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Ceremony Commemorates 75th Anniversary of D-Day. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired June 06, 2019 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: You've been watching a special edition of NEW DAY as we remember D-Day.

[05:59:25] and we just saw a very touching moment from French President Macron. He was giving his speech in French, of course. And then he stopped and paused and, in English, he turned, and he honored the U.S. veterans. Sixty-five of them are there in the audience today who stormed the beach of -- Omaha Beach of Normandy.

And he turned to them, and I don't know if we have him saying it or if -- OK. Listen to what he -- listen to what he told them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: What we owe to you veterans. Our freedom. On behalf of my nation, I just want to say thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Sixty-five veterans, American veterans of the D-Day landing there. You could see a small smile creep onto some of their faces when the French president turned around and said thank you. And then you saw some of them rise to hear that applause. What a beautiful, beautiful moment.

CAMEROTA: It makes me well up a little bit because of how powerful it is for veterans to hear "thank you." You know, we so often hear on Memorial Day or whenever that they just want -- all they want is a thank you for your service.

And for some of these men, this is the first time that they've ever gone back since that pivotal moment, that defining moment in World War II. And to have the French president say, "Thank you, we owe it all to you. We owe our freedom to you" is just very powerful.

BERMAN: And again, to a man, I think they would all say, "We were just doing our duty. And we would do it again in a second. We'd do it right now. We may be 93 years old, but we would do it right now."

CAMEROTA: Exact. I'm glad you point that out, because yesterday we saw one of the 93-year-olds jump out of a plane again yesterday. And he said he would do that all again, and it was easier, he said, yesterday than what he had to do on D-Day. BERMAN: All right. The French president is getting close to the end

of his remarks. He will actually present the Legion of Honor to five U.S. veterans who are there today. We'll bring that to you as it happens.

And then we expect to hear from President Trump a short while later. The two leaders are the main attractions, the main speakers at this event today. And we will listen to hear what the president has to say.

At this moment we're joined by Christiane Amanpour, CNN chief international anchor; Melissa Bell, CNN international correspondent; and Jim Acosta, chief White House correspondent.

Christiane, you've been listening to the French president. We've been watching the images, looking at the faces of those U.S. veterans. Just reflect on this moment.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, look, just to see, as you came to us he finished. You can see his now embrace with President Trump. I think President Macron is somebody who is very, very, very moved. He really understands. He speaks perfect English. He understands. He's of the younger generation, but he knows what the older generation did. And turning around twice to thank, personally, in English the veterans for what they had done and over and again say, "We know what we owe the United States of America. We know what you owe -- we owe you veterans. We owe you our freedom." And he -- he made a big deal about that.

And what you've got going on right now is what you were talking about. The Legion D'honneur is being handed out to five of the veterans. And we've already pointed out that only 65 D-Day veterans have been able to come this year. And, in any event, it's a dwindling, dwindling supply, as you can imagine.

BERMAN: Christiane, let's listen. Let's listen.

AMANPOUR: Age is catching up with all --

BERMAN: I think we can hear what the French president is saying.

AMANPOUR: -- these people who put it all on the line --

BERMAN: Let's listen to what the president is saying.

AMANPOUR: -- 75 years ago.

BERMAN: I think we can hear him.

CAMEROTA: I'm not sure that we can hear them, but we do know the men that are being honored here. This is Mr. Vincent Hines (ph), Stanley Friday, Harold Terrence (ph), Charlies Giroux (ph).

MACRON (through translator): Mr. Stanley Friday, in honor of the French republic, I award you the distinction of a knight of the Legion of Honor. Mr. Charles Giroux (ph), in the name of the French republic, I make

you a knight of the Legion of Honor.

Mr. Harold Terrence (ph), in the name of the French republic, I make you a knight of the Legion of Honor.

Mr. Paul Worth (ph), in the name of the French republic, we make you knight of the Legion of Honor.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States, Donald --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FRENCH)

(MUSIC: "HAIL TO THE CHIEF")

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: President Macron, Mrs. Macron, and the people of France, to the first lady of the United States and members of the United States Congress, to distinguished guests, veterans and my fellow Americans, we are gathered here on freedom's altar. On these shores, on these bluffs, on this day 75 years ago, 10,000 men shed their blood, and thousands sacrificed their lives for their brothers, for their countries, and for the survival of liberty.

