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50th Anniversary of World War II 6/3/92 [OA 5809]
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50th Anniversary of World War II 6/3/92 [OA 5809]
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FOIA Number:
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S
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MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13626
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13626-007
Folder Title:
50th Anniversary of World War II 6/3/92 [OA 5809]
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26
18
2
6
Document No. 331267
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 06/03/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
----
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 50th ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II - - 06/04
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROLLINS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
02 JUN 3 P4: 43
June 3, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
&
FROM:
CURT SMITH S
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
In the Roosevelt Room on Thursday, June 4 at 11 a.m., you
will sign a proclamation heralding a national week of observance
of the 50th anniversary of World War II. Your remarks are seven
minutes in length and will be on cards.
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Three
June 3, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
[Acknowledgements]. Members of the civic and veterans
groups who, along with local communities, will observe over the
next three and a half years various anniversaries of World War
II. Members of the Department of Defense's World War II
Commemoration Committee. //
Welcome to the White House -- and to the observance of the
50th anniversary of an event which linked American hearts, and
minds: The monumental struggle known as the Second World War. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. / The attack on Pearl Harbor
forced America to abandon isolationism and take up the mantle of
leadership. / World War II was fought for American soil and
sovereignty. It was also fought to defend people who, hating
war, sought only peace -- people everywhere who yearn for
freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do his or her part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
2
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941, and enlisted on my
eighteenth birthday. I recall how for the first few months of
the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was overrun.
Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet the Battle
of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port Moresby in
New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces began what
may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. //
We remember, even now. First, we broke the naval codes
armed with critical information about the enemy's plans. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task force to intercept the
Japanese fleet that had been sent to attack Midway. / For four
days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was driven
off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and a
destroyer, four enemy carriers were sunk and 250 enemy aircraft
downed -- destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after
Pearl, victory was not imminent -- but it was inevitable. The
enemy's tide was running out. The Allies' tide was running in.
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in forests and on farmland / in swamps and deserts / in
the air, on and under the sea / giving of themselves -- and
often, of their lives. //
3
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of others in
Boise / Bangor / Normandy / and Nettuno. Think of World War II's
honor roll: more than 400,000 Americans dead, and two-thirds of
a million wounded. or the countless millions worldwide -- many
helpless innocents. / World War II taught us that what happened
in Berlin and Tokyo could not be divorced from Washington -- just
as events in Europe and Asia affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said of World War II, "There never
was a war in all history easier to prevent... " Today, let us
recall what that lion cried as a voice in the wilderness: No one
ever walks away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. /
Weakening our defenses during a time of peace is an open
invitation to those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
We seek a world where differences are solved peacefully --
where the force of law outlasts the use of force. Sacrifices
made heroically fifty years ago have helped bring about a new and
better world. / It is a world I thought of last December, where
on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at
the shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a
thousand of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
4
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / And I resolved once again: We
must never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of what we have become as a Nation -- because of
their service and sacrifice. Proud of how their fate -- and
faith -- stir and shape us still. / So let us honor them,
remember them -- so that future generations will say of us what
we now say of them: God bless this wondrous land -- the United
States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people everywhere to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor
to sign the proclamation designating the national observance of
the 50th anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II \ ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992 \ 11:00 A.M.
SECRETARY CARD; GENERAL COLIN POWELL; DEPUTY
SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ANTHONY PRINCIPI; DEPUTY
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DON ATWOOD; LAWRENCE GARRETT; DON
RICE; MICHAEL STONE; CARL MUNDY; CONGRESSMAN JOHN
MYERS, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WITH US THIS
MORNING; DR. DON WILSON, ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED
STATES; ALBERT MCCLUSKEY, VETERAN OF THE BATTLE OF
MIDWAY; OTHER VETERANS HERE TODAY; MEMBERS OF CIVIC AND
VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.
- 2 -
LT. GENERAL (RET.) CLAUDE KICKLIGHTER, EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, AND MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE'S
WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE. // WELCOME TO
THE WHITE HOUSE -- AND TO THE OBSERVANCE OF THE 50TH
ANNIVERSARY OF AN EVENT WHICH LINKED AMERICAN HEARTS,
AND MINDS: THE MONUMENTAL STRUGGLE KNOWN AS THE SECOND
WORLD WAR. //
OVERNIGHT, WORLD WAR II TRANSFORMED AMERICA FROM A
PEOPLE AT PEACE TO A NATION AT WAR THAT WOULD DEFINE
THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOR THE REST OF THIS CENTURY. /
- 3 -
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR FORCED AMERICA TO ABANDON
ISOLATIONISM AND TAKE UP THE MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP. /
WORLD WAR II WAS FOUGHT FOR AMERICAN SOIL AND
SOVEREIGNTY. IT WAS ALSO FOUGHT TO DEFEND PEOPLE WHO,
HATING WAR, SOUGHT ONLY PEACE -- PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WHO
YEARN FOR FREEDOM, THEN AND NOW. /
THE YEAR 1942 WAS CRUCIAL TO OUR HISTORY.
AMERICANS CAME TOGETHER. EACH CITIZEN SOUGHT WAYS TO
DO HIS OR HER PART. /
- 4 -
FACTORIES DESIGNED TO BUILD THE TOOLS OF PEACE PRODUCED
THE TOOLS OF WAR -- SHIPS, PLANES, TANKS, AND
AMMUNITION -- ALL CRUCIAL TO THE ALLIED EFFORT. / IT
WASN'T EASY -- BUT WE DID IT. WE DID THE HARD WORK OF
FREEDOM. //
I WAS SEVENTEEN ON DECEMBER 7, 1941, AND ENLISTED
ON MY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY. I RECALL HOW FOR THE FIRST
FEW MONTHS OF THE WAR, NEWS FROM THE PACIFIC WAS GRIM.
GUAM WAS OVERRUN.
- 5 -
BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR FELL IN THE PHILIPPINES. / YET
THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA FOILED JAPANESE PLANS TO
INVADE PORT MORESBY IN NEW GUINEA. AND FIFTY YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK, OUR FORCES BEGAN WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE
GREATEST NAVAL BATTLE OF ALL TIME. MIDWAY TURNED THE
TIDE OF WWII AND THE INEVITABLE ALLIED VICTORY BEGAN TO
TAKE SHAPE.
WINSTON CHURCHILL ONCE SAID OF WORLD WAR II, "THERE
NEVER WAS A WAR IN ALL HISTORY EASIER TO PREVENT... "
- 6 -
TODAY, LET US RECALL WHAT THAT LION CRIED AS A VOICE IN
THE WILDERNESS: No ONE EVER WALKS AWAY FROM APPEASING
AN AGGRESSOR. HE ONLY CRAWLS. / WEAKENING OUR
DEFENSES DURING A TIME OF PEACE IS AN OPEN INVITATION
TO THOSE WITH THE POTENTIAL TO WAGE WAR. //
As LONG AS I AM PRESIDENT, THE MILITARY'S
COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING FREEDOM WILL BE MATCHED BY MY
COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING THE MILITARY. // SOME SAY OUR
VICTORY IN THE COLD WAR ALLOWS US TO RETREAT BEHIND THE
WATER'S EDGE.
