00:00Ladies and gentlemen, Vice President J.D. Vance.
00:19Thank you all, and Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Chairman,
00:26all of our honored guests, but especially our Gold Star families.
00:30I want to say just a few things today because I believe that the most important lesson of Memorial Day
00:36is perhaps that all of us owe a debt, that we owe a debt to the people who went overseas
00:42and gave their lives that the United States might be prosperous and peaceful and free,
00:47that we owe a debt to the people who put on a uniform knowing they might never come back,
00:54and indeed, today we pay tribute to those who never came back.
00:58I think like a lot of veterans, and we're joined by so many of you,
01:02sometimes Memorial Day is the most somber and the most sacred of the days on the American calendar.
01:10People will come up to our veterans and say things like,
01:13Happy Memorial Day, or May You Have a Blessed Memorial Day.
01:17And those of us who served know acutely that today is not for all veterans as much as we love
01:22all of our veterans.
01:23Today is for those veterans who put on the uniform, who went overseas, and who never came home.
01:31When I think about the debt that we owe them, I think about all the things that they gave,
01:36which can't be measured in dollars or in the things of this world,
01:40but are measured in things like weddings that they never got to attend,
01:46children that they never saw grow up,
01:49daughters and sons that they never got to hug and kiss again,
01:52loved ones, husbands and wives,
01:55they traded every moment,
01:58from the moment where they gave their lives
02:00to the moment where they would ultimately meet their natural end,
02:04every single one of those moments,
02:06they gave up that the United States might remain
02:09the freest and best country in the entire world.
02:13What an amazing thing.
02:15What an amazing gift.
02:25On this Memorial Day, I just ask two things of all of our fellow Americans.
02:30The first is that we be the very best version of ourselves
02:34in honor of those who gave everything that this nation might be worthy.
02:47To all the husbands and fathers, that we be the best husbands and dads that we can.
02:52To all the mothers and wives, that they be the best moms and wives that they can.
02:58To the sons and daughters, that they be the very best version of themselves.
03:02And that second, we always remember
03:04that every moment that we're able to enjoy with our loved ones,
03:08everything that gives our life and our nation meaning and purpose
03:11was given to us, often by total strangers
03:15who laid down their lives that this might be
03:18the best nation in the history of the world.
03:20And finally...
03:29And finally, to our Gold Star families, I hope you know that I will never forget.
03:35I'll never forget your loved ones,
03:38that the good life that I have and that my family have
03:41is fundamentally because you paid a debt
03:43that I can never repay.
03:45I'll never forget their smiling faces.
03:49I'll never forget their skill and bravery in battle.
03:51I'll never forget that all the moments that I'm able to have with my family,
03:55they're not able to have with theirs.
03:57And most of all, I know from every American,
04:00across every political persuasion,
04:02that we love you,
04:04we're grateful to you,
04:05we're proud of you,
04:07and we commit to make the United States of America
04:10America the very best version of itself.
04:14And that is how we honor those who gave their lives to this country.
04:19And without...
04:26And without further ado,
04:28it is my great honor to introduce
04:30the 45th and 47th Commander-in-Chief
04:33of these United States,
04:35President Donald J. Trump.
04:37Mr. President.
04:37Thank you very much.
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