this is
the 75th anniversary of vj
day and i'm reading the script that
general miller wrote dear voice of
america
on behalf of the 2.3 million soldiers
sailors airmen
marines and coast guardsmen
i want to thank you all
world war ii veterans living legends of
the greatest generation and their
families
watching online across the nation and
around the world patriots like you
fought
the bloodiest war in human history and
your generation
the greatest generation that took up
arms against the tyranny
in the second world war fought for
something
you fought to achieve a better peace
from the ashes of destruction death
and bloodshed of that war you
established a rules-based
global order rooted in political and
economic liberty that has maintained
great power
peace for over seven
decades let that sink in seven decades
peace for seven decades my father and
mother
both were part of that generation my
father was the f with the fourth marine
division
and made the assault landing at
kai kaiwai zhailin saipan
tinan my mother served as a nate
in at the navy hospital in seattle
taking care of the wounded coming back
from the pacific battles
although both have passed on i carry
their example
of integrity and selfless service
as daily inspiration while my parents
served in the
pacific theater the second world war
was truly a global global conflict
many fought across the atlantic in north
africa
in italy at normandy and on the eastern
front
in fact in june of 1944
as my father hit the beach of saipan
with
the fighting fourth his brother was at
normandy
on the other side of the world on the
way
to liberate paris from nazi control
it's an incredible tale of one family's
service
and it helps illustrate the scope and
scale
of the conflict our nation was then
fighting
and the sacrifice of every american
family during world war
ii i often reflect on my parents service
to this nation and the lessons i take
from their example
have shaped my view on america's role
and place
in the world my parents instilled in me
a sense of service
and an understanding
of how lucky i am
to be an american
how lucky i was to grow up in a country
where we have freedom
of speech freedom of the press and
freedom of religion
and all other rights and privileges
that we as americans enjoy in our daily
life
today those with first-hand knowledge
of world war ii are becoming fewer and
fewer
and so we must never forget never forget
the horrific cost of the great
power war and the sacrifice that went on
before us
last year i had the opportunity to go to
the 75th anniversary of the normandy
landings i never got to go
i never got to go but someone else did
i was talking to several of the veterans
there
and asked one of them simply what is
your lesson from world war
ii what is your great lesson here for
those of us in uniform today
he looked at me and tears came to his
eyes and he simply said
general never let it happen again never
let it happen again
as the chairman of the joint chiefs of
staff on behalf of all those wearing
the cloth of our nation we extend our
sincerest thanks
to the world war ii veterans for passing
on to us
the gift of freedom
and we renew our commitment to
preserving the peace
you established and to protect the
constitution
and the values you fought so hard to
defend
yeah yeah world war
ii actually
um
has a more powerful meaning
right now world war ii has more powerful
meaning than
um this month
let's put it that way and sometimes
yeah it kind of puts a couple of things
in perspective
you know related to what is truth
what is facts versus what is fiction
and the blurred lines of
what doesn't exist so um
i read from the transcript and i put it
in my voice
and
i'm sure someone else will read from the
transcript too
um for the voice of america because
there's very few voices of america right
now
um and
general milly miley milly i'm not sure
how it is
is a voice of america