- 7 -
I SAY: JUST AS AMERICA'S VIGILANCE HELPED WIN THAT WAR
-- so A STRONG AMERICA CAN NOW HELP WIN THE PEACE. //
WE SEEK A WORLD WHERE DIFFERENCES ARE SOLVED
PEACEFULLY -- WHERE THE FORCE OF LAW OUTLASTS THE USE
OF FORCE. SACRIFICES MADE HEROICALLY FIFTY YEARS AGO
HAVE HELPED BRING ABOUT A NEW AND BETTER WORLD. /
- 8 -
IT IS A WORLD I THOUGHT OF LAST DECEMBER, WHERE ON THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR, BARBARA AND I LOOKED
AT THE SUNKEN WELL OF THE USS ARIZONA -- TOMB TO MORE
THAN A THOUSAND OF THE GREATEST HEROES ANY NATION HAS
EVER KNOWN. //
THERE, I THOUGHT OF THE WIFE WHOSE BEST FRIEND WAS
HER HUSBAND. OR THE LITTLE BOY WHOSE BROTHER -- HIS
IDOL -- ONCE VOWED TO TAKE HIM FISHING AFTER THE
FIGHTING STOPPED. /
- 9 -
I THOUGHT OF THE FATHER WHOSE SON OR DAUGHTER WOULD NOW
KNOW HIM AS A MARTYR, BUT NEVER AS A DAD. / AND I
RESOLVED ONCE AGAIN: WE MUST NEVER -- EVER -- LET
AMERICA'S DEFENSES DOWN. //
THE MEN WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II WOULD TODAY BE
PROUD OF AMERICA. PROUD OF WHAT WE HAVE BECOME AS A
NATION -- BECAUSE OF THEIR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.
PROUD OF HOW THEIR FATE -- AND FAITH -- STIR AND SHAPE
US STILL. /
- 10 -
-
So LET US HONOR THEM, REMEMBER THEM -- so THAT FUTURE
GENERATIONS WILL SAY OF US WHAT WE DO ALSO: GOD BLESS
THIS WONDROUS LAND--- THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. //
WORLD WAR II WAS A FIGHT WE DID NOT SEEK, AGAINST
ENEMIES WE DID NOT CHOOSE, FOR A CAUSE THAT IS FIRST
AMONG ALL: THE RIGHT OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO BE FREE.
- 11 -
IN THAT SPIRIT, IT IS MY HONOR TO SIGN THE PROCLAMATION
DESIGNATING THE NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE 50TH
ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II.
# # # #
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II \ ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992 \ 11:00 A.M.
SECRETARY CARD; GENERAL COLIN POWELL; DEPUTY
SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ANTHONY PRINCIPI; DEPUTY
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE DON ATWOOD; LAWRENCE GARRETT; DON
RICE; MICHAEL STONE; CARL MUNDY; CONGRESSMAN JOHN
MYERS, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WITH US THIS
MORNING; DR. DON WILSON, ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED
STATES; ALBERT MCCLUSKEY, VETERAN OF THE BATTLE OF
MIDWAY; OTHER VETERANS HERE TODAY; MEMBERS OF CIVIC AND
VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS.
- 2 -
LT. GENERAL (RET.) CLAUDE KICKLIGHTER, EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, AND MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE'S
WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE. // WELCOME TO
THE WHITE HOUSE -- AND TO THE OBSERVANCE OF THE 50TH
ANNIVERSARY OF AN EVENT WHICH LINKED AMERICAN HEARTS,
AND MINDS: THE MONUMENTAL STRUGGLE KNOWN AS THE SECOND
WORLD WAR. //
OVERNIGHT, WORLD WAR II TRANSFORMED AMERICA FROM A
PEOPLE AT PEACE TO A NATION AT WAR THAT WOULD DEFINE
THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOR THE REST OF THIS CENTURY. /
- 3 -
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR FORCED AMERICA TO ABANDON
ISOLATIONISM AND TAKE UP THE MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP. /
WORLD WAR II WAS FOUGHT FOR AMERICAN SOIL AND
SOVEREIGNTY. IT WAS ALSO FOUGHT TO DEFEND PEOPLE WHO,
HATING WAR, SOUGHT ONLY PEACE -- PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WHO
YEARN FOR FREEDOM, THEN AND NOW. /
THE YEAR 1942 WAS CRUCIAL TO OUR HISTORY.
AMERICANS CAME TOGETHER. EACH CITIZEN SOUGHT WAYS TO
DO HIS OR HER PART. /
- 4 -
FACTORIES DESIGNED TO BUILD THE TOOLS OF PEACE PRODUCED
THE TOOLS OF WAR -- SHIPS, PLANES, TANKS, AND
AMMUNITION -- ALL CRUCIAL TO THE ALLIED EFFORT. / IT
WASN'T EASY -- BUT WE DID IT. WE DID THE HARD WORK OF
FREEDOM. //
I WAS SEVENTEEN ON DECEMBER 7, 1941, AND ENLISTED
ON MY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY. I RECALL HOW FOR THE FIRST
FEW MONTHS OF THE WAR, NEWS FROM THE PACIFIC WAS GRIM.
GUAM WAS OVERRUN.
- 5 -
BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR FELL IN THE PHILIPPINES. / YET
THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA FOILED JAPANESE PLANS TO
INVADE PORT MORESBY IN NEW GUINEA. AND FIFTY YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK, OUR FORCES BEGAN WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE
GREATEST NAVAL BATTLE OF ALL TIME. MIDWAY TURNED THE
TIDE OF WWII AND THE INEVITABLE ALLIED VICTORY BEGAN TO
TAKE SHAPE.
WINSTON CHURCHILL ONCE SAID OF WORLD WAR II, "THERE
NEVER WAS A WAR IN ALL HISTORY EASIER TO PREVENT..."
- 6 -
TODAY, LET US RECALL WHAT THAT LION CRIED AS A VOICE IN
THE WILDERNESS: No ONE EVER WALKS AWAY FROM APPEASING
AN AGGRESSOR. HE ONLY CRAWLS. / WEAKENING OUR
DEFENSES DURING A TIME OF PEACE IS AN OPEN INVITATION
TO THOSE WITH THE POTENTIAL TO WAGE WAR. //
As LONG AS I AM PRESIDENT, THE MILITARY'S
COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING FREEDOM WILL BE MATCHED BY MY
COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING THE MILITARY. // SOME SAY OUR
VICTORY IN THE COLD WAR ALLOWS US TO RETREAT BEHIND THE
WATER'S EDGE.
