US President George W. Bush attended a grand ceremony at the only US military cemetery in the Netherlands on Sunday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe and pay tribute to those US soldiers killed in the war.

He laid a wreath at the monument after giving a short speech atthe cemetery where more than 8,000 US soldiers killed in the war were buried.

In the speech, he thanked all those who fought for freedom and liberty in the Second World War, describing their contribution to peace as a "terrible price" paid for the victory. 

He also thanked the Dutch people for treating those dead US soldiers as "their sons and daughters," reminding people that the Netherlands also paid a high price for freedom and liberty in the war.

"There is no power like the power of freedom," he said, noting that freedom is the permanent hope of mankind.

He also promised to work with Europe to bring peace to the Middle East region and other areas in the world.

The ceremony was held at the cemetery at village of Margraten, some 10 km east of Maastricht, the first Dutch city liberated by the US soldiers and other Allied forces at the end of the war. It was attended by thousands of civilians including more than 100 Second World War veterans from the Netherlands and the United States.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2005)