Today we remember those who fell, and we honor all who fought right here in Normandy. They won back this ground for civilization.

To more than 170 veterans of the Second World War who join us today, you are among the very greatest Americans who will ever live. You're the pride of our nation. You are the glory of our republic. And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Here with you are over 60 veterans who landed on D-Day. Our debt to you is everlasting. Today we express our undying gratitude. When you were young, these men enlisted their lives in a great crusade, one of the greatest of all times. Their mission is the story of an epic battle and the ferocious eternal struggle between good and evil.

On the 6th of June, 1944, they joined a liberation force of awesome power and breathtaking scale. After months of planning, the Allies had chosen this ancient coastline to mount their campaign to vanquish the wicked tyranny of the Nazi empire from the face of the earth.

The battle began in the skies above us. In those first tense midnight hours, 1,000 aircraft roared overhead with 17,000 Allied airborne troops preparing to leap into the darkness beyond these trees.

Then came dawn. The enemy, who had occupied these heights, saw the largest naval armada in the history of the world. Just a few miles offshore were 7,000 vessels bearing 130,000 warriors. They were the citizens of free and independent nations, united by their duty to their compatriots and to millions yet unborn.

There were the British whose nobility and fortitude saw them through the worst of Dunkirk and the London blitz. The full violence of Nazi fury was no match for the full grandeur of British pride. Thank you.

There were the Canadians whose robust sense of honor and loyalty compelled them to take up arms alongside Britain from the very, very beginning. There were the fighting Poles, the tough Norwegians and the intrepid Aussies. There were the gallant French commandos, soon to be met by thousands of their brave countrymen ready to write a new chapter in the long history of French valor.

And finally, there were the Americans. They came from the farms of a vast heartland, the streets of glowing cities, and the forges of mighty industrial towns. Before the war, many had never ventured beyond their own community. Now they had come to offer their lives half a world from home.

This beach, code named Omaha, was defended by the Nazis with monstrous firepower, thousands and thousands of mines and spikes driven into the sand so deeply. It was here that tens of thousands of the Americans came. The G.I.s who boarded the landing craft that morning knew that they carried on their shoulders not just the pack of a soldier but the fate of the world.

Colonel George Taylor, whose 16th Infantry Regiment would join in the first wave, was asked what would happen if the Germans stopped right then and there, cold on the beach, just stopped them, what would happen? This great American replied, "Why, the 18th Infantry is coming in right behind us. The 26th Infantry will come on, too. Then there is the 2nd Infantry Division already afloat and the 9th Division and the 2nd Armored and the 3rd Armored and all the rest. Maybe the 16th won't make it, but someone will."

One of those men in Taylor's 16th Regiment was Army medic Ray Lambert. Ray was only 23, but he had already earned three Purple Hearts and two Silver Stars fighting in North Africa and Sicily, where he and his brother Bill, no longer with us, served side by side.

[06:15:13] In the early morning hours, the two brothers stood together on the deck of the USS Henrico before boarding two separate Higgins landing craft.

"If I don't make it," Bill said, "Please, please take care of my family." Ray asked his brother to do the same.

Of the 31 men on Ray's landing craft, only Ray and six others made it to the beach. There were only a few of them left. They came to the sector right here below us. Easy Red it was called. Again and again, Ray ran back into the water. He dragged out one man after another. He was shot through the arm. His leg was ripped open by shrapnel. His back was broken. He nearly drowned. He had been on the beach for hours, bleeding and saving lives, when he finally lost consciousness.

He woke up the next day on a cot beside another badly-wounded soldier. He looked over and saw his brother Bill. They made it. They made it. They made it.

At 98 years old, Ray is here with us today with his fourth Purple Heart and his third Silver Star from Omaha. Ray, the free world salutes you.

Thank you, Ray.

Nearly two hours in, unrelenting fire from these bluffs kept the Americans pinned down on the sand, now red with our heroes' blood. Then, just a few hundred yards from where I'm standing, a breakthrough came. The battle turned and with it, history.

