For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 26, 2001
Radio Address by the President to the Nation
THE PRESIDENT: Good
morning. Most Americans are enjoying a three day weekend
this Saturday, and I hope you are enjoying yours. I also
hope you'll find the time to share in our nation's observance of
Memorial Day, when we pause to reflect on the cost of the free lives we
live today.
I will be marking the day with military
veterans gathering at the White House, who knew and remember the people
who never came back from our nation's wars. I will then go
to Arlington National Cemetery, to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the
Unknowns. It will be a high honor and I will be there on
behalf of all the people of the United States.
Later that day, I will join with veterans in
Arizona for a commemoration and national moment of
remembrance. Most of us know war veterans; I had the
privilege of being raised by one. Usually, they are reticent
about their experiences. It is often difficult for them to
think back on those names and faces, on the ones who never lived to be
called veterans.
But on Memorial Day, we accept our obligation
to do just that. We will remember the heroism, the hardship,
the national gain and personal loss our wars have
brought. America has been given so much, but of all our
assets, resources and strengths, none have counted for more than the
courage of young soldiers in the face of battle.
When war has come, the great decisions were
made here at the White House. But when the orders went out
and were received half a world away, victory has always come down to
the people flying the planes, manning the ships, carrying the gun and
the pack. They're the ones who have cleared the seas,
crossed the rivers, charged the hills and covered the
skies. They have defended us. They have died for
us. They have never disappointed us. We are in
their debt, more than a lifetime of Memorial Days could ever
repay.
With their sacrifice comes a duty that will go
on through the generations to honor them in our thoughts, in our words
and in our lives.
Every Memorial Day we try to grasp the extent
of this loss and the meaning of this sacrifice. But it
always has seemed more than words can convey. In the end,
all we can do is be thankful; all we can do is remember and always
appreciate the price that was paid for our own lives and our own
freedom.
Thank you for listening.
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