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00:00Welcome the Honorable Mr. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.
00:27What a beautiful morning.
00:30To Prime Minister Ishiba, Defense Minister Nakatani,
00:35Ministers, Diet Members, Members of Congress,
00:40Japanese and U.S. military leaders, and most importantly,
00:45those who fought here and their descendants,
00:50it is an absolute honor and a privilege to be with you here today.
00:58I'm humbled to pilgrim, there's no other way to put it,
01:03to this hallowed ground.
01:05Over 80,000 Marines, soldiers, and sailors from our two countries
01:11fought at Iwo Jima.
01:13More than 26,000 died here.
01:16Today, we revere their courage.
01:21Today, we remember their valor and their sacrifice.
01:26Those who fought here, they had faith and they had belief.
01:30Faith and a belief in the idea that what they were fighting for
01:34and what they were defending was right.
01:37Faith and belief in their country.
01:40Faith and belief in their comrades.
01:44And today, in their everlasting memory, we recommit ourselves
01:48to faith and belief in our alliance and to peace.
01:55You see, Iwo Jima embodies our shared warrior ethos,
01:59our shared devotion to nation and to duty,
02:03and our shared reverence for the men of valor who preceded us.
02:10Because of its strategic location between the Marianas and the home islands,
02:17Iwo Jima was destined for battle.
02:22Anticipating this fight, the Japanese commander, General Kuribayashi,
02:28led his soldiers and sailors with stoicism, determination, and bravery.
02:35He knew his troops. He understood his opponent.
02:40He recognized how to use this island's terrain to his advantage.
02:46For eight long months, Japanese forces tirelessly prepared defenses
02:53across and below this landscape.
02:59Love for their families and loyalty to their country
03:04motivated and sustained them as they built countless fighting and artillery positions,
03:09dug miles of tunnel, 11 miles, and endured Spartan conditions.
03:17Before the battle, General Kuribayashi told his soldiers,
03:23we shall defend this place with all our strength to the end.
03:29And they did just that.
03:33When the battle came, they fought fiercely against a larger foe.
03:38For far longer than anyone expected.
03:44Like their battlefield opponents, American Marines and sailors,
03:51they expected a tough fight, but none could predict just how tough it would be.
03:58During 36 days of pitch battle, our Marines fought yard by yard, often hand by hand.
04:08They prevailed. They prevailed because each Marine did his duty.
04:15Each Marine gave his all. Each Marine refused to give up.
04:22Warriors, each and every one of them.
04:2722 of them earned the Medal of Honor, the highest award for valor in our country.
04:34One was Private First Class Doug Jacobson.
04:38In an hour-long fight on Hill 382, he single-handedly knocked out 16 Japanese positions,
04:45risking it all. He used rifles, grenades, even a bazooka,
04:51anything he could find to protect his fellow Marines.
04:55His actions, they opened up a gap in the Hill's defenses for the Marines to push through.
05:02Years later, he said, and I quote,
05:05I don't know how I did it. You charge ahead and you do what you have to do.
05:14You know, I heard much the same from my men in other far-flung places.
05:22He, like so many, was a common American with uncommon courage.
05:29He served another 20 years and fought in Korea and Vietnam.
05:33Looking back, he recalled, however, nothing ever matched the ferocity of Iwo.
05:41Marines like Private Jacobson didn't face this ferocious fight alone.
05:46Victory at Iwo Jima was a full-spectrum effort.
05:50Soldiers arrived as reinforcements.
05:53Navy corpsmen cared for fallen Marines amidst the fighting.
05:57Four of them, four of those corpsmen, also received the Medal of Honor.
06:01Navy Seabees repaired the island's vital airfields.
06:05And only 13 days into the fight, with fierce battles raging,
06:09the first damaged B-29 landed here instead of ditching into the ocean.
06:16By the war's end, over 2,200 bombers had made emergency landings
06:22right here where we all arrived this morning.
06:26In the battle for Iwo Jima, nearing its end,
06:29the Japanese general assured his men,
06:33the glorious exploits that you have carried out will never be forgotten.
06:41We are here today because we have not forgotten.
06:47We have not forgotten the honor and valor of our Japanese and our American warriors.
06:54And we affirm, reaffirm the general's pledge.
07:00Our Marines, our soldiers, our sailors from both Japan and the United States,
07:05their service and their sacrifice will never be forgotten.
07:11Though nearly all, not all, but nearly all,
07:15who so bravely fought here are gone, their hallowed memory lives on.
07:21And we are so many that some, so grateful that some are still with us here today.
07:31Their memory lives on here along the black sand beaches.
07:34Here atop Mount Suribachi and here in the tunnels and caves across the island.
07:43Their memory also lives on in the bond between our people and our countries.
07:51Forty years ago, at the very first reunion of honor,
07:57a defender of Mount Suribachi, Komatsu Yoshio,
08:02he met Wayne Bellamy, a Marine veteran of Iwo Jima.
08:08Bellamy remarked, I was one of the first troops that landed at the base of Suribachi.
08:15To which Komatsu replied with a smile, yesterday's enemy, today's friend.
08:24The U.S.-Japan alliance shows those brave men of 1945
08:30how yesterday's enemy has become today's friend.
08:35Our alliance has been and remains the cornerstone of freedom, prosperity, security and peace
08:43in the Indo-Pacific, and it will continue.
08:47As we remember the many who gave their lives here for the peace we now enjoy,
08:52let us recommit ourselves to our friendship and to our alliance.
08:58Our unity and our shared purpose is what strengthens us.
09:05They strengthened us as together we strive to provide a peaceful future for our children and our grandchildren.
09:14Simply put, I am grateful to be with this incredible group of men and allies here today,
09:22humbled to be in the presence of such heroes,
09:27humbled to think I have a 14-year-old son, my oldest son,
09:33that in just four years he could have been one of those men asked to do such a thing.
09:41And I ask myself, could he? Would he? Do we raise such men?
09:49And together may we commit ourselves to raising such men
09:55that at a tender young age will stand up and choose to fight for freedom.
10:05We are all proud to bear brief witness to the bravery, courage and sacrifice that occurred on this battlefield.
10:13Heroes were forged here. Their memory reminds us of the horrors and the costs of war.
10:21Their brave example inspires us and steals our resolve.
10:25If they could serve so selflessly, so can we.
10:31Sweat running down my forehead, imagine how it felt there those days on this island 80 years ago.
10:42If they could summon the courage to face such a fearsome foe, so can we.
10:49If they could so completely dedicate themselves to their countries, to their families and to each other, so can we.
10:56We are fortunate to stand here together, shoulder to shoulder as friends and allies, living their legacy of honor.
11:05May Almighty God bless our allies.
11:10And may Almighty God and the grace and mercies of our Savior Jesus Christ always surround our American warriors.
11:20Thank you and God bless.