00:00Thank you very much.
00:20Thank you very much.
00:21Very special place and a very special day.
00:24Thank you to Vice President Vance, doing a terrific job.
00:31Thanks also to a man who has devoted his life to
00:35servicemembers and veterans, Secretary of Defense
00:38Pete Hegseth, who's doing really well.
00:41He went through a lot, didn't he?
00:43But he's doing really well.
00:44He's a tough cookie.
00:45That's what we want, is a tough cookie.
00:47And we're grateful to be joined as well by Chairman
00:57Cain, terrific military person, members of the
01:02Cabinet, members of Congress, members of the United
01:05States Armed Forces, veterans, and many other
01:09distinguished guests.
01:11We gather today to honor the incredible service
01:16members who rest in glory in this cemetery and burial
01:20grounds around the world and in a thousand lonely
01:23places known only to God.
01:26In every hour of peril, in every moment of crisis,
01:29American warriors have left behind the blessings of
01:32home and family to answer their nation's call.
01:36They've offered all that they had within them and given
01:40their last breaths to each and every one of us that we
01:45might live safe and breathe free.
01:49This morning, we pay tribute to their immortal
01:52deeds.
01:54We share in the sorrow of their beloved families.
01:57And as one nation, we give thanks for the ultimate
02:00gift they have so selflessly given to all of us.
02:05These warriors, and that's what they are as great,
02:07great warriors, picked up their mantle of duty and
02:10service.
02:12Knowing that to live for others meant always that
02:14they might die for others.
02:17They knew that.
02:18They asked nothing for it.
02:20They gave everything.
02:22And we owe them everything and much, much more.
02:29Each of the service members who have made the supreme
02:34sacrifice for our nation has also left an unfillable
02:38void and an unbreakable silence in the lives of all
02:43who love them.
02:45For the families of the fallen, you feel the
02:48absence of your heroes every day and the family.
02:52These are great families.
02:54These are wonderful families.
02:55In the familiar laugh, no longer heard, the empty
02:59space at Sunday dinner, or the want of a hug or a pat on
03:04the back that will never come again.
03:08Every Gold Star family fights a battle long after
03:11the victory is won.
03:12And today, we lift you up and we hold you high.
03:18Thank you for giving America the brightest light in
03:21your lives.
03:22It's what you've done.
03:24We will never, ever forget our fallen heroes and we will
03:27never forget our debt to you.
03:31This Memorial Day is especially significant as we
03:36commemorate 250 years since the first American
03:39patriots fell on the field of battle.
03:43Two and a half centuries ago, at Lexington Green,
03:47Concord Bridge, Bunker Hill, brave minute men and
03:51humble farm boys became the first to give their lives for
03:54a nation that did not yet have a name.
04:00With their deaths, men like John Brown, 23, Samuel
04:05Hadley, 28, and Abner Hosmer, 21, ignited the flame of
04:12liberty that now lights the inspires everybody and the
04:19entire world.
04:21Those young men could never have known what their
04:24sacrifice would mean to us.
04:26But we certainly know what we owe to them.
04:30Their valor gave us the freest, greatest, and most
04:33noble republic ever to exist on the face of the
04:36earth.
04:37A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard
04:41four years.
04:42That was a hard four years we went through.
04:45America.
04:50Who would let that happen?
04:56People pouring through our borders unchecked.
05:00People doing things that are indescribable and not for
05:05today to discuss.
05:08But the republic that is now doing so very well, we're
05:11doing so very well right now, considering the
05:14circumstances.
05:16And we'll do record-setting better with
05:18time.
05:19We will do better than we've ever done as a
05:21nation, better than ever before.
05:23I promise you that.
05:32In every generation since, at Trenton and
05:35Yorktown, at Vicksburg and Shiloh, and in
05:40faraway places with names like Chateau, Terreri,
05:45Anzio, Iwo Jima, Quezon, Kandahar, really just a
05:52few chosen names.
05:55And these are names that have become so important
05:58on the altar of freedom.
06:01They plunged into the crucible of battle, stormed
06:04into the fires of hell, charged into the valley of
06:08death, and rose into the arms of angels.
