Today, our Nation celebrates the 81st anniversary of Imperial Japan’s unconditional surrender—the moment American might brought the Second World War to its end in complete and total victory.  On this monumental occasion, we pay tribute to the grit and sacrifice of the warriors who defended our homeland and carried the hopes of the free world upon their shoulders.

The road to our victory began in fire at Pearl Harbor, where Imperial Japan’s infamous attack summoned a peaceful Nation to arms.  Meeting that assault head-on, the warfighters of the Greatest Generation crossed thousands of miles of open sea, turned the tide of the conflict at Midway, broke the enemy fleet at Leyte Gulf, and seized the fortress islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.  Each of those battles was waged against a fierce and unyielding enemy that tested the strength of American resolve like never before.  In the end, the unbreakable will of America’s Armed Forces drove an empire of conquest to its knees, freed millions from its brutal occupation, and left the American Flag flying over a Pacific restored to freedom.

For 4 long years, the American People bore hardship and loss on a scale this country has never known, and they never once wavered. More than 16 million Americans answered the call to serve, and more than 400,000 of them never came home, laying down their lives on distant shores to keep our Nation free.  Through their sacrifice, uncommon courage, and selfless devotion to freedom, America emerged from the deadliest war in history stronger, safer, and immortalized as a symbol of freedom, hope, and liberty in every corner of the world.  Eighty-one years later, the peace those warriorswon endures, and a free and democratic Japan stands beside the United States of America as one of our closest allies—our two countries joined by common purpose in the defense of a free and open Indo-Pacific and the pursuit of prosperity for both our peoples.

When Imperial Japan laid down its arms on this day in 1945, America stood victorious over the forces of tyranny, proving to every generation that freedom survives only when brave citizens stand ready to defend it.  We owe our deepest gratitude to the Americans who gave their lives in that struggle, the soldiers who charged across open sand into enemy fire, the Marines who stormed beaches, the sailors who stood their posts on burning decks, and the airmen who took flight into the skies above the Pacific.  To every one of them, our Nation makes this promise:  Their valor will forever live on in the American story, the liberty they won will grow stronger in the hands of all who follow,and the Republic they saved will stand as the mightiest force for good the world has ever known.  Together, we salute the Greatest Generation, and we carry their indominable spirit into our own time—proud, vigilant, and free.  May God bless the heroes of the Second World War, and may their triumph light the way for our Nation in the centuries to come.