. 7 -
I SAY: JUST AS AMERICA'S VIGILANCE HELPED WIN THAT WAR
-- so A STRONG AMERICA CAN NOW HELP WIN THE PEACE. //
WE SEEK A WORLD WHERE DIFFERENCES ARE SOLVED
PEACEFULLY -- WHERE THE FORCE OF LAW OUTLASTS THE USE
OF FORCE. SACRIFICES MADE HEROICALLY FIFTY YEARS AGO
HAVE HELPED BRING ABOUT A NEW AND BETTER WORLD. /
- 8 -
IT IS A WORLD I THOUGHT OF LAST DECEMBER, WHERE ON THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR, BARBARA AND I LOOKED
AT THE SUNKEN WELL OF THE USS ARIZONA -- TOMB TO MORE
THAN A THOUSAND OF THE GREATEST HEROES ANY NATION HAS
EVER KNOWN. //
THERE, I THOUGHT OF THE WIFE WHOSE BEST FRIEND WAS
HER HUSBAND. OR THE LITTLE BOY WHOSE BROTHER -- HIS
IDOL -- ONCE VOWED To TAKE HIM FISHING AFTER THE
FIGHTING STOPPED. /
- 9 -
I THOUGHT OF THE FATHER WHOSE SON OR DAUGHTER WOULD NOW
KNOW HIM AS A MARTYR, BUT NEVER AS A DAD. / AND I
RESOLVED ONCE AGAIN: WE MUST NEVER -- EVER -- LET
AMERICA'S DEFENSES DOWN. //
THE MEN WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II WOULD TODAY BE
PROUD OF AMERICA. PROUD OF WHAT WE HAVE BECOME AS A
NATION -- BECAUSE OF THEIR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.
PROUD OF HOW THEIR FATE -- AND FAITH -- STIR AND SHAPE
US STILL. /
- 10 -
So LET US HONOR THEM, REMEMBER THEM -- so THAT FUTURE
GENERATIONS WILL SAY OF US WHAT WE DO ALSO: GOD BLESS
THIS WONDROUS LAND -- THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. //
WORLD WAR II WAS A FIGHT WE DID NOT SEEK, AGAINST
ENEMIES WE DID NOT CHOOSE, FOR A CAUSE THAT IS FIRST
AMONG ALL: THE RIGHT OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE To BE FREE.
- 11 -
IN THAT SPIRIT, IT IS MY HONOR TO SIGN THE PROCLAMATION
DESIGNATING THE NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE 50TH
ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II.
# # # #
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II 1 ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992 \ 11:00 A.M.
GENERAL COLIN POWELL; DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
DON ATWOOD; SECRETARY OF THE ARMY, MICHAEL STONE;
CONGRESSMAN JOHN MYERS, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
WITH US THIS MORNING; ALBERT MCCLUSKEY, VETERAN OF THE
BATTLE OF MIDWAY; OTHER VETERANS HERE TODAY; MEMBERS OF
THE CIVIC AND VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS WHO, ALONG
WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES, WILL OBSERVE OVER THE NEXT
THREE AND A HALF YEARS VARIOUS ANNIVERSARIES OF WORLD
WAR II. MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE'S WORLD
WAR II COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE. //
- 2 -
WELCOME TO THE WHITE HOUSE -- AND TO THE OBSERVANCE
OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF AN EVENT WHICH LINKED
AMERICAN HEARTS, AND MINDS: THE MONUMENTAL STRUGGLE
KNOWN AS THE SECOND WORLD WAR. //
OVERNIGHT, WORLD WAR II TRANSFORMED AMERICA FROM A
PEOPLE AT PEACE TO A NATION AT WAR THAT WOULD DEFINE
THE COURSE OF HISTORY FOR THE REST OF THIS CENTURY. /
THE ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR FORCED AMERICA TO ABANDON
ISOLATIONISM AND TAKE UP THE MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP. /
- 3 -
WORLD WAR II WAS FOUGHT FOR AMERICAN SOIL AND
SOVEREIGNTY. IT WAS ALSO FOUGHT TO DEFEND PEOPLE WHO,
HATING WAR, SOUGHT ONLY PEACE -- PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WHO
YEARN FOR FREEDOM, THEN AND NOW. /
THE YEAR 1942 WAS CRUCIAL TO OUR HISTORY.
AMERICANS CAME TOGETHER. EACH CITIZEN SOUGHT WAYS TO
DO HIS OR HER PART. /
- 4 -
FACTORIES DESIGNED TO BUILD THE TOOLS OF PEACE PRODUCED
THE TOOLS OF WAR -- SHIPS, PLANES, TANKS, AND
AMMUNITION -- ALL CRUCIAL TO THE ALLIED EFFORT. / IT
WASN'T EASY -- BUT WE DID IT. WE DID THE HARD WORK OF
FREEDOM. //
I WAS SEVENTEEN ON DECEMBER 7, 1941, AND ENLISTED
ON MY EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY. I RECALL HOW FOR THE FIRST
FEW MONTHS OF THE WAR, NEWS FROM THE PACIFIC WAS GRIM.
GUAM WAS OVERRUN.
- 5 -
BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR FELL IN THE PHILIPPINES. / YET
THE BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA FOILED JAPANESE PLANS TO
INVADE PORT MORESBY IN NEW GUINEA. AND FIFTY YEARS AGO
THIS WEEK, OUR FORCES BEGAN WHAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE
GREATEST NAVAL BATTLE OF ALL TIME. //
WE REMEMBER, EVEN NOW. FIRST, WE BROKE THE NAVAL
CODES ARMED WITH CRITICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE ENEMY'S
PLANS.
- 6 -
THEN, ADMIRAL NIMITZ SENT HIS CARRIER TASK FORCE TO
INTERCEPT THE JAPANESE FLEET THAT HAD BEEN SENT TO
ATTACK MIDWAY. / FOR FOUR DAYS THE FIGHTING RAGED.
FINALLY, THE INVASION FORCE WAS DRIVEN OFF. WHILE
AMERICA LOST THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER YORKTOWN AND A
DESTROYER, FOUR ENEMY CARRIERS WERE SUNK AND 250 ENEMY
AIRCRAFT DOWNED -- DESTROYING THEIR FLEET. EXACTLY SIX
MONTHS AFTER PEARL, VICTORY WAS NOT IMMINENT -- BUT IT
WAS INEVITABLE. THE ENEMY'S TIDE WAS RUNNING OUT.
- 7 -
THE ALLIES' TIDE WAS RUNNING IN.
HERE IS WHAT HISTORY WILL SAY OF THE GREATEST WAR
IN MAN'S TIDE OF TIMES: WHEN ATTACKED, AMERICA'S SONS
AND DAUGHTERS TOOK UP ARMS, AND BORE OUR BURDEN, FOR A
CAUSE LARGER THAN OURSELVES. THEY FOUGHT AT BATAAN AND
THE BULGE / FOUGHT IN UNKNOWN LANDS, AMID THE SHROUD OF
DARKNESS, TO ILLUMINATE THE NIGHT. /
- 8 -
THEY FOUGHT IN FORESTS AND ON FARMLAND / IN SWAMPS AND
DESERTS / IN THE AIR, ON AND UNDER THE SEA / GIVING OF
THEMSELVES -- AND OFTEN, OF THEIR LIVES. //
THINK OF THE CEMETERY IN ARLINGTON. THINK OF
OTHERS IN BOISE / BANGOR / NORMANDY / AND NETTUNO.
THINK OF WORLD WAR II's HONOR ROLL: MORE THAN 400,000
AMERICANS DEAD, AND TWO-THIRDS OF A MILLION WOUNDED.
OR THE COUNTLESS MILLIONS WORLDWIDE -- MANY HELPLESS
INNOCENTS. /
- 9 -
WORLD WAR II TAUGHT US THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN BERLIN AND
TOKYO COULD NOT BE DIVORCED FROM WASHINGTON -- JUST AS
EVENTS IN EUROPE AND ASIA AFFECT EACH AMERICAN TODAY.
