Donald Trump’s 4th of July Event Speech Transcript

Donald Trump: (00:00)
Utah and Omaha beaches. Every coastguardsman is trusted to put service before all. Coasties plunge from helicopters and barrel through pouring rain and crashing waves to save American lives. They secure our borders from drug runners and terrorists in rough seas at high speeds. Their sharpshooters take out smuggler’s engines with a single shot. They never miss. When the red racing stripes of a coast guard vessel break the horizon, when their chopper blades pierce the sky, those in distress know that the help is on their way and our enemies know their time has come.

These guardians of our waters stand: Semper Paratus. They are always ready. They are the United States Coast Guard. Representing the Coast Guard today, you will soon see an HH60 Jayhawk helicopter based at Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater along with an HH65 Dolphin from Air Station Atlantic City and an HC144 Ocean Century from Air Station Miami.

Thank you. Thank you to the Coast Guard. On a cold December morning in 1903, a miracle occurred over the dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina when two bicycle makers from Ohio defied gravity with a 12-horsepower engine, wings made of cotton and just a few dollars in their pockets. Just six years later, America was training its first pilots to take these magnificent machines up and over the field of battle. In World War I, our fly boys rushed the skies of Europe and aces like Eddie Rickenbacker filled hearts and headlines with tales of daring duels in the clouds. General Billy Mitchell saw the promise of this technology and risked court martial in his quest for an independent air force. He was proven right when empires across the oceans tried to carve up the world for themselves and America stood in the way. We wouldn’t let it happen.

After Pearl Harbor, Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle and his Raiders flew B-25 bombers off a carrier deck in the deep Pacific in a daring feat of American resolve. And as President Roosevelt said, the Nazis built a fortress around Europe, but they forgot to put a roof on it. So we crushed them all from the air. 177 liberator bombers flew dangerously low through broad daylight without fighter protection to cripple the Nazi war machine at [inaudible 00:00:05:00]. More than 300 airmEn gave their lives to destroy the enemy oil refineries and five pilots were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their actions in that single raid. It was airman, Chuck Yeager who first broke the sound barrier. It was airman like Gus Grissom and Buzz Aldrin, who traded their saber jets for rockets to the stars. And it is our incredible airmen today who wield the most powerful weapon systems on the planet Earth. For over 65 years, no enemy air force has managed to kill a single American soldier because the skies belong to the United States of America.

No enemy has attacked our people without being met by a roar of thunder. And the awesome might of those who bid farewell to Earth and soar into the wild blue yonder. They are the United States Air Force. Representing the Air Force, you will soon see beautiful brand new F-22 raptors from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. And one magnificent B-2 stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

What a great country. In October of 1775, the Continental Congress ordered the construction of two swift sailing vessels, each carrying 10 cannons and 80 men to sail eastward. Our young fleet tested their sea legs against the most powerful navy the world has ever seen. John Paul Jones, America’s first great naval hero, said “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.” He got his wish many times when his ship was shot into pieces off the coast of England by a British vessel and her four dozen guns. When demanded to surrender, Jones very famously declared I have not yet begun to fight.

When our navy begins fighting, they finish the job. The war of 1812, Captain James Lawrence fell with his brothers on the USS Chesapeake. His dying command gained immortality. “Don’t give up the ship.” In the battle of Mobile Bay, Admiral David Farragut lashed himself to the rigging of his flagship to see beyond the cannon smoke crying, “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.” In World War II, it was aviators launched from the carrier Enterprise, Hornet, Yorktown, who filled the skies of Midway and turned the tide of the Pacific War. Nobody could beat us. Nobody could come close. On D-Day, CB engineers came ashore to destroy blockades and barriers making way for the invasion. Many lost their lives, but they took the German defenses with them and our men crushed upon the beaches like a mighty storm. From the naval demolition units of World War II arose a force that became famous in the [Meit 00:10:44] Kang Delta. They don’t want to see our force again. The very best of the very best, the Navy Seals.

It was the Seals who delivered vengeance on the terrorists who planned the September 11th attack on our homeland. It was the Seals who stand ready to bring righteous retribution in mountain jungle desert to those who do us harm. America sailors are not born. They are forged by the sea. Their traditions are rich with the salt and blood of three centuries. When old Laurie crest the waves of foreign shores, every friend and every foe knows that justice sails those waters. It sails with the United States Navy. Representing our great Navy today will be two F-18 Super Hornets from Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia, along with two F-35 Lightnings from Naval Air Station Lemoore in California.

