[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 108 (Thursday, June 27, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                       NORMANDY 80TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2024

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I was grateful to 
participate in the Bipartisan Congressional Delegation for the 80th 
Anniversary of the Normandy invasion at the invitation of Speaker Mike 
Johnson and led by Majority Speaker Steve Scalise.
  A highlight of the program were the following remarks of Charles K. 
Djou, Secretary, American Battle Monuments Commission at the Normandy 
American Cemetery on Omaha Beach on June 6, 2024:

       ``President and First Lady Biden. President and First Lady 
     Macron.
       Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the American Battle 
     Monuments Commission's Normandy American Cemetery.
       Bonjour a tous et bievenue.
       D-Day is the hinge of history. It is here that America 
     reflects the very best of its values.
       When America is at its best. When America sends its young, 
     its brave, its best, to fight, America does not fight----
       --for a king or a crown
       --not for a sect or a denomination
       --not for a motherland or a fatherland
       And America most certainly does not fight for conquest, or 
     plunder, or enslavement of another people.
       Rather, at its best, when America asks its young and brave 
     to serve, to sacrifice, and yes, sometimes make the ultimate 
     sacrifice, America fights for simple values.
       The values of Freedom, Liberty and Democracy.
       And when the job is done, when the mission is accomplished, 
     when America and her allies have taken down the tyrant and 
     stood up democracy of the people, America does something 
     utterly unique in the history of mankind--we go home.
       All that America asks for in return for this sacrifice of 
     our young is a few small plots of land to bury our dead who 
     have made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause of freedom.
       You are all seated here in one such small plot of land--the 
     Normandy American Cemetery.
       That is why----
       --this Date, June 6th
       --this Place, Normandy
       --this Ceremony, here is a reminder to us of the real cost 
     of war and the real price of liberty.
       It is a price that we paid on D-Day 80 years ago. It is a 
     price we remind authoritarians today that, if necessary, we 
     will pay again to ensure the survival of freedom.
       --France knows.
       --The United States knows.
       --We know.
       --La France le connait
       --Les Estas Unis les connaissent
       --Nous connaissons
       That the world's most powerful weapon system is
       --not a T-72 manned by mercenaries
       --not a Fujian aircraft carrier patrolling artificial 
     islands
       --not a suicidal terrorist killing innocents
       No, it was, it is, and it shall forever be a free people 
     willing to fight for freedom. This is what today is all 
     about.
       Thank you for coming, here.
       Thank you for remembering, here.
       Thank you for renewing your faith in freedom, here.
       Je voudrais dit, merci beaucoup.
       May the good Lord, bless you, your family, France and the 
     United States of America.''

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