11
WINSTON CHURCHILL ONCE SAID OF WORLD WAR II, "THERE
NEVER WAS A WAR IN ALL HISTORY EASIER TO PREVENT..."
TODAY, LET US RECALL WHAT THAT LION CRIED AS A VOICE IN
THE WILDERNESS: No ONE EVER WALKS AWAY FROM APPEASING
AN AGGRESSOR. HE ONLY CRAWLS. /
- 10 -
WEAKENING OUR DEFENSES DURING A TIME OF PEACE IS AN
OPEN INVITATION TO THOSE WITH THE POTENTIAL TO WAGE
WAR. //
As LONG AS I AM PRESIDENT, THE MILITARY'S
COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING FREEDOM WILL BE MATCHED BY MY
COMMITMENT TO DEFENDING THE MILITARY. // SOME SAY OUR
VICTORY IN THE COLD WAR ALLOWS US TO RETREAT BEHIND THE
WATER'S EDGE.
- 11 -
I SAY: JUST AS AMERICA'S VIGILANCE HELPED WIN THAT WAR
-- so A STRONG AMERICA CAN NOW HELP WIN THE PEACE. 11
WE SEEK A WORLD WHERE DIFFERENCES ARE SOLVED
PEACEFULLY -- WHERE THE FORCE OF LAW OUTLASTS THE USE
OF FORCE. SACRIFICES MADE HEROICALLY FIFTY YEARS AGO
HAVE HELPED BRING ABOUT A NEW AND BETTER WORLD.
/
- 12 -
IT IS A WORLD I THOUGHT OF LAST DECEMBER, WHERE ON THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR, BARBARA AND I LOOKED
AT THE SHRUNKEN WELL OF THE USS ARIZONA -- TOMB TO MORE
THAN A THOUSAND OF THE GREATEST HEROES ANY NATION HAS
EVER KNOWN. //
THERE, I THOUGHT OF THE WIFE WHOSE BEST FRIEND WAS
HER HUSBAND. OR THE LITTLE BOY WHOSE BROTHER -- HIS
IDOL -- ONCE VOWED TO TAKE HIM FISHING AFTER THE
FIGHTING STOPPED. /
- 13 -
I THOUGHT OF THE FATHER WHOSE SON OR DAUGHTER WOULD NOW
KNOW HIM AS A MARTYR, BUT NEVER AS A DAD. / AND I
RESOLVED ONCE AGAIN: WE MUST NEVER -- EVER -- LET
AMERICA'S DEFENSES DOWN. //
THE MEN WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II WOULD TODAY BE
PROUD OF AMERICA. PROUD OF WHAT WE HAVE BECOME AS A
NATION -- BECAUSE OF THEIR SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.
PROUD OF HOW THEIR FATE -- AND FAITH -- STIR AND SHAPE
US STILL. /
- 14 -
So LET US HONOR THEM, REMEMBER THEM -- so THAT FUTURE
GENERATIONS WILL SAY OF US WHAT WE NOW SAY OF THEM:
GOD BLESS THIS WONDROUS LAND -- THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA. //
WORLD WAR II WAS A FIGHT WE DID NOT SEEK, AGAINST
ENEMIES WE DID NOT CHOOSE, FOR A CAUSE THAT IS FIRST
AMONG ALL: THE RIGHT OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO BE FREE.
- 15 -
IN THAT SPIRIT, IT IS MY HONOR TO SIGN THE PROCLAMATION
DESIGNATING THE NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE 50TH
ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II.
# # # #
the
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 3, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
&
FROM:
CURT SMITH S
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
In the Roosevelt Room on Thursday, June 4 at 11 a.m., you
will sign a proclamation heralding a national week of observance
of the 50th anniversary of World War II. Your remarks are seven
minutes in length and will be on cards.
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Three
June 3, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
[Acknowledgements]. Members of the civic and veterans
groups who, along with local communities, will observe over the
next three and a half years various anniversaries of World War
II. Members of the Department of Defense's World War II
Commemoration Committee. / /
Welcome to the White House -- and to the observance of the
50th anniversary of an event which linked American hearts, and
minds: The monumental struggle known as the Second World War. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. / The attack on Pearl Harbor
forced America to abandon isolationism and take up the mantle of
leadership. / World War II was fought for American soil and
sovereignty. It was also fought to defend people who, hating
war, sought only peace -- people everywhere who yearn for
freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do his or her part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
2
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941, and enlisted on my
eighteenth birthday. I recall how for the first few months of
the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was overrun.
Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet the Battle
of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port Moresby in
New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces began what
may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. //
We remember, even now. First, we broke the naval codes
armed with critical information about the enemy's plans. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task force to intercept the
Japanese fleet that had been sent to attack Midway. / For four
days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was driven
off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and a
destroyer, four enemy carriers were sunk and 250 enemy aircraft
downed -- destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after
Pearl, victory was not imminent -- but it was inevitable. The
enemy's tide was running out. The Allies' tide was running in.
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in forests and on farmland / in swamps and deserts / in
the air, on and under the sea / giving of themselves -- and
often, of their lives. //
3
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of others in
Boise / Bangor / Normandy / and Nettuno. Think of World War II's
honor roll: more than 400,000 Americans dead, and two-thirds of
a million wounded. or the countless millions worldwide -- many
helpless innocents. / World War II taught us that what happened
in Berlin and Tokyo could not be divorced from Washington -- just
as events in Europe and Asia affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said of World War II, "There never
was a war in all history easier to prevent " Today, let us
recall what that lion cried as a voice in the wilderness: No one
ever walks away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. /
Weakening our defenses during a time of peace is an open
invitation to those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
We seek a world where differences are solved peacefully --
where the force of law outlasts the use of force. Sacrifices
made heroically fifty years ago have helped bring about a new and
better world. /. It is a world I thought of last December, where
on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at
the shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a
thousand of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
4
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. Or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / And I resolved once again: We
must never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of what we have become as a Nation --- because of
their service and sacrifice. Proud of how their fate -- and
faith -- stir and shape us still. / So let us honor them,
remember them -- so that future generations will say of us what
we now say of them: God bless this wondrous land -- the United
States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people everywhere to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor
to sign the proclamation designating the national observance of
the 50th anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 3, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
&
FROM:
CURT SMITH
S
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
In the Roosevelt Room on Thursday, June 4 at 11 a.m., you
will sign a proclamation heralding a national week of observance
of the 50th anniversary of World War II. Your remarks are seven
minutes in length and will be on cards.
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Three
June 3, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
[Acknowledgements]. Members of the civic and veterans
groups who, along with local communities, will observe over the
next three and a half years various anniversaries of World War
II. Members of the Department of Defense's World War II
Commemoration Committee. //
Welcome to the White House -- and to the observance of the
50th anniversary of an event which linked American hearts, and
minds: The monumental struggle known as the Second World War. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. / The attack on Pearl Harbor
forced America to abandon isolationism and take up the mantle of
leadership. / World War II was fought for American soil and
sovereignty. It was also fought to defend people who, hating
war, sought only peace -- people everywhere who yearn for
freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do his or her part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy --- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
2
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941, and enlisted on my
eighteenth birthday. I recall how for the first few months of
the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was overrun.
Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet the Battle
of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port Moresby in
New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces began what
may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. //
We remember, even now. First, we broke the naval codes
armed with critical information about the enemy's plans. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task force to intercept the
Japanese fleet that had been sent to attack Midway. / For four
days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was driven
off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and a
destroyer, four enemy carriers were sunk and 250 enemy aircraft
downed -- destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after
Pearl, victory was not imminent -- but it was inevitable. The
enemy's tide was running out. The Allies' tide was running in.
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in forests and on farmland / in swamps and deserts / in
the air, on and under the sea / giving of themselves -- and
often, of their lives. //
3
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of others in
Boise / Bangor / Normandy / and Nettuno. Think of World War II's
honor roll: more than 400,000 Americans dead, and two-thirds of
a million wounded. Or the countless millions worldwide -- many
helpless innocents. / World War II taught us that what happened
in Berlin and Tokyo could not be divorced from Washington -- just
as events in Europe and Asia affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said of World War II, "There never
was a war in all history easier to prevent " Today, let us
recall what that lion cried as a voice in the wilderness: No one
ever walks away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. /
Weakening our defenses during a time of peace is an open
invitation to those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
We seek a world where differences are solved peacefully --
where the force of law outlasts the use of force. Sacrifices
made heroically fifty years ago have helped bring about a new and
better world. / It is a world I thought of last December, where
on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at
the shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a
thousand of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
4
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / And I resolved once again: We
must never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of what we have become as a Nation -- because of
their service and sacrifice. Proud of how their fate -- and
faith -- stir and shape us still. / So let us honor them,
remember them -- so that future generations will say of us what
we now say of them: God bless this wondrous land -- the United
States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people everywhere to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor
to sign the proclamation designating the national observance of
the 50th anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 3, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
&
FROM:
CURT SMITH S
SUBJECT:
NATIONAL OBSERVANCE OF THE
50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
In the Roosevelt Room on Thursday, June 4 at 11 a.m., you
will sign a proclamation heralding a national week of observance
of the 50th anniversary of World War II. Your remarks are seven
minutes in length and will be on cards.
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Three
June 3, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
[Acknowledgements]. Members of the civic and veterans
groups who, along with local communities, will observe over the
next three and a half years various anniversaries of World War
II. Members of the Department of Defense's World War II
Commemoration Committee. //
Welcome to the White House -- and to the observance of the
50th anniversary of an event which linked American hearts, and
minds: The monumental struggle known as the Second World War. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. / The attack on Pearl Harbor
forced America to abandon isolationism and take up the mantle of
leadership. / World War II was fought for American soil and
sovereignty. It was also fought to defend people who, hating
war, sought only peace -- people everywhere who yearn for
freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do his or her part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
2
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941, and enlisted on my
eighteenth birthday. I recall how for the first few months of
the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was overrun.
Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet the Battle
of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port Moresby in
New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces began what
may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. //
We remember, even now. First, we broke the naval codes
armed with critical information about the enemy's plans. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task force to intercept the
Japanese fleet that had been sent to attack Midway. / For four
days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was driven
off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and a
destroyer, four enemy carriers were sunk and 250 enemy aircraft
downed -- destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after
Pearl, victory was not imminent -- but it was inevitable. The
enemy's tide was running out. The Allies' tide was running in.
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in forests and on farmland / in swamps and deserts / in
the air, on and under the sea / giving of themselves -- and
often, of their lives. //
3
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of others in
Boise / Bangor / Normandy / and Nettuno. Think of World War II's
honor roll: more than 400,000 Americans dead, and two-thirds of
a million wounded. or the countless millions worldwide -- many
helpless innocents. / World War II taught us that what happened
in Berlin and Tokyo could not be divorced from Washington -- just
as events in Europe and Asia affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said of World War II, "There never
was a war in all history easier to prevent " Today, let us
recall what that lion cried as a voice in the wilderness: No one
ever walks away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. /
Weakening our defenses during a time of peace is an open
invitation to those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
We seek a world where differences are solved peacefully --
where the force of law outlasts the use of force. Sacrifices
made heroically fifty years ago have helped bring about a new and
better world. / It is a world I thought of last December, where
on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at
the shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a
thousand of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
4
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / And I resolved once again: We
must never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of what we have become as a Nation -- because of
their service and sacrifice. Proud of how their fate -- and
faith -- stir and shape us still. / So let us honor them,
remember them -- so that future generations will say of us what
we now say of them: God bless this wondrous land -- the United
States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people everywhere to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor
to sign the proclamation designating the national observance of
the 50th anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
Menth David,
Please note Brents comments
below
(Smith/Aarhus)
Donty
Draft Three
June 3, 1992
Phil -
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II
ROOSEVELT ROOM
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
[Acknowledgements]. Members of the civic and veterans
groups who, along with local communities, will observe over the
next three and a half years various anniversaries of World War
II. Members of the Department of Defense's World War II
Commemoration Committee. //
Welcome to the White House -- and to the observance of the
50th anniversary of an event which linked American hearts, and
minds: The monumental struggle known as the Second World War. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. / The attack on Pearl Harbor
forced America to abandon isolationism and take up the mantle of
leadership. / World War II was fought for American soil and
sovereignty. It was also fought to defend people who, hating
war, sought only peace -- people everywhere who yearn for
freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do his or her part.
/
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
fdead?
3
?
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of others in
Boise / Bangor / Normandy / and Nettuno. Think of World War II's
honor roll: more than 400,000 Americans dead, and two-thirds of
a million wounded. or the countless millions worldwide -- many
helpless innocents. / World War II taught us that what happened
in Berlin and Tokyo could not be divarced from Washington -- just
as events in Europe and Asia affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said of World War II, "There never
was a war in all history easier to prevent " Today, let us
recall what that lion cried as a voice in the wilderness: No one
ever walks away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. /
Weakening our defenses during a time of peace is an open
invitation to those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
We seek a world where differences are solved peacefully --
where the force of law outlasts the use of force. Sacrifices
made heroically fifty years ago have helped bring about a new and
don't
better world. / It is a world I thought of last December, where
ships Strink
on the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at
the shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a
thousand of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
2
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941, and enlisted on my
eighteenth birthday. I recall how for the first few months of
the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was overrun.
Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet the Battle
of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port Moresby in
New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces began what
Middy timed the
may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. // Fide WWII
and of
We remember, even now. First, we broke the naval codes
??
armed with critical information about the enemy's plans. Then,
socialy began
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task force to intercept the
Japanese fleet that had been sent to attack Midway. / For four
days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was driven
off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and a
destroyer, four enemy carriers were sunk and 250 enemy aircraft
downed -- destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after
Pearl, victory was not imminent -- but it was inevitable.
The
enemy's tide was running out The Allies' tide was running in.