So great. In November of 1775, the Continental Congress created two battalions of a new kind of warrior. One who kept and would protect our ships and sailors and be at home, both ashore and in the mast with musket in hand. Their versatility was proven in the War of Independence when 234 continental marines conducted their first amphibious raid, capturing the British supply of gunpowder and cannons at Fort Nassau. Ever since, Marines have fought in every American war. Their legend has grown and grown and grown with each passing year. It was the Marines who won America’s first overseas battle, vanquishing Barbary pirates on the shores of Tripoli. Their high stiff collar, which shielded them from the pirate sword, earned them the immortal name Leatherneck. It was the Marines, who after two long days of battle, march through the halls of Montezuma. It was the Marines who took heavy casualties to kick the Kaiser’s troops out of Belleau Wood in World War One, earning the title Devil Dogs. And it was the Marines who raised the flag on the black sands of Iwo Jima. From the Chosin Reservoir to Kaesong, from Helmond to Baghdad, Marines have struck fear into the hearts of our enemies and put solace into the hearts of our friends. Marines always lead the way. After the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut, which claimed the lives of 241 great US servicemen, Marine Sergeant Jeffery Nashton lay in bandages so badly wounded, barely alive. When the commandant of the Marine Corps came to visit his hospital, Sergeant Nashton had to feel for the general’s collar. He wanted to feel his four stars. He could not see and he could not speak. He signaled for pen and paper. And with shaking hand, he wrote two words: Semper Fi. That motto, Semper Fidelis, always faithful, burns in the soul of every Marine a sacred promise the core has kept since the birth of our country. They are the elite masters of air and land and sea on battlefields all across the globe. They are the United States …

All across the globe. They are the United States Marines.

Representing the Marine Corps today will be a brand new VH-92, soon to serve as Marine One, along with two V-22 Ospreys from the famed HMX-1 helicopter squadron at Quantico, the Night Hawks.

(singing)

In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified army out of the revolutionary forces encamped around Boston and New York and named after the great George Washington, commander-in-chief. The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown.

Our army manned the [inaudible 00:18:27], it [inaudible 00:18:28] the ramparts. It took over the airports. It did everything it had to do. And at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory. And when dawn came, their star-spangled banner waved defiant. At Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg, our soldiers gave the last full measure of devotion for the true unity of our nation and the freedom of all Americans.

In the trenches of World War One, an army sergeant named Alvin York, faced an inferno of enemy fire and refused to retreat. He said, “I won’t leave. I won’t stop.” He shot his rifle 18 times, killing 18 of the enemy. When they fixed bayonets and charged, he killed seven more. The entire German machine gun battalion surrendered because of one man, Alvin York.

A generation later, the Army returned to Europe and embarked upon a great crusade with knives and rifles in hand. The Rangers scaled the cliffs of Normandy. The 101st Airborne leapt into the danger from above, illuminated only by enemy flares, explosions, and burning aircraft. They threw back the Nazi Empire with lightning of their own from the turrets of Sherman tanks and the barrels of the M1 rifle. In the darkness of the Battle of the Bulge, with Nazis on every side, one soldier is reported to have said, “They’ve got us surrounded again, the poor bastards.” Yes. Outnumbered, American warriors fought through the bunkers of Pork Chop Hill and held the line of civilization in Korea. In the elephant grass of Vietnam, the first cavalry made its stand amid a forest consumed in flame with enemies at every single turn. The army brought America’s righteous fury down to Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and cleared the bloodthirsty killers from their caves. They liberated Fallujah and Mosul and helped liberate and obliterate the ISIS caliphate just recently in Syria, 100% gone. Through centuries, our soldiers have always pointed toward home proclaiming, “This we’ll defend.” They live by the creed of Douglas MacArthur. “In war, there is no substitute for victory.” They are the greatest soldiers on Earth.

(singing)

Nearly 250 years ago, a volunteer army of farmers and shopkeepers, blacksmiths, merchants, and militiamen risked life and limb to secure American liberty and self-government. This evening, we have witnessed the noble might of the warriors who continue that legacy. They guard our birthright with vigilance and fierce devotion to the flag and to our great country. Now we must go forward as a nation with that same unity of purpose. As long as we stay true to our course, as long as we remember our great history, as long as we never ever stop fighting for a better future, then there will be nothing that America cannot do.

Thank you. We will always be the people who defeated a tyrant, crossed a continent, harnessed science, took to the skies, and soared into the heavens, because we will never forget that we are Americans, and the future belongs to us.

The future belongs to the brave, the strong, the proud, and the free. We are one people chasing one dream and one magnificent destiny. We all share the same heroes, the same home, the same heart, and we are all made by the same Almighty God.

From the banks of the Chesapeake to the cliffs of California, from the humming shores of the Great Lakes to the sand dunes of the Carolinas, from the fields of the heartland to the Everglades of Florida, the spirit of American independence will never fade, never fail, but will reign forever and ever and ever.

So once more, to every citizen throughout our land, have a glorious Independence Day. Have a great Fourth of July. I want to thank the Army Band, the National Park Service, the Interior Department, the incredible pilots overhead, and those who are making possible the amazing fireworks display later this evening. Now as the band plays the Battle Hymn of the Republic, I invite the First Lady, Vice President and Mrs. Pence, the service secretaries, and military leaders to join me on stage for one more salute to America by the famous, incredible, talented Blue Angels. God Bless you, God bless the military, and God bless America. Happy Fourth of July.

(singing)

Donald Trump’s 4th of July Event Speech Transcript

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