Your Royal Highness,
Excellences,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is an important day, because this is a day of memory, a day of thankfulness. A day of memory, because today 60 years ago, this city and this country were liberated from German occupation and were given back the precious gift of liberty and freedom. This is a day of thankfulness to these brave American soldiers who, from the other side of the ocean, came to Europe and came to this tiny country to liberate this country.
Jo, een Dag vun Erënnerung a vun Dankbarkeet. Erënnerung a Merci, déi sech haut mussen d’Hand ginn, fir d’Zukunft besser packen ze kënnen, well se sech an der Vergaangenheet ëmmer erëm d’Hand ginn hunn. Erënnerung, well mer net däerfe vergiessen, wat viru 60 Joer an an deene Jore virdru geschitt ass. D’Leide vun de Leit heiheem, d’Striewe vun deenen heiheem an dobaussen, déi alles gemaach hunn, fir datt mer erëm géife fräi ginn. Een Dag vu Merci och, well een ni däerf déi vergiessen, déi eppes fir ee gemaach hunn, déi heiheem an déi di vu bausse komm sinn, vu wäit ewech, ouni ze wëssen, wat Lëtzebuerg wier, wou Lëtzebuerg wier a ween d’Lëtzebuerger wieren, fir eis dat erëmzeginn, wat den däitschen Occupant eis duerch ee brutale Geste ewechgeholl huet, nämlech eis Fräiheet an domat och eisen nationale Stolz, eis Harmonie mat eis selwer. Een Dag vun Dankbarkeet.
A day of thankfulness to the brave American soldiers, who lost their lives on our soil. They were not born as heroes. They were ordinary men, like you and I. But they lived no ordinary lives and they died no ordinary deaths. They lived their lives, they lived and they died the deaths they did, because they said no. They said no to the evil, no to domination, no to dictatorship, no to slavery, no to oppression. They were committed to these basic values that shaped post-war Europe and the European Union, the values of liberty, of freedom, of peace, of solidarity. In this cemetery you can find 101 graves with no name on them, unknown soldiers. Known but to God. But today I say to those who have survived, to the veterans who are here, to the young Americans who are here, I say today in front of the grave of General Patton and the graves of his comrades surrounding him for eternity, I say that we will never forget what you, the veterans and your comrades did for our grandparents and for our parents and us, for us.
Mir vergiessen net!