THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Please be seated. Well,
thank you all very much. And thank you, Susan, for those kind words,
and welcome.
On behalf of all Americans, I am proud to dedicate this historic
building to the lasting memory of a great man, Dwight David
Eisenhower.
I want to thank Secretary Powell and Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz,
Administrator Perry, General Hicks, for their kind words. I'm also
pleased to have so many special guests who are here. I don't see --
I do see Senator Stevens. I'm so honored that Senator Ted Stevens, who
actually worked in the Eisenhower administration, is here. And I want
to welcome all the others who worked in this -- in the Eisenhower
administration to this dedication ceremony. Welcome.
I also want to welcome General Andrew Goodpaster, Senator Bob Dole,
and all the other veterans of World War II. We're pleased to have you
here. It's a pleasure to welcome back former Secretary of State Henry
Kissinger. I want to thank members of the United States Congress --
Senator Inouye, Congressman Amo Houghton, Jerry Moran, Jim Ryun,
Congressman Steve Horn.
And I, too, want to say how much we appreciate the work of former
Senator John Chafee, who introduced the legislation necessary to rename
this bill -- this building in honor of Dwight Eisenhower.
And above all, we welcome the Eisenhower family, and send our good
wishes to John Eisenhower, who could not be with us today. As the son
of a President, myself, I know how proud John must feel, knowing that
our country's respect for his father has only increased with the
years.
The city of Washington is accustomed to change. But this
neighborhood looks much as it did in 1929. If you'd walked down
Pennsylvania Avenue 73 years ago, you would have seen the Renwick
Building on the corner of 17th Street, looking just as it does now. A
few doors down were the Blair and Lee Houses, with gas lamps still out
front.
In 1929, Lafayette Square was dominated by a great bronze horse, as
it is today, proudly carrying Andrew Jackson. And standing outside
this building on a spring morning 73 years ago, you might have seen
Dwight Eisenhower pull up in a 1927 Buick and walk up the stairs to his
office.
The '20s and '30s were quiet times for our Army and Navy, quiet
times when he worked here. But it was in this building that Dwight
Eisenhower's reputation began to grow. His immediate supervisor said
of him this -- said this of him: "This is the best officer in the
Army. When the next war comes, he should go right to the top." These
words carried a lot of weight; after all, the man who said them was
Douglas MacArthur.
He also worked here for many years in Room 252. There was a time
when a visitor to this building might pass in the hallway not only
Eisenhower and MacArthur, but the first man commissioned General of the
Armies of the United States, John J. Pershing. General Pershing
occupied Room 274, a space now used by Vice President Dick Cheney.
Two doors down is an office that Theodore Roosevelt would still
recognize as his own from his time as Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
So would Franklin Roosevelt, who, a generation later, occupied the same
office and walked these very same halls. And in between, from 1904 to
1908, William Howard Taft reported to work here as the Secretary of the
War. In all, as has been mentioned, seven future Presidents have
worked in this building; 25 Presidents have known it.
Harry S. Truman held press conferences in an ornate room two
stories high, called the Indian Treaty Room -- although, no Indian
treaty has ever been signed there. And it was Truman, himself, who
paid a distinctive tribute to this building when a committee suggested
it be torn down. He believed we ought to leave it right here. He
said, "It's the greatest monstrosity in America."
But it was Eisenhower who decided its fate. He said he rather
liked it. And over time, a lot of us have come to like it. The
architectural grace of this building will remain a matter of opinion,
but its place in history and its place on the skyline of Washington is
as safe as can be.
It seems odd that with all the history it contains, this great
building went more than a century without a name befitting its
dignity. We've solved that problem today, and we've solved it once and
for all. This building now bears the name of Dwight D. Eisenhower, not
because it was spared from the wrecking ball in his time; not even
because he was the first President born in Texas. (Laughter.) His
name fits this building because, as a great soldier, a great President,
and a good man, Dwight D. Eisenhower served his country with
distinction.
People over a certain age will always associate Dwight Eisenhower
with a time of strength and a time of stability in America. We think
of the '50s, and in the mind's eye we see the President and his fine
wife, Mamie. They had lived a military life, moving more than 30
times. And just as GIs in the '50s across America were settling back
home, so were the Eisenhowers. As a matter of fact, they would live
longer in the White House here than at any other address.
We don't need to idolize the era they represented to see all the
good things that were there: millions of growing families and
industries and new cities, and the beginnings of the life that we know
today.
Had he never become President, Eisenhower would still be known to
all as the leader of the forces that liberated a continent from a
terrible evil. The turning point of the war was the decision to invade
the coast of France. The decision was made by Roosevelt and Churchill;
the day and hour were left to General Eisenhower. And a lot of people
felt a lot better knowing that it was his call to make.
General Eisenhower understood exactly what risks lay ahead. Had
his troops failed to take the beaches, he was going to point a finger
straight at himself. Here's what he wrote, in advance: "If any blame
or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone." Fifty-seven years
ago this very day, General Eisenhower reported that the mission of the
Allied Force was fulfilled, and the war in Europe was over.
In victory, he was the first to share credit. It was not within
his character to do otherwise. As Vice President, Richard Nixon said
this about General Eisenhower, President Eisenhower: "He always
retained a saving humility." "It was the humility," Nixon said, "not
of fear, but of confidence. He walked with the great of the world, and
he knew that the great are human. His was the humility of man before
God, and before the truth. His was the humility of a man too proud to
be arrogant."
In his career, Dwight Eisenhower faced two great crises of the 20th
century: a World War that came upon America with a sudden attack,
requiring a global response, and a Cold War that tested our patience
and resolve to wage a struggle of decades.
In our time, we face elements of both: an enemy that strikes
suddenly, and must be pursued across the years. And in this struggle,
we know how victory will be gained, because President Eisenhower --
and General Eisenhower -- showed us the way. We will be calm, and
confident, and relentless. With the best of America's character, we
will defeat America's enemies.
We are proceeding with patience and resolve to overcome this
growing danger to the civilized world. NATO, the grand alliance first
commanded by General Eisenhower, is part of a new coalition that is
making steady progress on every front. Our mission in Afghanistan
continues even after we have liberated that country from a brutal
regime. We continue to fight al Qaeda terrorists, and we will prevent
them from regrouping elsewhere.
We'll deny terrorists the safe havens they need to operate, and
choke off their sources of money and supplies. We'll confront
dangerous regimes that seek weapons of mass destruction. In this war,
we will depend on the alertness of our law enforcement, the diligence
of our intelligence operations, and on the skill and valor of the
American Armed Forces.
Our military has performed with great daring and courage, and more
will be asked of them. I have full confidence, complete confidence, in
the men and women who wear our uniform. They've responded in the
finest traditions of the American military. Their sense of honor,
their devotion to duty, their loyal service to America would all be
recognized by the five-star general and President we remember today.
The skill and determination and optimism of Dwight Eisenhower are alive
in the American Armed Forces, and that spirit will bring us to
victory.
The General was one of six sons raised by Ida and David Eisenhower
in the prairie town of Abilene, Kansas. They raised good men, but
destiny chose this one. His whole life shows the power of one man's
goodness and integrity to shape great events. He brought permanent
honor to his family name, and that name now brings honor to this grand
building. It's one more mark of this country's respect, and we offer
it today with great affection, and lasting gratitude.