Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned on the 80th anniversary of D-Day that the world must “come together again” to defend freedom and uphold the rules-based international order.
Austin, speaking in Normandy, France, to mark the anniversary, praised the Americans who stormed the beaches 80 years ago under fire from Nazi Germany for saving the world from tyranny.
“Our gratitude must never fade. Our memories must never diminish. And our resolve must never fail,” Austin said. “We still seek a world where aggression is a sin and where human rights are sacred. And where all people can live in freedom.
“And so we must come together again to defend the post-war open world of rules, rights and responsibilities,” he added. “These rules protect us. These rights define us. And these responsibilities call upon us once again.”
Austin joined President Biden and other administration officials in Normandy to mark the anniversary of D-Day, when Allied troops began the liberation of Europe. Germany would surrender just 11 months after the D-Day invasion.
In his speech, Biden warned against isolationism, saying that “it was not the answer 80 years ago and it is not the answer today”, while at the same time calling for the continued fight against tyranny.
Austin said the world was once again on a “hinge of history” and “must once again stand firm against aggression and tyranny.”
“And as I said here last year, if the troops of the world’s democracies could have risked their lives for freedom, then surely the citizens of the world’s democracies can risk our comfort for freedom now,” he said. “So let us again defend the spirit of D-Day. Let us again defend the principles that the Allied armies carried. And let us again thank the heroes of D-Day who kept freedom alive for us all.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