Down on the beach, Captain Joe Dawson, the son of a Texas preacher, led Company G through a minefield to a natural fold in the hillside, still here. Just beyond this path to my right, Captain Dawson snuck beneath an enemy machine gun perch and tossed his grenades. Soon, American troops were charging up "Dawson's Draw." What a job he did. What bravery he showed.

Lieutenant Spalding and the men from Company E moved on to crush the enemy strongpoint on the far side of this cemetery and stop the slaughter on the beach below.

Countless more Americans poured out across this ground, all over the countryside. They joined fellow American warriors from Utah Beach and allies from Juno, Sword and Gold, along with the Airborne and the French patriots.

Private First Class Russell Pickett of the 29th Division's famed 116th Infantry regiment had been wounded in the first wave that landed on Omaha Beach.

At a hospital in England, Private Pickett vowed to return to battle. "I'm going to return," he said. "I'm going to return."

Six days after D-Day, he rejoined his company. Two-thirds had been killed already. Many had been wounded within 15 minutes of the invasion. They lost 19 just from the small town of Bedford, Virginia, alone.

Before long, a grenade left Private Pickett, and he was gravely wounded. So badly wounded. Again, he chose to return. He didn't care. He had to be here.

He was then wounded a third time and laid unconscious for 12 days. They thought he was gone. They thought he had no chance. Russell Pickett is the last known survivor of the legendary Company A. And today, believe it or not, he has returned once more to these shores to be with his comrades. Private Pickett, you honor us all with your presence.

Tough guy.

By the fourth week of August, Paris was liberated. Some who landed here pushed all the way to the center of Germany. Some threw open the gates of Nazi concentration camps to liberate Jews who had suffered the bottomless horrors of the Holocaust. And some warriors fell on other fields of battle, returning to rest on this soil for eternity.

Before this place was consecrated to history, the land was owned by a French farmer, a member of the French resistance. These were great people. These were strong and tough people. His terrified wife waited out D-Day in a nearby house, holding tight to their little baby girl.

The next day, a soldier appeared. "I'm an American," he said. "I'm here to help." The French woman was overcome with emotion and cried. Days later, she laid flowers on fresh American graves.

Today, her granddaughter, Stefanie, serves as a guide at this cemetery. This week, Stefanie led 92-year-old Marian Wynn of California to see the grave of her brother, Don, for the very first time.

Marian and Stefanie are both with us today, and we thank you for keeping alive the memories of our precious heroes. Thank you.

Nine thousand, three hundred and eighty-eight young Americans rest beneath the white crosses and stars of David arrayed on these beautiful grounds. Each one has been adopted by a French family that thinks of him as their own. They come from all over France to look after our boys. They kneel, they cry, they pray, they place flowers. And they never forget. Today, America embraces the French people and thanks you for honoring our beloved dead. Thank you.

To all of our friends and partners, our cherished alliance was forged in the heat of battle, tested in the trials of war, and proven in the blessings of peace. Our bond is unbreakable.

From across the earth, Americans are drawn to this place as though it were a part of our very soul. We come not only because of what they did here. We come because of who they were.

They were young men with their entire lives before them. They were husbands who said good-bye to their young brides and took their duty as their fate. They were fathers who would never meet their infant sons and daughters, because they had a job to do. And with God as their witness, they were going to get it done.

They came wave after wave without question, without hesitation and without complaint. More powerful than the strength of American arms was the strength of American hearts. These men ran through the fires of hell, moved by a force no weapon could destroy. The fierce patriotism of a free, proud and sovereign people.

They battled not for control and domination, but for liberty, democracy and self-rule. They pressed on for love and home and country, the main streets, the schoolyards, the churches, and neighbors, the families and communities that gave us men such as these. They were sustained by the confidence that America can do anything, because we are a noble nation with a virtuous people, praying to a righteous God.

The exceptional might came from a truly exceptional spirit. The abundance of courage came from an abundance of faith. The great deeds of an Army came from the great depths of their love. As they confronted their fate, the Americans and the Allies placed themselves into the palm of God's hand.

The men behind me will tell you that they are just the lucky ones.

[06:30:00]