White House Press Release With the Text of Citations Given by the President to Dr. Jonas E. Salk and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis

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IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 22, 1955 James C. Hagerty, Press Secretary to the President THE WHITE HOUSE Following are the Citations given today by the President to Dr. Jonas E. Salk and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis The Citation for Dr. Salk is as follows: Because of a signal and historic contribution to human welfare by Dr. Jonas E. Salk in his development of a vaccine to prevent paralytic poliomyelitis, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States, on behalf of the people of the United States, present to him this citation for his extraordinary achievement, The work of Dr. Salk is in the highest tradition of selfless and dedicated medical research, He has provided a means for the control of a dread disease. By helping scientists in other countries with technical information; by offering to them the strains of seed virus and proféssional aid so that the production of vaccine can be started by them everywhere; by welcoming them to his laboratory that they may gain a fuller knowledge, Dr. Salk is a benefactor of mankind, His achievement, a credit to our entire scientific community, does honor to all the people of the United States, The Citation for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis is as follows: I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States, present this special citation to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis for its unswerving devotion to the eradication of poliomyelitis, The American people recognize a debt of gratitude to the Foundation and to its founder, the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose personal courage in overcoming the handicap of poliomyelitis stands as a symbol of the fight against this disease. Without the support and encouragement of the Foundation, the work of Dr. Jonas E. Salk and of many others who contributed to the development of a preventive vaccine could not have gone for ward so rapidly. The Foundation displayed remarkable faith in sponsoring and determination in fostering their valiant effort for the health of all mankind, The generous voluntary support of the Foundation by the American people has been dramatically justified. In their name, I am privileged to make this award to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. ########