President Joe Biden marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day in a speech with a warning of current perils to democracy, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the risks of a fracturing of the NATO alliance.
Before dozens of surviving veterans, a number of them centenarians who traveled for the Normandy ceremony, Biden said, “We are not far off from the time, the last living voices of those who fought and bled on D-Day will no longer be with us. So we have a special obligation. We cannot let what happened here be lost in the silence of years to come.”
Among those in the crowd were Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, whose Saving Private Ryan and Band Of Brothers helped elevate the stories of D-Day — including the sacrifices and heroism of servicemen — to new generations. The influence was apparent as the Band of Brothers soundtrack, by Michael Kamen, could be heard during points of coverage.
Related Stories
“We are living at a time when democracy has more risk across the world than at any point since the end of World War II, since these beaches were stormed in 1944,” Biden said. “Now we have to ask ourselves, will we stand against tyranny? Against evil? Against crushing brutality of the iron fist? When we stand for freedom, when we defend democracy, we stand together.”
In his 16-minute speech, Biden did not mention his rival, Donald Trump, but he did talk of the necessity of preserving the NATO alliance, an outgrowth of World War II. Trump has questioned the alliance, particularly over the amount that other countries are putting up in their own defense.
“America’s unique ability to bring countries together is an undeniable source of our strength and our power,” Biden said. “Isolationism was not the answer eighty years ago, and it is not the answer today.”
“We know the dark forces that these heroes fought against 80 years ago,” Biden said. “They never fade. Aggression and greed. The desire to dominate and control, to change borders by force. These are perennial. The struggle between a dictatorship and freedom is unending.”
Biden reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Ukraine, with plans to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has traveled to France to participate in events marking the D-Day anniversary.
During the ceremony, French President Emmanuel Macron presented the American veterans with the French Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest honor, as Biden accompanied him. After the speeches, a bugler played taps, and after a gun salute, four F-35s flew overhead. Later, Biden and First Lady Jill Biden stopped at the grave of Pvt. First Class John S. Greenfield, who was from Wilmington, DE.
Before the ceremony, Biden met with more than two dozen veterans, one of whom told the president, “Don’t get old” as he sat back in his wheelchair, per a pool report. The president commissioned a challenge coin to honor those who served. “A great honor, I mean it, seriously,” Biden said to another veteran.
Hanks and Spielberg posed for pictures (including with Sen. Ted Cruz) and met with veterans. Hanks also talked to reporters about the historical perspective of the moment, of what happens when just one person “has this twisted sense” of “what needed to be fixed and needed to be repaired…who was worthy and who was not. One guy made that necessary, and his acolytes and his followers as well.”
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.