President Trump Speaks To Military Parade For U.S. Army's 250th Birthday In D.C.

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President Trump speaks to the military parade for the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday in Washington, D.C.

Transcript

00:00Thank you very much, everybody.

00:29Thank you to Vice President Vance, and thank you to our wonderful First Lady, and above

00:36all, thank you to the greatest, fiercest, and bravest fighting force ever to stride

00:43the face of this earth, the United States Army.

00:47Thank you very much.

00:52Because the Army keeps us free, you make us strong, and tonight you have made all

00:59Americans very proud.

01:02They're watching from all over the world, actually.

01:05I made them all very proud.

01:07Every other country celebrates their victories.

01:10It's about time.

01:12America did, too.

01:14That's what we're doing tonight.

01:15And watching this magnificent display, our souls are filled with gratitude for every

01:25generation of warriors who have worn the uniform all the way back to the very beginning.

01:30So to every veteran across our land, and right here in our nation's capital, including six

01:38recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, we love you, we honor you, and we salute your

01:44noble service to our flag and to our country.

01:47As we celebrate tonight, we also think of the hundreds of thousands of Army soldiers who have

01:55made the supreme sacrifice for our nation and selflessly laid down their lives in every war,

02:02from the Revolution to the War on Terror.

02:06To the Gold Star families with us today, the courage of your heroes is the bedrock on which

02:12our entire nation stands.

02:15We thank you.

02:17Yes, we thank you.

02:19Today, we commemorate an event that did not just change American history, but changed the history

02:25of the entire world.

02:28With the creation of America's Army on June 14th, 1775, liberty got its shield and the freedom

02:38got its sword.

02:39Those first Army patriots in the American Revolution fought against a fearsome enemy and impossible

02:47odds, but they were armed with a righteous cause.

02:51They were led by an indomitable commander, a truly great man, General George Washington,

02:59and they were united by an eternal creed.

03:04Their motto was victory or death.

03:06Over the past two and a half centuries, our warriors have shown unrivaled valor on fields,

03:12a battle around the globe.

03:14With the frostbitten feet and bloody fists, they have marched into the flames in fury of

03:21combat, charged up mountains, stormed beaches, waded through torrents of gunfire, and leapt

03:28into skies thick with smoke and shrapnel.

03:32The U.S. Army has driven bayonets into the heart of sinister empires, crushed the ambitions of evil

03:41tyrants.

03:42Beneath the threads of American tanks, it's done so well, it's done so much, and sent the devil himself

03:49flying into full retreat.

03:52Time and again, America's enemies have learned that if you threaten the American people, our

03:58soldiers are coming for you.

04:00Your defeat will be certain.

04:02Your demise will be final.

04:04And your downfall will be total and complete.

04:08Because our soldiers never give up, never surrender, and never, ever quit.

04:21They fight, fight, fight, and they win, win, win.

04:24And that's why no institution in history has entered more names into the roster of American

04:35heroes than the U.S. Army, the Congressional Medal of Honor, more than anyone or anything.

04:43There was mad Anthony Wayne, asked by George Washington to lead a daring midnight raid up

04:50the cliffs of Stony Point with unloaded muskets and only their bayonets to fight the redcoats.

04:58Mad Anthony replied, issue the order, sir, and I will storm into hell for you.

05:04Then there was the Civil War General, John Corse, shot in the face in combat.

05:17He fired off a message to his commander.

05:20I am short a cheekbone and one ear, but I am able to whip the hell out of all of them.

05:27He stayed on the front lines, it seemed, forever.

05:30In World War II, there was the great Creighton Abrams, besieged on all sides by the Nazis at

05:39the Battle of the Bulge.

05:41He boldly proclaimed, they've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards.

05:47This is the fighting spirit and unyielding force of the U.S. Army.

05:53It has never changed, and it will never, ever change, because there is no earthly force more

06:00powerful than the brave heart of a U.S. infantryman or an Army ranger, paratrooper, or Green Beret.

06:09They are the best.

06:10They are the finest.

06:12From Bunker Hill to San Juan Hill, from Gettysburg to Guadalcanal, from Yorktown to Shiloh,

06:19and from the trenches of the Argonne to the mountains of Afghanistan, the Army has forged

06:26a legacy of unmatched courage, untold sacrifice, and unequaled and undying glory.

06:34Our soldiers have poured out their blood by the bucketful on Missionary Ridge and Heartbreak

06:42Ridge, on the sands of Sicily, Normandy, and the Philippines, and on the dusty streets

06:49of Da Nang, Baghdad, and Fallujah.

06:53Thanks to their extraordinary service and devotion, 250 years later, America stands tall,

07:00America stands proud, and America stands free.

07:04We're the hottest country in the world right now, and our country will soon be greater and

07:11stronger than ever before.

07:13Down through history, we've been blessed beyond words by this valiant legion of Army warriors

07:19and patriots, heroes and legends.

07:22And tonight, we affirm with unwavering certainty that in the years ahead and in every generation

07:29hence, whenever duty calls and whatever danger comes, the American soldier will be there.

07:38No matter the risk, no matter the obstacles, our warriors will charge into battle, they will

07:50plunge into the crucible of fire, and they will seize the crown of victory, because the United

07:57States of America will always have the grace of Almighty God and the iron will of the United

08:03States Army.

08:05Congratulations to everybody.

08:07We love our country.

08:08We've never done better.

08:11God bless you.

08:12God bless the Army.

08:13And God bless America.

08:20And now I'd like to ask our great First Lady to join me at the podium.

08:26Thank you very much, everybody.

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