President Donald Trump capped off his visit to Paris by praising American and French soldiers who died in World War I, The Hill reported Sunday.
"The American and French patriots of World War I embody the timeless virtues of our two republics. Honor and courage. Strength and valor. Love and loyalty, grace and glory," Trump said at a speech in a ceremony at the Suresnes American Cemetery near Paris marking the 100-year anniversary of the war's end. "It is our duty to preserve the civilization they defended and to protect the peace they so nobly gave their lives to secure one century ago."
Trump paid tribute to those who died to bring about a "great" but "costly" victory in his 10-minute speech, which was delivered in a light rain.
Trump was criticized Saturday when he canceled a planned trip by helicopter to a cemetery in Northern France where U.S. soldiers are buried due to poor weather. Instead, White House chief of staff John Kelly and Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the trip by motorcade.
During his speech Sunday, Trump said light-heartedly as he recognized the World War II veterans at the ceremony, some of whom sat in rain ponchos or under umbrellas, that "You look so comfortable up there under shelter as we're getting drenched. You're very smart people."
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