The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, praised the “unwavering missionary spirit” of the combatants who “served and are serving Portugal”, expressing his gratitude as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
This written message was read out this Saturday at the 30th National Combatant Memorial Meeting, which was held in Lisbon, next to the Combatant’s Combatant’s Monument from Abroad.
“National homage to the combatant is for the President of the Republic a duty and an expression of gratitude to the Heroes who selflessly and with an unwavering spirit of mission have served and continue to serve Portugal,” reads a message dated June 02 provided by the organization of the meeting to the Lusa agency.
For Marcelo, “a call to his memory, a testament to his value and selflessness, constitutes exile and praises the continued military service that everyone performs, contributing to the security and defense of the country, as well as to the struggle for peace and international stability.”
“It is with great pride, as Supreme Commander of the Portuguese Armed Forces, that I pay my respects to all the combatants in Portugal and express my gratitude for the achievements made and the service rendered to the Motherland, which has done us great honor in the past, which make us worthy in the present and defend Portugal and the Portuguese in the future,” the statement said.
In the text, the head of state writes that “year after year, this emotional and simple holiday is called upon to remember, honor and reward former combatants for their military service, inspiring respect and patriotic duty that help them.”
“This is a ceremony that is a wonderful example for the Portuguese people and an example of noble principles and moral and patriotic values for the younger generation that we want to be more active, confident and more active in defending the interests of the nation,” he adds.
In his opening remarks, Vice Admiral António Duarte, President of the Executive Committee for National Tribute to Combatants this year, noted that “this is a tribute and a celebration that civil society must perform morally and ethically, dedicated to the Portuguese, as fighters on the front line and not always deserving of recognition, to which the Motherland indebted to them for the exemplary dedication of their commitment to the service of our Armed Forces.”
“The 10 June Combatentes is and will continue to be a confirmation of Portuguese patriotism, a cult of celebration of our identity and unity, the spirit of which our poets, such as Camões and Pessoa, have drawn from the past and interpreted so well. , the winds that we must blow in the present for future memory,” he said.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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