The President: Well,
thank you very much.
And that was some greeting
we had in North Carolina.
I'll tell you, I don't
know if you saw the crowd
outside, but it's
pretty amazing.
But we've had it in Texas, in 
Ohio, South Carolina, Florida.
It's just incredible
what's happening.
Please, sit down.
Please.
And I'm honored to be in
North Carolina, in the
presence of true American
heroes, as we commemorate
the 75th anniversary of
the American victory in
World War Two.
And a victory it was.
On September 2nd, 1945,
the great General Douglas
MacArthur accepted Japan's
unconditional surrender
aboard the USS
Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
V-J Day marked the end of
the deadliest conflict in
human history and the
ultimate triumph of
American freedom.
That was a big day.
That was a great triumph
of great country.
And our country is
greater than ever before.
That's what's happening,
and that's what it is.
Greater -- with a greater
military -- (applause) --
with a greater military
than we've ever had
before.
We are deeply moved to be
joined this afternoon by
World War Two veterans,
all of whom I met, all of
whom are tough -- I don't
want to mess around with
any of them, I'll tell you
right now -- whose blood,
sweat, grit, courage, and
unfailing devotion made
that epic victory
possible.
These brave Americans
raced into the fires of
hell to vanquish tyranny,
dethrone fascism, and
defend the American
way of life.
You've earned the eternal
and undying gratitude of
all Americans, and that's
why I'm here today.
I wanted to be with you.
You know what I'm talking
about, don't you?
And we had a good time, a
little while ago -- right?
-- over at the
Oval Office.
Congressional
Medal of Honor.
We're privileged to be
joined as well by veterans
from every generation,
including a number of
wounded warriors.
We stand in awe
of your service.
I can say that: so
respected, so loved.
We are in awe.
Joining us for this
commemoration are
Secretary David Bernhardt.
Secretary?
Where is David?
Thank you, David, very
much for being here.
(applause) A great
senator, a real friend of
mine -- a tremendous
senator, actually, and he
works very, very hard and
he loves the people of
North Carolina --
Senator Thom Tillis.
Thom, thank you very much.
(applause) And some
warriors, they're in
Congress.
And they're tough,
and they're smart.
Representatives David
Rouzer, Ted Budd, and Dan
Bishop.
Thank you, fellas.
(applause) They are tough,
but you're not as tough as
these guys, I'll
tell you right now.
Right?
(Laughs.) You're not
as tough as them.
There is no better place
to mark this profound
World War Two anniversary
than right here in
Wilmington,
North Carolina.
The people of this city
and this state -- and it's
an incredible state, and
I want to thank you for
being so nice to me.
You've been very nice --
very, very nice -- every
time we've asked
for something.
But I've been nice to you
also; I have to say that.
But you made the
extraordinary
contributions to
the war effort.
That's North Carolina
made this extraordinary
contribution, and so many.
Nearly 2 million American
servicemen trained for
combat in North Carolina,
more than any other state.
Wow, that's pretty
good, isn't it?
Huh?
Who would know that?
(applause) Two million
trained; more than any
state.
Over 360,000 service
members from your state
fought in the
Second World War.
They battled on the cliffs
of Normandy, over the
skies of Africa, and in
the deep waters of the
Pacific.
Over 11,000 North Carolina
patriots fought the enemy
until their very
last breath.
You know what
that means, right?
Think of that: Eleven
thousand died in the war.
We want to thank you.
Boy.
And we have family
members here, by the way.
That's them saying hello.
(laughter) In Wilmington,
more than 20,000 workers
of the North Carolina
Shipbuilding Company
poured out every ounce of
their strength to build an
astonishing 243
ships for the U.S.
Navy.
And it was the citizens
of Wilmington who came
together to save a
priceless artifact of
American history: the
glorious battleship behind
me, the USS
North Carolina.
And that is some powerful
and beautiful ship.
Coming in on -- coming
in, we're just -- we got
plenty of televisions on
Air Force One, and they
showed it in primetime, in
the '40s, and they showed
that ship.
And I'll tell you, they
don't make -- I shouldn't
say this -- they don't
make them that way
anymore.
They really don't.
What a beautiful ship.
During World War Two,
this magnificent ship
participated in many major
naval offensives and -- in
the Pacific theater
itself, including the
Marshall Islands, Iwo
Jima, and Okinawa, earning
more battle stars than
any other battleship.
We're learning a
lot today, right?
That's pretty good.
Why are you clapping?
You come from
West Virginia.
Huh?
He loves West
Virginia; so do I.
Right?
But we're clapping anyway.
Right?
(Laughs.) You
better believe it.
Thank you.
After the war, the people
of Wilmington organized a
massive campaign to save
this beautiful ship from
the scrapyard.
They preserved it as a
memorial to the gallant
deeds of American sailors,
a monument to the American
workers that built it,
and an enduring symbol of
American greatness.
Now more than 200,000
people visit this site
each year to learn the
history and the heroism
that defines our nation.
This afternoon, my
administration is formally
recognizing the city's
exceptional contributions
to victory in the
Second World War.
It is my tremendous honor
to officially designate
Wilmington, North
Carolina, as our nation's
very first World War
Two Heritage City.
That's a big deal: our
nation's very first,
Wilmington.
Congratulations
to you all.
(applause) And God is
saluting you up there, I
tell you.
We may have to go a little
quicker than I thought,
right?
With this designation, we
proudly declare that, in
America, we don't tear
down the past, we
celebrate our heroes, we
cherish our heritage, we
preserve our history,
and we build a future.
This mighty vessel in this
magnificent town will
forever tell that story
with this designation.
So I want to just
congratulate North
Carolina and Wilmington.
That's a fantastic
-- a fantastic thing.
(applause) I want to
thank Senator Tillis and
Congressman Rouzer.
