US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday once again called on European countries to do more for their defense. Hegseth made his appeal during a memorial ceremony at the American military cemetery in Colleville-sur-mer. The ceremony took place a few hours before the official commemoration of the Normandy landings, which Hegseth missed.
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
“The men buried here fought in a war alliance in which each partner did their part with zeal, courage and self-sacrifice,” Hegseth stated. “No empty slogans, no extravagant summits, no announcements,” he said ironically. “Every ally shed blood and did their part in 1944.”
“The United States must show the way, and we are doing that, but our allies must stand shoulder to shoulder,” he once again addressed Europe’s NATO allies.
The US Secretary of Defense also seemed to allude to the threat that immigration poses to Western civilization in American eyes. “Unfortunately, today several European beaches are under attack by different dangerous ideologies: on the beaches of Spain, Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, boats arrive and people come ashore,” it said. “Will European capitals act against this invasion or is it already too late?” he concluded.
The Normandy Landings, better known as D-Day, on June 6, 1944, was the largest amphibious military operation in history. An armada of 6,393 boats and 132,700 soldiers from the United Kingdom, Canada, the US, Belgium and Poland, among others, then set foot in Normandy. The mission contributed greatly to the victory over Nazi Germany. The Battle of Normandy resulted in 9,387 American casualties.
The official commemoration ceremony, which was attended by French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu and British Minister of Defense John Healy, among others, started at 3 p.m.