1
00:00:02,102 --> 00:00:06,373
250 years
ago in the fight for independence,

2
00:00:08,375 --> 00:00:10,977
Ordinary people stood up

3
00:00:10,977 --> 00:00:13,980
and became
the first veterans of a new nation.

4
00:00:18,318 --> 00:00:22,088
They were followed
by those who carried our union

5
00:00:22,355 --> 00:00:25,358
through its darkest hour.

6
00:00:27,327 --> 00:00:29,362
Brothers and sisters

7
00:00:29,362 --> 00:00:32,532
who sacrificed so that the United States

8
00:00:32,766 --> 00:00:35,769
might remain whole.

9
00:00:37,103 --> 00:00:40,106
From the trenches of France,

10
00:00:40,607 --> 00:00:43,443
“3000 miles from home

11
00:00:43,443 --> 00:00:46,446
An American army is fighting for you.”

12
00:00:46,646 --> 00:00:48,948
to the beaches of Normandy.

13
00:00:48,948 --> 00:00:52,052
“You are about to embark upon
the great crusade toward

14
00:00:52,052 --> 00:00:56,423
which we have driven the many months.”
to the skies over the Pacific.

15
00:00:57,057 --> 00:01:00,060
I think I know the American soldier
and sailor.

16
00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:03,730
He does not want gratitude or sympathy.

17
00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:06,733
He had a job to do.

18
00:01:08,068 --> 00:01:11,137
Each generation answered the call.

19
00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:19,079
Through the frozen hills of Korea.

20
00:01:22,382 --> 00:01:24,551
And the jungles of Vietnam.

21
00:01:27,020 --> 00:01:29,823
They bore the weight of service

22
00:01:29,823 --> 00:01:32,792
when our nation needed them most.

23
00:01:34,094 --> 00:01:37,097
And in the sands of the Middle East,

24
00:01:38,631 --> 00:01:41,634
the mountains of Afghanistan,

25
00:01:46,539 --> 00:01:49,742
and in humanitarian missions
around the world,

26
00:01:50,910 --> 00:01:54,481
America's
veterans have continued to defend

27
00:01:54,848 --> 00:01:58,618
not only our freedom,
but the hope of freedom

28
00:01:58,618 --> 00:02:01,621
for others.

29
00:02:03,123 --> 00:02:06,126
Across 250 years,

30
00:02:06,192 --> 00:02:09,662
their uniforms
and battlefields have changed.

31
00:02:10,430 --> 00:02:13,433
But their courage, their sacrifice

32
00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:17,270
and their devotion to one another
and to us

33
00:02:17,670 --> 00:02:20,640
have never wavered.

34
00:02:21,141 --> 00:02:24,144
We remember them all.

35
00:02:25,745 --> 00:02:28,748
Those who came home.

36
00:02:28,982 --> 00:02:31,985
Those who did not.

37
00:02:35,889 --> 00:02:39,092
And those who continue to serve today.

38
00:02:40,860 --> 00:02:44,664
Because America's story is their story.

39
00:02:45,565 --> 00:02:48,701
And it's a written in every generation.

40
00:02:49,702 --> 00:02:54,040
By her veterans.
“On this night of total victory,

41
00:02:54,073 --> 00:02:55,441
we salute you

42
00:02:55,441 --> 00:02:57,810
of the Armed Forces of the United States.

43
00:02:57,810 --> 00:02:59,345
Wherever you may be.