Pentagon Officials Commemorate 75th Anniversary of Paris Liberation

Defense Department officials speak to reporters in the Pentagon briefing room during commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris in World War II, Aug. 29, 2019.

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Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody. Thank you all for being here this afternoon and taking a minute to come and recognize Mr. Zeitchik. My name is Kim Joiner. I’m the Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Strategic Engagement. Thank you for being here. The World War II Commemoration Program is a part of my portfolio, and our goals are commemorating the historical events of World War II. We hope to honor the past, let veterans know that we are forever indebted to them for their selfless sacrifice, let our veterans know that we are walking in their footsteps, and our readiness and willingness to face an increasingly dynamic regional security environment. So, I’m honored to welcome Sergeant Herman Zeitchik, his wife Janet, his daughters Linda and Carol, and his son-in-law Elliot. Throughout your life, Mr. Zeitchik, you have led by example. Whether it was leaving high school to join the war effort, storm the beaches of Normandy, or being one of the first soldiers marching into Paris– Excuse me for being emotionally– He just reached over and grabbed her hand, so sorry. (clears throat) Excuse me. Famously, John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, “but what you can do for your country.” So Mr. Zeitchik, we are inspired by your story for what you have done for your country. We stand on your shoulders, and we thank you for your service. I’m sure our main speaker, Major General William Walker, will have plenty more to say about Mr. Zeitchik’s accomplishments. Before he takes the podium, I just would like to thank Mr. Zeitchik and his family for participating in this event today. We hope to convey the tremendous respect and admiration we have for members of the Greatest Generation, and I’m honored to welcome you to the Pentagon for the first time. Our next speaker Major General William Walker is the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. Please help me welcome General Walker. (audience claps) Well good afternoon, everyone. Sergeant Zeitchik, Mrs. Zeitchik, daughters Miss Frank and Miss Bonder—

[Carol Bonder] Bonder.

Bonder, and Mr. Bonder, welcome to the Pentagon. First, I think I’ll talk about what you did 75 years ago, Sergeant Zeitchik. The Liberation of Paris took place from August 19, 1944 to 25 August 1944. Paris had been ruled by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Second Armistice on 22 June 1940 and occupied North and Western France. The Liberation began when the military of the French Resistance staged an uprising against the German Garrison upon the approach of Patton’s United States 3rd Army. On the morning of 25 August, the bulk of the 2nd Army division and the United States 4th Infantry division entered the city. Sergeant Zeitchik was with the 4th Infantry division. General Charles de Gaulle and the French army arrived to assume control of the city as the provisional head of government after the Vichy government had fallen. Although Paris was liberated, there was still heavy fighting elsewhere in France that would continue into the early months of 1945. So Sergeant Zeitchik, what I’d like to talk about is what inspires a person at 18 to leave high school and wear the cloth of the United States Army, the cloth of the nation. We were a nation at war just like we are today, and there will always be men and women who hear what I call the ‘Nightingale Song’ and they answer that call and put on the cloth of the United States. Not all of them serve in the Infantry like you did. I’m an Ento officer, sometimes it’s a little safer there, but you were on the pointed end of the sword that got after the enemies of the United States. You stormed Utah Beach on D-Day as a corporal in the United States Army, 4th Infantry Division, and you continued fighting all the way to the end. At the age of 19, you helped liberate Paris and were one of the first troops to enter Paris, and you also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. You helped liberate Dachau, Nazi Germany’s first concentration camp. You know, I read that you spoke to some of the prisoners that you liberated, and they were surprised to see that you were a Jewish-American and that you also gave them your Bible that you kept in your pocket. It’s just amazing what you were able to do, and I can’t imagine what those prisoners thought about when they saw an American soldier help liberate them. So I’ve been in the United States Army for 40 years, coming up on 40 years. I’ve been a National Guardsman, but I’ve been mobilized and I’ve served in Afghanistan and other places, but I never had the experience of direct combat with committed enemies to the United States. So when I met you this afternoon, it was the privilege of a lifetime to recognize your sacrifice, your service, your dedication, and your contributions to the United States of America. You’re a part of this great generation that we hear so often about, the Greatest Generation, who came home from battle, didn’t talk about it, received a few parades, but mostly just went back to work and assumed a regular, if there’s such thing as a regular life after, as would General Milley would say, “The unforgiving crucible of ground combat” that you readjusted to American life and relatively quiet about it. And I could tell when I was asking you some questions this afternoon, you weren’t really freely talking about it. It just says so much about you. So you sir, remind me of a quote that President Kennedy was fond of saying, “To those of whom much has been given, “much is required. “And when the high court of History “sits in judgment of each of us, “recording whether in our brief span of service “we fulfilled our obligations to the State “well, the answer to that question “is found in the responses to four questions. “First, were we truly men of courage? “Second, were we truly men of dedication? “Third, were we truly men of wisdom? “And fourth, were we truly men of judgment?” Sergeant Zeitchik, you, you resoundingly, demonstratively fulfilled your obligations to the State in your so-called brief span of service. So for the recognition you receive, so duly deserved, and again, it’s just a privilege to stand here before you, and what I’d like to do is come down and give you my personal coin as just a small token, and it’s mine so it has my name on it. (audience laughs) It’s a two-star flag and it talks about the District of Columbia National Guard. So President Trump appointed me to be the Commanding General of the District of Columbia National Guard. We don’t have a governor, so since 1802, it’s been a presidential appointment. I’d be honored if you would have my coin. Thank you very much, sir. God bless you. (audience claps)

Thank you, General Walker. So I’d like to thank you all for coming today. For some of you, please take this opportunity to meet a World War II veteran, and if you’ll please follow the direction of our tour guides in thanking Mr. Zeitchik and his family, they’ll show you how to do that, and this concludes the Liberation of Paris 75th Anniversary Commemoration Event in the Pentagon. Thanks. (audience claps)

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