Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Ambassador of the United States of America George Krol welcomed 60 guests, including distinguished veterans World War II, students and faculty members of the National War College in America, representatives of the Uzbek government, the Ministry of Defense and several embassies to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the allied victory over fascism and to honor the remaining veterans of that terrible conflict.

“The great victory we celebrate this week is not only your victory but our victory. The conflict that ended 67 years ago brought together many peoples and countries as allies in a common cause including the people of Uzbekistan and the United States of America. Both Uzbekistan and the United States sacrificed hundreds of thousands of sons and daughters to that conflict. Both our countries served as arsenals for our armies and refuges for many displaced by war,” Ambassador Krol said during the reception.

The guests joined the US Ambassador in a moment of silence to honor all those who sacrificed their lives, those veterans of the conflict who have left this life since and for all the victims of the war – of whatever nationality.

“I went to war to defend our homeland, to pass it to future generation peaceful and free,” WWII veteran Hasanov Madamin Hasanovich said. “Today, countries throughout the world, including Uzbekistan and the United States, need to establish a friendly dialogue. Young people everywhere should learn from what older generations sacrificed, so that they will never know the horror of total war we experienced.”

Toward the end of the evening, Aleksandr Ivanovich Velichko, a WWII veteran who participated in the historic meeting on the Elbe River, spoke. A recipient of the Order of Glory First Class and many other medals,, he, too, highlighted the importance of maintaining amicable relations among countries, noting that this was the debt the world owed to the sacrifices he and his comrades made – a world where such sacrifices never have to be made again.

US Embassy representative Anton Cooper was particularly moved by Mr. Velichko’s words: “For me as a grandson of another veteran who had fought on the First Ukranian Front, it was an incredible personal honor to be in the presence of Aleksandr Ivanovich Velichko, whose long and arduous path to victory was one shared by so many of that truly marvelous generation. The fact that so many years later, he is with us to share of his unfaltering conviction, is a true testament to his personal fortitude, and a source of abiding inspiration.”

In addition to speeches honoring living veterans and the memory of those who lost their lives to the war, a brief documentary was shown on the meeting between American and Soviet forces on the Elbe.