Washington -- Today America honors the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our great Nation. We remember not only our friends and comrades who served alongside us, but also those brave Americans from generations past whose legacy of service secured our liberty.
This Memorial Day, we especially remember the 60th Anniversary of D-Day - the allied invasion of Normandy. As brave Americans prepared for that monumental undertaking in June of 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, told his troops, "The eyes of the world are upon you!" What the world saw was a tremendous display of courage, honor, and sacrifice. We express our gratitude for those who gave their lives on Normandy's beaches to defeat a global threat to democracy and freedom.
The eyes of the world are upon us once again as we face another threat to democracy and freedom - global terrorism. Our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and all around the globe go bravely into harm's way to guarantee the same liberties Americans defended in World War II.
We owe a debt of gratitude to those heroes who have purchased our freedoms on battlefields around the globe. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and I join with every American on this Memorial Day in remembering those who died to protect our freedoms.
God Bless America.
Gen. Richard B. Myers