CRI听力:US Commemorate 70th Anniversary of VE Day

"(M)你好!I'm from Ohio, and he is in Virginia. (F) San Antonio, Texas."

Tens of thousands of people across the country gathered Friday to mark the 70th anniversary of World War Two Victory in Europe Day. They were joined by some 300 veterans who fought in that deadly war from 1941 to 1945.

18-year-old Liberty Phillip from Texas says she is obsessed with that history. Even though none of her grandparents had fought in either Europe or Pacific, she felt she had lots of adopted grandfathers in those veterans.

"I wish more people realize how significant the war was and how significant the sacrifice the veterans were. And don't forget it at all. Because otherwise the same thing is gonna happen again. You got to remember what our ancestors did."

89-year-old John Roman came ashore at Normandy in 1944 but many of his buddies never made it. He felt so lucky that he survived and met his wife at a cafe in France. The two have been married for 69 years and return to Normandy almost every year to remember his lost buddies.

Susan Rice, National Security Advisor to President Obama, says the sacrifice of these young servicemen more than 70 years ago had changed the world as well as the United States of America.

"On the homefront, the war helped unleash movements toward greater equality for all people. "

She stressed that the story of the brave men and women will never be forgotten. And children of today who are blessedly untouched by war should be taught the history and "the price of freedom".

To mark the occasion, some 50 World War Two warplanes flew over Washington DC. They include the P-38 Lightning that had shot down Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor as well as the B-29 superfortress that dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, bringing an end to the war in the pacific. The flyover ceremony is also designed to remember the 60 million people, including some 400 thousand Americans, who lost their lives in World War Two.

Xiaohong, CRI, Washington DC.