ambassador remarks

Remarks at the "Thank You America" Monument

Pilsen, May 6, 2007

 Rád bych poděkoval panu primátorovi a občanum plzně za tento neobyčejný projev přátelství a uctění památky padlých.  Děkuji moc.  Jsem jako američan velmi dojat.

 I could not be more proud to be here with you today to remember the liberation of Plzen and Western Bohemia from the Nazi terror by General George Patton and the U.S. Third Army. Some of the American and Belgian soldiers who fought in that war or members of their families have joined us today.

 I would like to thank each of them by name:

American veterans
George Patton Waters (General Patton´s grandson)
Charles Noble (General Noble´s son)      
Erik Petersen
Marion Kirkham     
John Del Santo        
Kenneth Shank      
Earl Ingram
George Thompson

Belgian veterans
Georges RENSONNET
Albert GÉLISE
Arthur OTTO
Louis GIHOUL

 Gentlemen, we honor your heroic deeds. Please give them a round of applause.

 I’d like to share with you the memory of one of these veterans, Erik Peterson, who served in the 16th Armored Tank Division. On May 6, 1945, Erik was the driver of an M7 tank, unshaven, exhausted, and worried about running out of gas. During the march towards Plzen, his tank division encountered rifle fire from a cathedral, captured a German convoy, and liberated small villages along the way. That night, his division camped outside of Plzen. Lying under the stars on a sleeping bag, Erik could see 50 caliber tracers lighting up the sky to celebrate the end of hostilities. The next morning, he was awakened by a loud whistle. He and his friends were surrounded by a hundred Czech women carrying trays of food. They gently washed his face and hands, and put a tray of ham and eggs, and a cup of coffee in his lap. Erik says he is still thankful for that heartfelt gesture of hospitality and gratitude. 

 We also honor today the soldiers who did not return home after the war. They paid the ultimate price for the freedom of Czech lands.

 Lt. Virgil Paul Kirkham is one of those soldiers. His brother Marion, who is here today, recalls that Virgil begged his parents to be allowed to quit college to join the Army Air Force. On April 30, 1945, only six days before the Liberation, Virgil was shot down over Ujizd, a village not far from here. He was just 20 years old.   But he has not been forgotten by the people he was fighting for. Zdenka Sladkova, a young girl who lived in the village, still remembers the fiery crash. She helped build a memorial using parts from his plane, and spent years searching for Virgil’s family. I am happy to say that Zdenka found them. To this day, she and Virgil’s family share a special bond.

 The ultimate sacrifice paid by soldiers like Virgil is remembered every May in towns and villages throughout this great country, in ceremonies large and small.  These acts of remembrance are an emotional experience for all of us, Czechs and Americans alike. They remind us that freedom is a precious gift that can easily be lost, and that must be defended with eternal vigilance.

 Sixty-two years after the liberation, after decades of Soviet occupation, the Czech Republic is once again free. As a valued ally of the United States, and an active member of NATO and the EU, the Czech Republic has demonstrated its willingness to defend our shared values of democracy, human rights, and peace.

 As in 1945, the United States is committed to defending its allies. But the threats facing the United States and Europe are very different today than in the last century.  And they will evolve in the years ahead.  Advances in technology have made real the threat that Europe and the United States could suffer attack from ballistic missiles.  In particular, Iran has continued to develop its ballistic missile program, at the same time it is defying the United Nations by expanding its nuclear program. 

 Iran may seem a very distant threat.  But the tragic lessons of the past teach us that we must take such threats to freedom seriously. 

 The United States has developed a system to protect our homeland against missile attacks.  We are working with NATO partners to expand the Alliance’s capabilities against missile attacks.  We are very pleased that the Czech government has accepted the U.S. offer to begin negotiations on placing a radar facility in the Czech Republic that would form an integral part of a missile defense system that protects both Europe and North America.  We will hold the first round of talks next week in Prague.  As you know, this radar would be located not far from Plzen, in the Brdy military area.  It would be a small facility, with several dozen American military experts.  But it would be the first permanent U.S. military facility ever on Czech territory, and the first American military presence since General Patton’s forces departed over sixty years ago.  And of course it would be a very different sort of military base than what Czechoslovakia experienced in the second half of the twentieth century.  If these negotiations are successful, as I certainly hope they will be, the United States and the Czech Republic will together be making a significant contribution to the defense of our two countries and NATO. 

 In conclusion, I thank you for coming here today to remember America’s role in liberating the Czech lands. As you know, the relationship between the Czech Republic and the United States began with the friendship between the first Czech President Tomas Masaryk and the American President Woodrow Wilson. After periods of great hardship, that friendship was strengthened in 1945, and again in 1989. That friendship has never been stronger than it is today.  And if the negotiations we are beginning next week prove successful, the bonds between our two countries will grow even stronger. 

 I would therefore like to leave you with the following thought. If we truly want to honor the heroes and victims of the past, we must do more than remember. We must take action to ensure a future of peace and prosperity for our children. As we stand together before this impressive Diky America monument, let us vow to work together – today and always – to defend our freedom with eternal vigilance.

 Thank you.