gettysburg to Guadalcanal

16:35and Concord to Kabul, America's best and America's bravest have fought, bled and died so that we

16:43could pick up the torch of liberty, raise it high, high, high, high, and carry it onward

16:50to places they could never have dreamed of before.

16:54Today, we honor their memory.

16:56We remember their gallantry.

16:58We just revere, in the highest sense, we just revere their incredible legacy.

17:05We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory, and we continue our relentless pursuit

17:12of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer, and greater than ever before.

17:21May God bless our fallen heroes.

17:25May God bless our gold star families.

17:28And may God bless the United States of America.

17:32America, thank you very much, everybody. Great honor. Thank you.

17:35Thank you very much.

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