With the dramatic Normandy coast at his back, US President Joe Biden said the US soldiers who fought their way onto the French beaches 80 years ago to combat the tyranny of German leader Adolf Hitler would expect their modern-day counterparts to do the same.
"As we gather here today, it’s not just to honour those who showed such remarkable bravery that day June 6, 1944," Biden told those gathered for the sombre ceremony.
"It’s to listen to the echo of their voices. To hear them. Because they are summoning us. They’re asking us what will we do."
The soldiers storming those beaches who risked their lives - and many of them died - are asking us to defend democracy at home and abroad, he said.
Pointe du Hoc is a stretch of coast in Normandy where Allied troops landed marking the beginning of the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi rule.
The Allied forces at the time consisted mainly of US, British, Canadian, Polish and French troops.
Biden travelled nearly 300 kilometres from Paris to the beachhead to make the address, which lasted about 12 minutes. He had already used the D-Day commemoration ceremony at a nearby US military cemetery on Thursday to call for the defence of democracy.
The dark forces against which the D-Day soldiers fought 80 years ago still exist today, he said there, citing the Russia's war against Ukraine as an example.
In his speech at Pointe du Hoc, the US President also referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin's war against the neighbouring country - and invoked international alliances against autocracy. He said the D-Day fighters at Pointe du Hoc would want the US to stand up to Putin's aggression.
Earlier in the day Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for Washington's long delay in approving a sweeping new military aid package for his country and announced a new military aid package for Ukraine totalling $225 million.
Biden, during a meeting with Zelensky in Paris, said he wanted to "apologize" for the months-long hold-up to approve $61 billion in military spending for Ukraine, which was finally passed by Congress in late April.
The US president blamed some of the "very conservative" members of Congress for the postponement in sending more ammunition and other weapons to Kiev. In the meantime, Ukraine suffered a number of front-line setbacks and Russia assaulted cities from the air with drones and cruise missiles.
"I'm not gonna walk away from you," Biden told Zelensky during a brief exchange of remarks made in front of reporters.
Biden then announced that more military support totalling $225 million was being sent to Ukraine.
The US Defence Department provided details, saying it includes missiles for Hawk air-defence systems, ammunition for the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers as well as Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and artillery ammunition.
Biden praised the bravery shown by the Ukrainians, especially in the defence of north-eastern city of Kharkiv, which lies not far from the border with Russia and been under heavy attack.
In view of the attacks, Biden recently changed course and allowed the Ukrainian armed forces to use weapons from the US to hit targets on Russian territory, but only for counter-attacks in defence of Kharkiv.
With regard to the situation in the Kharkiv region, Zelensky said that Washington's recent decisions had had a "positive effect" but did not want to say more.
The Ukrainian president thanked Biden for the "significant" help from the US. "It is so important for the morale of our people that we are not alone," he said.
The United States is Kiev's most important ally and largest supplier of weapons in its defence against Russia. According to the Pentagon, the US has provided or promised Ukraine military aid totalling more than $51 billion since the start of the war.
Biden's speech at Pointe du Hoc is not part of the official D-Day celebrations but is likely to be aimed at a US audience in particular. Biden is in a tight race with Donald Trump for a second term in the White House.
Biden is in France for a visit lasting several days. After his stops in Normandy, he is scheduled to be received as a state guest by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Saturday.