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in forests and on farmland / in swamps and deserts / in
the air, on and under the sea / giving of themselves -- and
often, of their lives. /
4
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / And I resolved once again: We
must never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of what we have become as a Nation -- because of
their service and sacrifice. Proud of how their fate -- and
faith -- stir and shape us still. / So let us honor them,
20 ?
remember them -- so that future generations will say of us what
we of them: God bless this wondrous land -- the United
States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people everywhere to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor
to sign the proclamation designating the national observance of
the 50th anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
The Rey to this is economic growth.
Jast January, I proposed a solid
common sense action plan to create jobs
and stimulate economic growth for the short
term Congress still needs to act on that
plan - and act now.
A balanced budget amendment will
help ensure economic security for the american
people in the long. term. Congress needs to
act on that measure - and act now.
We have a moral imperative to
act on behalf of future generations. They
are not yet here to represent themselves
children and our
We Knoso It's time to protect our children's
only we can protect and inhance f the
children - and we're determined to exact this
for our children and clitdren's children
solemn bond between generations.
Document No. 331267ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
6/2/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WED. 6/3/92 11:00ar
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
SUBJECT:
ROSE GARDEN - THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER N/C
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROLLINS N/C...
CALIO
SMITH
X DEMAREST
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY N/C
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
FIRESTONE
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty,
Rm. 122, x2930, no later than 11:00 a.m., WED. JUNE 3,
with a copy to this office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Two
02 JUN 2 All : 17
June 2, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
ROSE GARDEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Fellow veterans. Fellow Americans. Welcome to the White
House -- and to the obserance of the 50th anniversary of an event
which linked American hearts, and minds. A just cause that was
democracy's cause: The monumental struggle known as World War
II. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. //
The attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to abandon
isolationism and take up the mantle of leadership. Yes, World
War II was fought for American soil and sovereignty. / It was
also fought to defend people who, hating war, sought only peace -
- people everywhere who yearn for freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do their part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941. For the next six
months of the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was
overrun. Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet
2
the Battle of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port
Moresby in New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces
began what may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. /
I remember, even now. First, we broke the war code. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task forces to intercept the
fleet that had been sent to attack Midway -- a small group of
islands just one thousand miles northwest of Honolulu. / For
four days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was
driven off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and
the destroyer Hammann, four enemy carriers were sunk --
destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after Pearl, victory
was not imminent -- but inevitable. The enemy's tide was running
out. The Allies' tide was running in. //
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in swamps and deserts / in the sea and air / giving of
themselves -- and often, of their lives. //
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of plots of land
in Boise / Bangor / Dallas / Des Moines. Think of World War II's
honor roll: Americans dead, and wounded. or the 55
million worldwide -- many helpless innocents. / World War II
taught us that what happened in Berlin and Tokyo could not be
3
divorced from Washington -- just as events in Europe and Asia
affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said, "Never was any conflict more
preventable." Today, let us recall what that lion in winter
cried as a 1930s' voice in the wilderness: No one ever walks
away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. / Weakening
our defenses during a time of peace is an open invitation to
those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
I speak of a world where differences are solved peacefully -
- not violently -- where the force of law outlasts the use of
force. / It is a world I thought of last December, where on the
50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at the
shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a thousand
of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / I thought to myself: I will
never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
4
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of how their fate -- and faith -- stir and shape
us still. / So let us honor them, remember them -- so that
future generations will say of us what we now say of them: God
bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor to sign the
proclamation designating the national observance of the 50th
anniversary of World War II.
# # # : #
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 2, 1992
92 MAY 3 AlO : 23
MEMORANDUM FOR DAN McGROARTY
FROM:
ROGER B. PORTER RBP
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: World War II Anniversary
We have reviewed the attached remarks and have noted a few
suggested changes on the draft.
Please let us know if you have any questions or if we may
help in any other way.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
Document No. 331267ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
WARREN
DATE:
6/2/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
WED. 6/3/92 11:00am
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
SUBJECT:
ROSE GARDEN - THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROLLINS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
FIRESTONE
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty,
Rm. 122, x2930, no later than 11:00 a.m., WED. JUNE 3,
with a copy to this office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Two
02 JUN 2 All : 17
June 2, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
ROSE GARDEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Fellow veterans. Fellow Americans. Welcome to the White
House -- and to the obserance of the 50th anniversary of an event
which linked American hearts, and minds. A just cause that was
democracy's cause: The monumental struggle known as World War
II. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. //
The attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to abandon
isolationism and take up the mantle of leadership. Yes, World
War II was fought for American soil and sovereignty. / It was
also fought to defend people who, hating war, sought only peace -
- people everywhere who yearn for freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do their part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941. For the next six
months of the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was
overrun. Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet
our intelligment service
2
the Battle of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port
Moresby in New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces
began what may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. /
I remember, even now. First, we broke the war code. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task forces to intercept the
fleet that had been sent to attack Midway -- a small group of
islands just one thousand miles northwest of Honolulu. / For
four days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was
driven off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and
the destroyer Hammann, four enemy carriers were sunk --
00
destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after Pearl, victory
the Japanae
was not imminent -- but inevitable. The enemy's tide was running
No
out. The Allies tide was running In.11 in
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
No
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in swamps and deserts / in the sea and air / giving of
themselves -- and often, of their lives. //
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of plots of land
in Boise / Bangor / Dallas / Des Moines. Think of World War II's
honor roll: Americans dead, and wounded. Or the 55
million worldwide -- many helpless innocents. / World War II
taught us that what happened in Berlin and Tokyo could not be
3
divorced from Washington -- just as events in Europe and Asia
affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said, "Never was any conflict more
preventable." Today, let us recall what that lion Chenchiel in winter
cried as a 1930s' voice in the wilderness: No one ever walks
away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. / Weakening
our defenses during a time of peace is an open invitation to
those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
BACK INTO ISOCATIONISMO
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
ADVANCE vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
I speak of a world where differences are solved peacefully -
not violently where the force of law outlasts the use of
force. / It is a world I thought of last December, where on the
50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at the
shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a thousand
of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
we
a martyr, but never as a dad. / I thought to myself: Y will
never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
4
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of how their fate -- and faith -- stir and shape
us still. / So let us honor them, remember them -- so that
future generations will say of us what we now say of them: God
bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor to sign the
proclamation designating the national observance of the 50th
anniversary of World War II.
