For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 28, 2001
Remarks by the President at Memorial Day Commemoration
Champlin Fighter Aircraft Museum Mesa, Arizona
2:52 P.M. MST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very
much. Secretary Principi, thank you for agreeing to serve
our nation. Thank you for your vision and hard work to make
sure that those who have worn the uniform receive the benefits that
they are owed. Principi is a good man who is going to do a
fine job on behalf of the American people.
I'm honored to be here with my friend, the
Governor of the state of Arizona, Jane Dee
Hull. (Applause.) Senator John Kyl, from the
great state of Arizona. (Applause.) Congressman
Bob Stump, the Chairman of the Military Affairs
Committee. (Applause.) J. D. Hayworth --
(applause.) And the Congressman from this district, Jeff
Flake. (Applause.)
It's an honor to be here with the commanders
of Arizona's military bases. I'm pleased to be here with the
distinguished guests on the stage. There's one special American here
today, a man named Tom Lockhart, who was a captain in the United States
Air Force, who had the dubious distinction of trying to teach me how to
fly a P-38 aircraft at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. And
I'm so honored, my friend, Silver Start winner Tom Lockhart is with us
today, as well. (Applause.)
Before I begin I do want to ask us to join in
a moment of silence for a veteran who passed away today, the
Congressman from the state of Massachusetts, Congressman Joe
Moakley. Please join me in a moment of silence.
(A moment of silence is observed.)
Thank you very much. Joe loved
America and he will be sorely missed.
Today's the day we say thanks to many
heroes. There's a true hero, who is a senator from the state
of Arizona. He is overseas today, but I know you all join me
in thanking John McCain for his service not only to Arizona, but to the
United States of America. (Applause.) And no
President can pass through Arizona without remembering the great
Arizona statesman who left us three years ago, Senator and Major
General Barry Goldwater. (Applause.)
I want to thank you all for coming
out. I am so pleased that so many of your citizens lined the
streets and came into this hangar on this kind of warm Arizona
day. (Laughter.) I began this day with a group of
veterans at the White House by signing into law a bill to expedite
construction of a national World War II memorial on the Mall in
Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
I had the honor of bringing one of the two
pens I used to sign the bill with me today, and present it to the law's
primary sponsor in the House of Representatives, Congressman Bob
Stump. (Applause.)
Throughout America, we will find monuments to
those who served in that war. The generation of World War II
defeated one of history's greatest tyrannies, leaving graves and
freedom from Europe to Asia. In Phoenix, near your state
capital, you keep the anchor of the USS Arizona, honoring the men who
died on that ship almost 60 years ago. It is time to build a
lasting national memorial to World War II in our Nation's
Capital. And the work begins soon. (Applause.)
I would like all those who served our nation
in World War II, World War II widows and World War II orphans to raise
their hands, so we can thank you for your
service. (Applause.) Now you can put them down.
Many veterans of other wars are with us today
-- Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War and other conflicts. We're
honored by your presence. And we're honored by the President
of the Buffalo Soldiers standing with us today, as
well. (Applause.) And we're especially honored by
the presence of several men who wear the nation's highest military
decoration, the Medal of Honor. Thank you all for being
here. (Applause.)
Arizona is also home to some veterans of the
Navajo code talkers program. (Applause.) In the
Pacific theater, these men made a brilliant and legendary contribution
to victory in the second world war. Countless American lives
were spared because our military could communicate in the unbreakable
code of the Navajo language. (Applause.) In a
time of great need, our country was served bravely, and served well by
the Navajo.
There are many thousands of veterans in this
state. And often veterans are not eager to look back at
their experiences. Hardest of all is to recall the ones who
never live to be called veterans. But memory is our duty,
and on this day, it is our privilege. (Applause.)
At 3:00 p.m., in every town and city, village
and hamlet in America, Americans of all walks of life are posing for a
moment of silence. It is 3:00 p.m. in this great state of
Arizona. Please join me in a moment of silence for those who
gave their lives to our great nation.
(A moment of silence is observed.)
God bless. The heroes we remember
never really set out to be heroes. Each loved his life as much as we
love ours. Each had a place in the world, a family waiting
and friends to see again. They thought of the future just as
we do, with plans and hopes for a long life. But they left
it all behind when they went to war, and parted with it forever when
they died. Every Memorial Day we gather at places like this
to grasp the extent of their loss and the meaning of the
sacrifice. It always seems more than words can
cover. 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.
Today, in thousands of towns, Americans have
gathered to pay their own tributes to the men and women who died young
-- some very young. We often think of this as one of great
national loss, and that is certainly the case. But for so
many, and perhaps many here today, there is one name among all the
others, a name that recalls a different time and memories held close
and quiet. To those who have known such loss and felt such
absence in their life, Memorial Day gives formal expression to a very
personal experience. Your losses can be marked, but not
measured. And we can never measure the value of what was
gained in their sacrifice. We live it every day in the
comforts of peace and the gifts of freedom. These have all
been purchased for us, and we're grateful for the sacrifice.
It's not in our nature to seek out wars and
conflicts, but whenever they have come, when adversaries have left us
no alternative, American men and women have stood ready to take the
risks and pay the ultimate price. People of the same caliber and the
same character today fill the ranks of the all-volunteer army of the
United States of America.
Any foe who might ever challenge our national
resolve would be repeating the grave error of defeated
adversaries. Because this nation loves peace, we do not take
it for granted. And because we love freedom, we are always
prepared to bear its greatest costs.
I oftentimes see the military folks who serve
our nation, so proud and humbled, to see them in lines of such
discipline and training and preparedness. They're the new
generation of America's defenders. They follow in an
unbroken line of good and brave and unfaltering people who have never
let this country down.
Today, we honor those who fell from the line
-- who left us never knowing how much they would be
missed. We pray for them with an affection that grows deeper
with the years. And we remember them -- all of them -- with
the love of a grateful nation.
Thank you all for coming, and God
bless. (Applause.)
END 3:04 P.M. MST
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