Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the second year, we commemorate this important moment in European, Czech, and American history in the shadow of a global pandemic.
We pause today to pay respect to the brave men and women – Americans, Czechs, and many others – who fought together 76 years ago to defeat Fascism. Today, we mark 76 years since the liberation of Pilsen and the western and southern Bohemia and the end of the brutal war that devastated Czechoslovakia and much of the rest of the world.
The American people are immensely grateful for your ongoing commemoration of the U.S. role in liberating this country. You honor our friendship with your tributes to the generation who sacrificed for freedom. These soldiers laid the foundation for the peace, security, and prosperity we enjoy today. The United States of America was here to help 76 years ago; America is here today; and America will be here tomorrow!
As we reflect on the past, let us also look forward. We face different challenges now, but we must never lose sight of the fundamental principles for which that generation fought: freedom, security, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Our duty is to respect their sacrifice and defend these principles. Czechs and Americans, friends then, and now as NATO allies, we stand united and remain eternally committed to this pledge: “Never forget. Never again.”
Thank you!
