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US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gives a speech at the US cemetery in Normandy on the occasion of the 82nd anniversary of the D-Day landings in Colleville-sur-Mer. Photo: Jeremias Gonzalez/AP/dpa
Keystone
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has called on Western allies to provide greater support for the USA in the defence of peace and freedom. "Peace can only be secured through strength - strength on both sides of the Atlantic, backed by readiness, joint military capabilities and unwavering political will," Hegseth said at the US cemetery in Collville-sur-Mer, commemorating the Allied landings in Normandy 82 years ago.
"Our world is safer and more prosperous when the United States of America and our allies are strong and free and resolute in defense of our Western tradition of freedom," Hegseth said. "America will lead, and so must we. But capable allies must stand with us at crucial moments."
In the years since the Normandy landings, much of the West has become comfortable. "We have forgotten that freedom is not free. We have forgotten that peace does not come from mere wishes. It is fought for with determination, honor and strength," said the US minister. The men who landed on the beaches of Normandy would have known that.
"Strong allies, all fully committed to doing their part, win wars." The men buried in Normandy had fought in a wartime alliance in which each partner had contributed their full measure of energy, courage and sacrifice. "No empty slogans, no pompous summits, no communiqués," said Hegseth. He was accompanied at the commemoration at the military cemetery by his French counterpart Catherine Vautrin.
06.06.2026, 16:25
