00:00And after we vanquished fascism, Americans stood against the evil of communism in the Cold War.
00:07And as I said last night at the beautiful Mount Rushmore, what a beautiful place,
00:13where Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt loomed over my shoulder as I spoke.
00:20America will never be a communist country. Won't happen.
00:26Communism is a loser, and it always will be.
00:30The communist system is the opposite of the American system, and the communist system has never worked.
00:37Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world,
00:42only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America.
00:47We're not going to let it happen.
00:54We like to stop a threat like that immediately and before it begins.
00:59It's like a cancer. You've got to cut it out. You've got to cut it out fast.
01:03Tonight, we proudly thank veterans of the war on communism,
01:08including Marine Corporal Pat Finn and Private First Class Rudy Meekins,
01:14who fought at the famed Battle of Chosin Reservoir in Korea.
01:20That was a rough one. Thank you.
01:23Pat fought in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.
01:32He had five against him, and he was one.
01:35And as you can see, he's around to talk about it.
01:38And Rudy was wounded four times, but never stopped shooting, and he never stopped moving forward.
01:43And also with us is veteran Sonny Ray, who fought heroically against an enemy force ten times his unit size
01:52and earned a tremendously deserved silver star.
01:59Tonight, they salute one of the very first 50-star flags to fly above the field of battle.
02:04This was about the beginning of the 50, and right next to it is one of the last flags from
02:11Checkpoint Charlie,
02:13a very famous place on the Berlin Wall, where American freedom finally brought communism crashing down to an end.
02:21And thank you so much.
02:24You are really very special. Thank you.
02:30Thank you very much.
02:32From 1776 to today, everywhere the American flag has flown, it has been a symbol of strength, righteousness, and hope
02:42because that is who Americans are.
02:46In 1944, a mother and her daughter huddled in their house in Nazi-occupied Belgium
02:54and prayed desperately for their country to be freed.
02:57They wanted freed.
02:59As they waited, they found scraps of fabric and stitched together a homemade American flag.
03:06It's beautiful, but homemade.
03:08On the day they were finally liberated, and that's what the word is, liberated,
03:14they gave it to an American soldier as a gift.
03:17Little did they know that that soldier's great-grandfather was none other than the author of our Star-Spangled Banner,
03:26Francis Scott Key.
03:29And tonight, the next generation of the Key family is with us.
03:47Major Kyle Key has spent 23 years in the U.S. Army, highly respected.
03:53And this evening, he proudly salutes the old flag that was made by the Belgian woman so beautifully
03:59and who knew that America means hope and freedom.
04:04Congratulations, and thank you for being here very much.
04:12When D-Day in World War II, Navy Lieutenant Arthur Rose commanded 36 landing craft
04:20as part of the largest naval armada in history.
04:25Recalling that site, he wrote home to his parents,
04:28what a country we are.
04:30At 107 years old,
04:34Lieutenant Rose is here to salute one of our nation's most prized possessions,
04:39the flag that flew aboard the first landing craft on D-Day
04:44and led the first Americans onto the beaches of Normandy
04:48to liberate Europe and defeat Nazi fascism forever.
05:08U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S
05:19.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U
05:21.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.,
05:22U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S
05:22.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U
05:22.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A
05:23You are an inspiration to this beautiful crowd, and we thank you very much.
05:29Amazing man. 107.
05:31That's 107.
05:34With us tonight to celebrate this forward march of freedom is another Medal of Honor recipient,
05:41Colonel Paris Davis, whose courage won eternal glory in Vietnam.
05:46He helped lead a surprise attack on 100 enemy combatants.
05:51They said he was finished.
05:54His whole group was finished.
05:56And despite multiple life-threatening wounds, saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.
06:04And this evening he stands to salute the only flag of its kind,
06:09the one that was draped over the casket of President Abraham Lincoln in Independence Hall.
06:16Thank you very much.
06:18Great.
06:36USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! He looks better than I do.
06:51He looks great, and he's brave.
06:55Because of heroes like these, our flag will always be a symbol of liberty and justice for all.
07:03Colonel Davis, thank you very much.
07:05Great man.
07:07Great man. Thank you.
07:09As we celebrate America's unmatched achievements and unlimited potentials,
07:14we never forget that none of this would have been possible without those who gave everything so that we could
07:21reach this 250th year of freedom.
07:24We are honored to be joined by 11 Gold Star family members.
07:29The Gold Star family, that is one of the great tributes, it's one of the great honors, a tough honor.
07:38There's nothing tougher than that.
07:39But these are amazing people. Thank you very much.
07:44Thank you very much. Come on up.
07:50They went through a lot.
07:55Thank you very much.
08:02And that special person is looking up there and looking down at mom and dad, husband, wife, but they're looking
08:12down with great pride.
08:14You know that. You know that.
08:15And we want to thank you for being here.
08:17Thank you very much.
08:18And we have medals for you backstage.
08:20I brought them.
08:21I thought I'd be handing them out about two hours ago, three hours ago.
08:25But we're going to be backstage and we have beautiful medals for you, for your family, from the White House.
08:30Thank you very much, everybody.
08:32We love you.
08:34On this special Fourth of July, we give you our undying gratitude and promise to redeem the sacrifice of your
08:43heroes
08:43by preserving the America that they love.
08:47They loved our country.
08:49They sacrificed.
08:50They sacrificed it all.
08:52And these people have sacrificed it all.
08:55They've been through hell.
08:56We love you.
08:58Thank you very much.
08:59Thank you.
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