Hegseth, at Normandy, Urges Allies To Remember the Lessons of D-Day

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on America’s European allies to remember the lessons of the past in remarks delivered Saturday in Normandy on the anniversary of the 1944 D-Day landings that marked the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. “As we face an increasingly complex threat environment, we apply the lessons from 82 years ago learned on these beaches: strong allies, each fully committed to doing their part, win wars,” Mr. Hegseth told an audience of European defense officials, military personnel, and 29 World War II veterans at the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, France.“Each nation pulled its weight; each nation bled. America will lead — and we must — but capable allies must be right there with us, shoulder to shoulder, in the breach, when it matters,” Mr. Hegseth said, contrasting the “industry, courage, and sacrifice” demonstrated in 1944 with the “empty slogans” and “lavish summits” of today.“We forgot that freedom is not free,” he continued. “We forgot that peace is not wished into being. It is bought with purpose, with honor and with strength. The men who landed on these beaches knew this; the question we ask ourselves is, do we?”Returning to a frequent Trump administration criticism of Western Europe, Mr. Hegseth compared the valor of D-Day — in which 160,000 Allied troops, including 73,000 Americans, stormed Normandy’s beaches — with the wave of would-be refugees and asylum-seekers making their way to the continent today.“Sadly, today different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies,” he said. “In Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not.”The call for Europe to do more to restrict immigration stood in contrast to remarks delivered at about the same time Saturday by Pope Leo XIV at the beginning of a seven-day visit to Spain.Greeted at Madrid by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, along with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the pope urged Spaniards to welcome and educate newly arrived young people and to appreciate the diversity and complexity they bring.“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated,” Pope Leo said.“For the love of truth, I invite everyone to set aside the divisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying. Doing so will help Europe “overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity.”In Normandy, Mr. Hegseth was accompanied by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, who addressed his remarks specifically to the handful of aging veterans present.“[To] the veterans of World War II who are here with us today, and those who did not come home, thank you — thank you for your courage, tenacity, and grit that you showed the world on that day and the days that followed,” General Caine told the men.Among those present was a 107-year-old Navy veteran, Art Rose, who read from a letter he had sent his parents on June 11, 1944, five days after the landing in which more than 2,000 allied troops died and almost 8,000 were wounded or captured.“What a country we are,” the former engineering officer read from the letter. “I will always be grateful to my commander for taking me along [to battle]. … Don’t worry about me. I am well, whole, and happy. Love, Art.”

Hegseth, at Normandy, Urges Allies To Remember the Lessons of D-Day

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