06:13The sacrifice that they made was not merely for a
06:15single battle, a long-ago victory, or a fleeting
06:18triumph decades or centuries past.
06:23Their sacrifice was for today, tomorrow, and every
06:27morning thereafter.
06:29Every child that lives in peace, every home that is
06:32filled with joy and love, every day the Republic
06:35stands is only possible because of those who did
06:39what had to be done when duty called.
06:43And the cost was everything to them and to their
06:47families.
06:49Our debt to them is eternal, and it does not
06:52diminish with time.
06:54It only grows and grows and grows with each passing
06:58year.
06:59The greatest monument to their courage is not carved in
07:02marble or cast in bronze.
07:05It's all around us, an American nation, 325
07:09million strong, which will soon be greater than it
07:14has ever been before.
07:15It will be.
07:17And so today, we uphold the memory of our heroes, as
07:22people have done since ancient times by telling
07:26their stories and exalting their names.
07:29Senior Master Sergeant Elroy Harworth was a young,
07:34beautiful man from Earhart, Minnesota, when he
07:38enlisted in the Air Force and was sent to Vietnam.
07:43Fifty-nine years ago this very week, Elroy and his
07:47crewmates climbed into the dark skies over Da Nang on a
07:52classified mission known as Operation Carolina Moon.
07:57Their aim was to blow up a key enemy bridge.
08:01And while other crews had tried and failed, they were
08:04determined to try and get it done in the face of
08:07extreme danger.
08:08And they knew how bad it was.
08:11As their C-130 closed in on its target and Elroy jockeyed
08:16his 5,000 pounds of explosives into position, the
08:20aircraft came under unbelievably intense fire.
08:25They had never seen anything like it.
08:28Try as they might, they were hit as the plane swung low
08:32and they went down deep in enemy territory.
08:35Elroy was just 24 years old when he gave his life for
08:39America, leaving behind a beautiful young wife who was
08:44seven months pregnant.
08:46That meant Elroy would never know the joy of meeting
08:49his son, Troy, or seeing him grow, and he would never
08:53have the pride to watch his son follow in his father's
08:57footsteps and serve two decades in the U.S.
09:01Army.
09:03Sergeant First Class Troy Harworth is with us today,
09:07joined by his wife, Sonia, and their son, John.
09:11The grandson, Elroy, never got to hold.
09:14Thank you, Troy, and thank you, John.
09:16And above all, thank you, Elroy.
09:20Thank you very much.
09:21Please, stand up.
09:22Thank you, wherever you may be.
09:25Thank you very much.
09:35Great family.
09:37Corporal Ryan McGee of Fredericksburg, Virginia,
09:41knew from the time he saw the towers fall on 9-11
09:45that he wanted to be an Army Ranger.
09:48He was an American guy, all American.
09:51He was a tough guy.
09:53He was the top of everything.
09:55In high school, he was captain of the football
09:57team and was voted friendliest and most
10:00charming by his peers.
10:03Ryan joined the Army soon after graduation, and after
10:06three tours in Afghanistan, he deployed to Iraq.
10:10He and his unit were tasked with hunting down a
10:13weapon facilitator and a suicide bomber cell near
10:18Baghdad, a vicious, vicious cell, killing many,
10:21many people.
10:23Sixteen years ago this month, they engaged the
10:25enemy in a firefight, and Ryan was mortally wounded.
10:31He gave his life at 21 years old, and today he
10:33rests until the end of time in the famed Section 60
10:37here at Arlington, where we have buried our honored
10:41dead from the war on terror.
10:44We are joined today by Ryan's mom, Sherry, and
10:48Sherry, all of America shares in your grief.
10:51And more importantly, we share in your pride and
10:53your wonderful son.
10:55And thank you so much for being here, Sherry.
10:57Thank you, Sherry.
11:09Thank you very much on behalf of everyone.
11:15This crowd is so big, she's hard to find.
11:19Once I saw her, she really stands out.
11:20Thank you, Sherry, very much.
11:23Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent grew up in
11:29Pine Plains, New York, before enlisting in the Navy
11:32in 2003.
11:34And she quickly became one of the rising stars.
11:36She was an absolute winner.