# # # #
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 2, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DANIEL MCGROARTY
FROM:
STEPHEN G. RADEMAKER SR
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: WWII Anniversary, Rose
Garden
Pursuant to Phil Brady's request, Counsel's Office has reviewed
the above-referenced matter and has no objection to the proposed
Presidential Remarks.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
9AW
Henson tie to peace Lagacy... (Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Two
June 2, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
ROSE GARDEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Fellow veterans. Fellow Americans. Welcome to the White
House -- and to the obserance of the 50th anniversary of an event
which linked American hearts, and minds. A just cause that was
democracy's cause: The monumental struggle known as World War
II. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. //
The attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to abandon
isolationism and take up the mantle of leadership. Yes, World
War II was fought for American soil and sovereignty. / It was
also fought to defend people who, hating war, sought only peace -
- people everywhere who yearn for freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do their part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941. For the next six
months of the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was
overrun. Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet
2
the Battle of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port
Moresby in New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces
began what may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. /
I remember, even now. First, we broke the war code. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task forces to intercept the
fleet that had been sent to attack Midway -- a small group of
islands just one thousand miles northwest of Honolulu. / For
four days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was
driven off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and
the destroyer Hammann, four enemy carriers were sunk --
destroying their fleet. Exactly six' months after Pearl, victory
was not imminent -- but inevitable. The enemy's tide was running
out. The Allies' tide was running in. //
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in swamps and deserts / in the sea and air / giving of
themselves -- and often, of their lives. / /
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of plots of land
in Boise / Bangor / Dallas / Des Moines. Think of World War II's
honor roll: Americans dead, and wounded. or the 55
-
million worldwide -- many helpless innocents. / World War II
taught us that what happened in Berlin and Tokyo could not be
3
divorced from Washington -- just as events in Europe and Asia
affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said, "Never was any conflict more
preventable." Today, let us recall what that lion in winter
cried as a 1930s' voice in the wilderness: No one ever walks
away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. / Weakening
our defenses during a time of peace is an open invitation to
those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
I speak of a world where differences are solved peacefully -
- not violently -- where the force of law outlasts the use of
force. / It is a world I thought of last December, where on the
50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at the
shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a thousand
of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. Or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / I thought to myself: I will
never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
4
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of how their fate -- and faith -- stir and shape
us still. / So let us honor them, remember them -- so that
future generations will say of us what we now say of them: God
bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor to sign the
proclamation designating the national observance of the 50th
anniversary of World War II.
# # # #
06/02/92 16:05
202 3951039
NSC LEGAL
001
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 2, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DANIEL MCGROARTY
FROM:
STEPHEN G. RADEMAKER
SR
ASSOCIATE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks: WWII Anniversary, Rose
Garden
Pursuant to Phil Brady's request, Counsel's Office has reviewed
the above-referenced matter and has no objection to the proposed
Presidential Remarks.
CC: Phillip D. Brady
Document No. 331267ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
92 MAY 3 A10: 23
DATE:
6/2/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WED. 6/3/92 11:00am
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
SUBJECT:
ROSE GARDEN THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROLLINS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
FIRESTONE
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty,
Rm. 122, x2930, no later than 11:00 a.m., WED. JUNE 3,
with a copy to this office. Thank you.
RESPONSE:
- See comments
- R.Grady may comment at a
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
later time
Ext. 2702
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Two
June 2, 1992
02 JUN 2 All : 17
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
ROSE GARDEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Fellow veterans. Fellow Americans. Welcome to the White
House -- and to the obserance of the 50th anniversary of an event
which linked American hearts, and minds. A just cause that was
democracy's cause: The monumental struggle known as World War
II. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. //
The attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to abandon
isolationism and take up the mantle of leadership. Yes, World
War II was fought for American soil and sovereignty. / It was
also fought to defend people who, hating war, sought only peace -
- people everywhere who yearn for freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do their part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941. For the next six
months of the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was
overrun. Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet
2
the Battle of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port
Moresby in New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces
began what may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. /
I remember, even now. First, we broke the war code. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task forces to intercept the
fleet that had been sent to attack Midway -- a small group of
islands just one thousand miles northwest of Honolulu. / For
four days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was
driven off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and
the destroyer Hammann, four enemy carriers were sunk --
destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after Pearl, victory
was not imminent -- but inevitable. The enemy's tide was running
out. The Allies' tide was running in. //
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in swamps and deserts / in the sea and air / giving of
themselves -- and often, of their lives. //
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of plots of land
in Boise / Bangor / Dallas / Des Moines. Think of World War II's
292,000
671,000
honor roll:
Americans dead, and
wounded.
or
the
55
Howard 4657
million worldwide -- many helpless innocents. / World War II statistica
abstract
taught us that what happened in Berlin and Tokyo could not be
of 1991-
use this
more Then
(EBNER) pg.346
#.
3/3 6 a milliow
3
divorced from Washington -- just as events in Europe and Asia
affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said, "Never was any conflict more
preventable." Today, let us recall what that lion in winter
cried as a 1930s' voice in the wilderness: No one ever walks
away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. / Weakening
our defenses during a time of peace is an open invitation to
those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
I speak of a world where differences are solved peacefully -
- not violently -- where the force of law outlasts the use of
force. / It is a world I thought of last December, where on the
50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at the
shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a thousand
of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / I thought to myself: I will
never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
4
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of how their fate -- and faith -- stir and shape
us still. / So let us honor them, remember them -- so that
future generations will say of us what we now say of them: God
bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor to sign the
proclamation designating the national observance of the 50th
anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
4245
Document No. 331267ss
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE:
6/2/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: WED. 6/3/92 11:00am
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
SUBJECT:
ROSE GARDEN - THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROLLINS
CALIO
SMITH
DEMAREST
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
FIRESTONE
REMARKS:
Please forward your comments directly to Dan McGroarty,
Rm. 122, x2930, no later than 11:00 a.m., WED. JUNE 3,
with a copy to this office. Thank you.
RESPONSE: The National Security Council staff has reviewed the Presidential Remarks on
the World War II anniversary and concurs with changes. Additional recommended comments
are attached.
June 3, 1992
for
JM Executive Secretary
Brent scowcrof&VW 26
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
NSC
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED REMARKS
We commemorate this week the anniversary of the end of World
War II. The War represented a tremendous victory over
aggression and over evil -- not all the evil in the world,
but some of the greatest evil the world has seen inflicted
by governments on their own people and on others.
It is altogether fitting that we honor the memory of
Americans who gave their lives in making this victory
possible. Their sacrifice served not only Americans of all
walks of life but all peoples everywhere who were victims of
aggression and crimes against humanity. Their sacrifice
secured our liberty and our freedom and, in fact, helped
accelerate our national effort to come to grips with our
national agenda: the eradication of racism, bigotry, and
discrimination and the expansion of the blessings of liberty
to all Americans. Their sacrifice also advanced the cause
of freedom everywhere. Sometimes it did so merely by
keeping the hope of freedom alive in places where it was
denied.
The Allied victory in the War continues to give us cause for
celebration. Yet, as we look back, it also is a time for
sober reflection. History is full of examples demonstrating
the wisdom of that ancient Roman who said those who want
peace must prepare for war. The origins of both World Wars
and of some subsequent provide vivid additional examples.
We continue to live on a dangerous planet where preparedness
is the best deterrent to ever having to use military force.
This is why I support and insist on maintaining adequate
military forces and why, as your President, I will not
accept imprudent defense cuts.
We should not forget that in World War II, our Armed Forces
were still segregated and that American citizens -- American
citizens were incarcerated in camps simply because of the
?
color of their skin. But the American agenda did not come
to an end with that victory anymore than it has come to an
end with the triumphant end of the Cold War.
It is appropriate to reflect on the lessons of the Second
World War -- from its causes and its sacrifice to the allied
victory and what it meant to us as a Nation and to the
world. I believe it is also time to take renewal from that
great triumph of good over evil, of right over wrong, of
humanity over injustice, to carry the struggle for justice
in this country forward. And that we shall do.
