As the flags flying under a cloudless, azure sky at Fort Myer snapped , Clinton offered reverent words for those he called freedom’s warriorswhose blood and lives forced Nazi Germany’s military leaders to surrender in the early morning hours of May 7 in a small schoolhouse in France. The armistice took effect May 8, 1945, triggering street celebrations on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

We come today 50 years later to recall their triumph, to remember their sacrifice and to rededicate ourselves to the ideals for which they fought and for which so many of them died, Clinton said, after being introduced by retired Air Force Col. Frederick B. McIntosh, who flew 104 missions during the war, including dive-bomb raids on D-Day. Because of all you did, we live in a moment of hope, in a nation at peace.

Clinton, as commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces, began the day of memorials with a stop at the Tomb of the Unknowns in the national military cemetery here. To the rumble of a military drum roll and the bursts of a 21-gun salute, Clinton walked stiffly as he placed a large wreath against the white, marble tombs. A bugler played taps and Clinton, who did not serve in the armed forces, saluted by placing his right hand over his heart.

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Before speaking at Fort Myer, the president, who has had rocky relations with the military in the past, was greeted with a standing ovation by a respectful group of veterans, military officials and active-duty representatives from every branch of the armed services.

He listed the achievements and contributions of many seated in the reviewing stands at Sommerall Field on this Army base outside Washington:Robert Katayama, a private with the Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team

V-E DAY, page 8