11:39As a linguist, translator, and cryptologic technician,
11:45Shannon worked alongside elite Special Force units like
11:49Delta Force and Navy SEALs to help them capture and
11:52kill terrorists.
11:54She was among the first women ever to do it, and she
11:56did it better than anyone.
11:59In January 2019, Shannon was on her fifth combat
12:02deployment, embedded with a team hunting ISIS
12:06terrorists through the streets of Syria, when a
12:10suicide bomber detonated his weapon-killing Senior
12:14Chief Kent and three other wonderful, beautiful
12:19Americans.
12:21She left behind her husband, Joe, and their two
12:23sons, three-year-old Colt and 18-month-old baby Josh.
12:29Today, Shannon rests in peace on these grounds
12:31alongside her comrades.
12:34To her boys, Colt and Josh, who are here this morning,
12:38now aged nine and seven, let me say your mom was a hero,
12:43and her love, her strength, and her spirit are always
12:47with us and always be with you.
12:49She loved her boys.
12:51To Joe, the boys, Shannon's parents, Mary and
12:56Stephen, and her sister, Mariah, Shannon's name
12:59will live forever in the chronicles of true
13:02American patriots.
13:03I just want to thank you, and thank you so much for
13:06being here in honor of your magnificent family
13:09member.
13:11Stories like Shannon's, Ryan's, and Elroy's remind
13:14us of the real meaning of the day.
13:16And I want to just say, please stand up wherever you
13:19may be.
13:19The boys, I want to see those boys.
13:22Where are you?
13:25Thank you, Dougie.
13:56Yeah, good-looking guys.
14:04Thank you very much for being here.
14:07All of you, thank you so much.
14:09We should never forget, even for a moment, that freedom is a gift of the highest cost,
14:13and peace is won at the most precious price.
14:17These extraordinary American heroes and their immense and ultimate sacrifices they offer.
14:23Only the faintest glimpse at the infinite grace we have received from all who laid down
14:30their lives for America over the past 250 years.
14:35We're going to have a big, big celebration, as you know, 250 years.
14:39In some ways, I'm glad I missed that second term where it was, because I wouldn't be your
14:47president for that most important of all.
14:51In addition, we have the World Cup and we have the Olympics.
14:54Can you imagine?
14:55I missed that four years, and now look what I have.
14:58I have everything.
14:59Amazing the way things work out.
15:07God did that.
15:09I believe that, too.
15:14God did it.
15:15You know, I got the World Cup and I got the Olympics.
15:24The 250 years was not mine.
15:27I'd like to take credit.
15:28But I got the Olympics.
15:29I got the World Cup when I was president.
15:31And I said, boy, it's too bad.
15:33I won't be president then.
15:34And look what happened.
15:35I turned out.
15:37And we're going to have a great time.
15:38We're going to have a great celebration.
15:39But most important of all is the 250th anniversary.
15:43That blows everything away, including the World Cup and including the Olympics, as far
15:47as I'm concerned.
15:49In any corner of this cemetery, in any resting place for our war dead, anywhere on earth, you'll
15:55find untold stories of equal heroism and heartbreak, unmatched patriotism and devotion and acts of
16:03selflessness and courage so enormous, they defy comprehension.
16:08Most people can't even imagine it.
16:11Great poets have written that it's love which moves the sun and the stars.
16:16But here on the sacred soil, right where we are, we're reminded that it's love which moves
16:23the course of history and moves it always toward freedom.
16:26Always.
16:28From Bunker Hill to Bastogne to Cantonese to Coral Sea, from Gettysburg to Guadalcanal and Concord
16:37to Kabul, America's best and America's bravest have fought, bled, and died so that we could
16:44pick up the torch of liberty, raise it high, high, high, and carry it onward to places they
16:51could never have dreamed of before.
16:53Today, we honor their memory.
16:56We remember their gallantry.
16:58We just revere, in the highest sense, we just revere their incredible legacy.
17:06We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory.
17:10And we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder,
17:18freer, and greater than ever before.
17:22May God bless our fallen heroes.
17:25May God bless our gold star families.
17:29And may God bless the United States of America.
17:33Thank you very much, everybody.
17:34Great honor.
17:36Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the playing of TAP
18:06and the benediction.
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