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Two
02 JUN 2 All : 17
June 2, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
what
ROSE GARDEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Fellow veterans. Fellow Americans. Welcome to the White
what? officite
House and to the obserance of the 50th anniversary of an event
which linked American hearts, and minds. A just cause that was
democracy's cause: The monumental struggle known as World War
II. //
found itself in a
Overnight, World War II transformed America, from a people at]
[peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. 11
The attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to abandon
isolationism and take up the mantle of leadership.
Yes, World
War II was fought for American soil and sovereignty. / It was
also fought to defend people who, hating war, sought only peace -
- people everywhere who yearn for freedom, then and now. /
important
in ways
The year 1942 was crucial Ул to our history. Americans came
his or her
together. Each citizen sought ways to do [their] part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941. For the next six
the
months of the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was
overrun. Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet
2
the Battle of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port
Moresby in New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces
one
-the Battle Midway of
began what may have been the greatest naval battle⁵ of all time.
/
every's
armed with critical inform
I remember, even now. First, we broke the war code. Then, dent the enemy's
plans
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task forces to intercept the Japanese
fleet that had been sent to attack Midway -- a small group of
islands just one thousand miles northwest of Honolulu. / For
four days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was
driven off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and
the destroyer Hammann, four enemy carriers were sunk --
destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after Pearl, victory
was not imminent -- but inevitable. The enemy's tide was running
out. The Allies' tide was running in. //
This worst of all wars showed that
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
comment:
only Feferen
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
to Europe
(Bulgs Bailin
Predominicof text Pain
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
air, on and under the sea
for
their
balows
fought in forests, swamps and deserts / in the in theproces sea and air / giving of fellowman-ai for
their nation,
themselves and often, of their lives.
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for itself freedom
Think of the cemetery in Arlington Think of plots of land
Honolulu and Normandy
in Boise / Bangor / Dallas / Des Moines. Think of World War II's
honor roll: Americans dead, and wounded. Or the [55]
depends on how
you count-
million worldwide -- many helpless innocents. / World War II
could be 75
or as fewa
taught us that what happened in Berlin and Tokyo could not be
25 milli
ignored
3
divorced from Washington just as events in Europe and Asia
affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said, "Never was any conflict more,
his practical wildom about international life
preventable." Today, let us recall what that lion in winter
cried as a 1930s' voice in the wilderness: No one ever walks
away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. / Weakening
our defenses during a time of peace is an open invitation to
those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
The capablities wereed
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
Sacrifices made heroically 50 years ago have indeed helped
bring about a new and better world.
We seek
speak of a world where differences are solved peacefully -
- not violently -- where the force of law outlasts the use of
when
force. / It is a world I thought of last December, where on the
50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at the
shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a thousand
our
scerifican made heroically ago about
of the greatest heroes [any Nation has ever known. //
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. Or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
and I resolved once again
a martyr, but never as a dad. / I thought to myself: I will
to
never ever let America's defenses down. //
have become as a Proud ation - because has of their services
what we and socrifice. of
4
The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of how their fate -- and faith -- stir and shape
us still. / So let us honor them, remember them -- so that
future generations will say of us what we now say of them: God
bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor to sign the
proclamation designating the national observance of the 50th
anniversary of World War II.
#
#
#
#
Productional The advered
(Smith/Aarhus)
Draft Two
June 2, 1992
WAR
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: WW II ANNIVERSARY
ROSE GARDEN
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Fellow veterans. Fellow Americans. Welcome to the White
House -- and to the obserance of the 50th anniversary of an event
which linked American hearts, and minds. A just cause that was
democracy's cause: The monumental struggle known as World War
II. //
Overnight, World War II transformed America from a people at
peace to a nation at war that would define the course of history
for the rest of this century. //
The attack on Pearl Harbor forced America to abandon
isolationism and take up the mantle of leadership. Yes, World
War II was fought for American soil and sovereignty. / It was
also fought to defend people who, hating war, sought only peace -
- people everywhere who yearn for freedom, then and now. /
The year 1942 was crucial to our history. Americans came
together. Each citizen sought ways to do their part. /
Factories designed to build the tools of peace produced the tools
of war -- ships, planes, tanks, and ammunition -- all crucial to
the Allied effort. / It wasn't easy -- but we did it. We did
the hard work of freedom. //
I was seventeen on December 7, 1941. For the next six
months of the war, news from the Pacific was grim. Guam was
overrun. Bataan and Corregidor fell in the Philippines. / Yet
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the Battle of the Coral Sea foiled Japanese plans to invade Port
Moresby in New Guinea. And fifty years ago this week, our forces
began what may have been the greatest naval battle of all time. /
I remember, even now. First, we broke the war code. Then,
Admiral Nimitz sent his carrier task forces to intercept the
fleet that had been sent to attack Midway -- a small group of
islands just one thousand miles northwest of Honolulu. / For
four days the fighting raged. Finally, the invasion force was
driven off. While America lost the aircraft carrier Yorktown and
the destroyer Hammann, four enemy carriers were sunk --
destroying their fleet. Exactly six months after Pearl, victory
was not imminent -- but inevitable. The enemy's tide was running
out. The Allies' tide was running in. //
Here is what history will say of the greatest war in man's
tide of times: When attacked, America's sons and daughters took
up arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than ourselves.
They fought at Bataan and the Bulge / fought in unknown lands,
amid the shroud of darkness, to illuminate the night. / They
fought in swamps and deserts / in the sea and air / giving of
themselves -- and often, of their lives. / /
Think of the cemetery in Arlington. Think of plots of land
in Boise / Bangor / Dallas / Des Moines. Think of World War II's
honor roll: Americans dead, and wounded. Or the 55
-
million worldwide many helpless innocents. / World War II
taught us that what happened in Berlin and Tokyo could not be
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divorced from Washington -- just as events in Europe and Asia
affect each American today. //
Winston Churchill once said, "Never was any conflict more
preventable." Today, let us recall what that lion in winter
cried as a 1930s' voice in the wilderness: No one ever walks
away from appeasing an aggressor. He only crawls. / Weakening
our defenses during a time of peace is an open invitation to
those with the potential to wage war. //
As long as I am President, the military's commitment to
defending freedom will be matched by my commitment to defending
the military. // Some say our victory in the Cold War allows us
to retreat behind the water's edge. I say: Just as America's
vigilance helped win that war -- so a strong America can now help
win the peace. //
I speak of a world where differences are solved peacefully -
- not violently -- where the force of law outlasts the use of
force. / It is a world I thought of last December, where on the
50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, Barbara and I looked at the
shrunken well of the USS Arizona -- tomb to more than a thousand
of the greatest heroes any Nation has ever known. //
There, I thought of the wife whose best friend was her
husband. or the little boy whose brother -- his idol -- once
vowed to take him fishing after the fighting stopped. / I
thought of the father whose son or daughter would now know him as
a martyr, but never as a dad. / I thought to myself: I will
never -- ever -- let America's defenses down. //
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The men who died in World War II would today be proud of
America. Proud of how their fate -- and faith -- stir and shape
us still. / So let us honor them, remember them -- so that
future generations will say of us what we now say of them: God
bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America. //
World War II was a fight we did not seek, against enemies we
did not choose, for a cause that is first among all: The right
of people to be free. In that spirit, it is my honor to sign the
proclamation designating the national observance of the 50th
anniversary of World War II.
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