Stand up, please --
(applause) -- in between
the lightning bolts -- for
their work to make this
day possible.
Thank you, Thom.
Thank you, fellas.
Great job.
And let me also thank
retired Navy Captain
Wilbur Jones, who has
championed the cause of
World War Two
Heritage Cities.
(applause)
Wilbur, thank you.
Thank you, Wilbur.
Great job.
Great job.
So, Wilbur, you know a lot
of people wanted this,
right?
So you are just
a tough cookie.
You got it.
Number one.
Number one in the nation.
I want to thank Wilbur.
That's great.
I also want to recognize
several of the heroes who
saved American freedom.
And I've known some of
them since I've been in
office; I've seen them,
and there they are.
Here today is my good
friend, who I just left,
and he was in the Oval
Office with me at the
White House,
Woody Williams.
Seventy-five years ago,
Woody showed fearless
courage as a Marine in
the Battle of Iwo Jima.
You are amazing.
(applause) I promised him
I would not tell that he's
97 years old.
I promised.
(applause) And I'll tell
you, he's 100 percent
sharp.
He's 100 percent sharp.
I know a 78-year-old
that's not so sharp, and
he's 97, and he's 100
percent, because it has
nothing to do with that.
Seventy-eight is young.
Depends who's
78, that's all.
He's 97.
I said, "Man, you are
something." And physically
in great shape.
He braved a torrent
of hostile fire while
destroying one enemy
machine gun position after
another; knocked them
out, one after one.
For his daring actions,
President Truman -- think
of that -- awarded Woody
the Congressional Medal of
Honor, the highest
in our land.
Woody, congratulations.
You inspire us all.
It was great to have
you on Air Force One.
(applause) I had promised
him, you know, maybe two
years ago -- I said, "I'll
take you on Air Force." He
came up.
He's very aggressive.
He said, "I'd like to fly
on Air Force One." I said
I'll do it, and
today we did it.
Right?
We got it done.
Thanks, Woody.
Great job.
(applause) Also joining us
today is Paul Phillips, a
veteran of World War
Two, Korea, and Vietnam.
During the Second World
War, Paul proudly served
on the USS North Carolina
in the Pacific theater.
At 93 years old, he has
returned today to visit
the ship upon which
he so nobly served.
He's a tremendous man.
Paul, it's our honor
to have you with us.
Please, Paul, stand up.
Thank you, Paul.
Thank you.
(applause) Perfect.
Thank you, Paul.
Great job, Paul.
I appreciate it.
Here as well is Army
veteran, Greg Melikian.
When Greg was 20 years
old, he served as a radio
operator in the
headquarters of Supreme
Allied Commander
General Dwight D.
Eisenhower.
Oh, I'd loved to have
heard some of those
conversations.
Much more interesting
than today, right?
Seventy-five years ago,
General Eisenhower
directed Greg to broadcast
around the world the
long-awaited news that
Germany had surrendered.
Greg, your being here
is very, very much
appreciated.
Thank you very much.
It was a great honor
meeting you before.
Thank you very much.
(applause) Very,
very great honor.
Our task today is to pass
on to the next generation
the blessings of liberty
that you fought for and
that you bled for
-- all for security.
You wanted to secure our
future, you wanted to
praise and raise our
flag, and you did that.
You raise our flag, and
you stand proud and you
stand tall, and we're
doing it in our nation too
-- almost everyone.
Every once in a while, you
see somebody not do it.
We don't like it when
they don't do it, do we?
We don't like it.
I want to just thank you.
A fantastic job.
American warriors did
not defeat fascism and
oppression overseas only
to watch our freedoms be
trampled by violent
mobs here at home.
We stopped those violent
mobs very easily.
All they have to do is
say, "Please, come in,
Mr. President." We'll
have it done in one hour.
(applause) "Please, come
in." It's one of the great
-- to me, just incredible
that they don't
immediately.
They just -- as you know,
Portland, the mayor last
night, he was raided --
his home was raided.
He was thrown
out of his home.
And then he'll stand up
and he'll fight for these
people.
These people only know
one thing, and that's
strength.
That's all they know.
Strength.
And we have strength.
For the sake of all
Americans, we must uphold
the rule of law and defend
the American Dream for
every child in our land.
We must teach our children
that America is a land of
heroes like you,
you're heroes.
You know that,
right, Woody?
You're heroes.
You're great, great men.
(applause) Great men.
Better believe it.
We're not ashamed
in America.
We're not ashamed
of anything.
I signed a very important
edict recently.
Three months ago, they
were ripping down statues.
I said, "You can rip them
down, but you're going to
serve 10 years in jail, if
you do." And as soon as I
did that, incredibly,
you haven't heard about
statues coming
down, have you?
Statues or monuments.
(applause) But we're not
ashamed of our country;
we're proud of
our country.
Prouder than we are
of anything else.
Our country is great, and
we're going to keep it
that way.
We're going to keep
our country great.
Together, we will remember
America's towering
victories, we will
recognize America's
outstanding virtues, and
we will pay tribute to the
heroes who keep us safe,
strong, proud, and free.
And I also, in addition to
our wonderful, brilliant
military, I want to thank
law enforcement, because
the law enforcement --
(applause) -- without
them, we're not here
today very well.
They've done an
incredible job.
Really, an incredible job.
And thank you again to the
World War Two veterans in
attendance today.
This is such a great
tribute to North Carolina.
We will never forget
what you did for us.
Your legacy is etched
forever into the heart and
soul of a grateful nation.
And this spot is right now
one of the most important
military spots
anywhere in the world.
Congratulations to
everybody, and thank you
for making it come true.
(applause) Thank
you all very much.
God bless you.
God bless North Carolina.
And God bless America.
Thank you all very much.
Thank you.
(applause)
