“Seventy-five years ago, a generation of Americans called to extraordinary service to our nation and the world rose to meet the greatest challenges with the greatest courage and determination.  Americans set aside difference of party, of race, and of faith, to confront our common enemy, which threatened peace, justice, and freedom for all.  In doing so, they provided future generations with a lesson in patriotism and set an example of how America, when united, can achieve the most difficult of victories under the most challenging of circumstances.      “The Second World War will always live in our collective national memory as a time of heroes.  We will never forget the heroes who patrolled the freezing oceans to protect Allied supply lines from enemy submarines.  We will never forget the heroes who waded onto bloodied beaches and scaled cliffs under a hail of enemy fire, knowing the odds favored death.  We will never forget the heroes who climbed into bombers as the sun set and left their bases knowing they might never see the sun rise again.  We will never forget the heroes who fought the enemy bravely in Europe while their families faced discrimination and internment with courage back home.  We will never forget the heroes who tended to the wounded and flew air supply missions knowing that they were paving the way for their granddaughters, who would someday no longer be limited in their ability to serve.    “As we mark this anniversary of V-E Day, let us remember the sacrifices of these heroes and be guided by their example.  The challenges we face in 2020 are far different than in 1945, but they present us with no less an opportunity to show the world what America can do when we come together in common purpose. Together with our European partners, we must never allow fascism to return, nor permit the gravest threats we face to divide us.  Let us never forget the generation that defeated Nazism; we can be the generation that solidified their victory by reaffirming the values and ideals they championed and by preserving the reign of peace and of justice they fought so hard to achieve.”