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Fourth of July Event - Grand Rapids, Michigan 7/4/91 [OA 8325] [2]
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323153418
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Fourth of July Event - Grand Rapids, Michigan 7/4/91 [OA 8325] [2]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
S
FOIA
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 Backup Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13762
Folder ID Number:
13762-008
Folder Title:
Fourth of July Event - Grand Rapids, Michigan 7/4/91[OA 8325] [2]
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
26
21
5
1
(Hinchliffe/Sainz)
May 13, 1991
5
p.m.
VIDJULY Draft One
PRESIDENTIAL VIDEO: GENERIC INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE
This is an extraordinary Independence Day.
For -- with recent events still so sharply etched in our
minds -- we have rarely been more keenly aware of both the utter
supremacy, and the fragility, of independence.
Our view of freedom has changed since we last celebrated
Independence Day. For America -- the finest, most loving nation
on earth -- has been at war. Her sons and daughters of courage
and endurance have stood watch on the harsh desert and seas of
the Gulf -- bearing witness by their presence to the vision that
compelled us. And the rest of America's people have stood watch
at home -- our yellow-ribbon spirit telling the world that
Operation Desert Storm spoke for us all.
It was a scene our country has known before. Because for
215 years, America has been pledged to defend for all people our
forefathers' creed -- that each person has the right to life. To
liberty. And to the pursuit of happiness.
This Fourth of July is a day of celebration. A red, white
and blue day of barbecues and fireworks -- of family reunions and
loving tributes to the men and women of the Gulf, of Vietnam, and
of all the stands this nation has made in the name of
independence.
But July 4, 1991 must also be something more. For all
Americans, it must be a day of reflection and rededication.
Together, we ask God to bless us. We ask God to guide us. And
2
we pray that in the example of those who have stood strong so
that others may live in freedom and peace -- that this nation
will renew its soul.
*
*
*
*
*
(Hinchliffe)
May 13, 1991 1 p.m.
VIDTROOPS Draft One
PRESIDENTIAL VIDEO: INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE FOR THE TROOPS
As the United States celebrates the 215th anniversary of
declaring itself an independent nation -- I'm reminded of another
struggle for freedom. One that took place only a few months ago.
One in which you -- the brave men and women of our Armed Forces -
- liberated the nation of Kuwait.
When Americans recall the resounding victory of Operation
Desert Storm, we are filled with pride and admiration for you.
For your dedication, your enthusiasm, and your professionalism.
You are the ultimate protectors of all we hold dear -- even our
lives and our sacred honor. And we are confident that we have
never been in better hands.
Today, as you stand watch in ships, aircraft, and outposts
far from home, Americans want to send you a message from our
hearts. We want you to know that we remember and care about all
of you. We want you to know that we honor you for the sacrifices
you're making for us. And we want you to know that you are our
heroes.
As your Commander-in-Chief, I salute you. I thank you. And
I wish all of you and your families a safe and joyous
Independence Day. You are the ones who truly know its meaning.
*
*
*
*
*
GRAND RAPIDS JULY 4th ADDRESS
--We love America
--America's poet of patriotism, KLB: "O beautiful for heroes
proved/In liberating strife, / Who more than self their country
loved, / And mercy more than life
America! America! God shed
His grace on thee/And crown thy good with brotherhood/From sea to
shining sea."
wherever flag go, millions recognize symbol of hope, take
America and all it represents with you;
Quang?
--5 minutes; calling upon community to make this day one in which
welcome home troops -- what they've done; and MEANING OF FOURTH
superb performance of all -- the young men and women, the
military commanders there and in the Pentagon -- and leadership -
- deomonstráted that Am. will do the right theing when duty calls
-- we found something special -- go with us across this country -
- Am. people out there with their flags and enthusiasm and
rediscovery of who we are --
189,000
Patty Conrad (ADVANCE x7565) -- Leo (PRE-ADVANCE) -- all
troops from WWI to Desert Storm --
John Adams, letter to Abigail: "ought to be solemnized with
pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells,
bonfires, and iluminations, from one end of this continent to the
other, from this time forward forevermore."
--Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness
"We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and
our sacred Honor.' "
our land of liberty and laughter
close eyes and think of 4th -- think of your hometown -- day of
hometowns of America that show us what we are --
--Ike: "There is nothing wrong with America that the faith, love
of freedom, intelligence and energy of her citizens cannot cure. "
place where patriotism never out of style -- when others were
burning the flag, you were waving it --
--day to be thankful
for 215 years, when around the world say "America," you hear
"freedom"
-watched them with pride and prayer
let us honor them, comfort them, praise them, learn from them,
etc.
they missed Thanksgiving and Christmas -- their American family
is making sure this is a holiday they never forget
--it's a dream that has taken youth from the checkerboard of
America's homeland and heartlands -- links the fields of
Flanders, the cliffs of Normandy, the snow-c.
of Korea, the
rice paddies of Vietnam,
the red, white and blue is joined by another color -- the
yellow of ribbons that joined this nation's hands and hearts --
unifying the American family.
110 entries, 75-100,000 people; first parade; to welcome the
troops; National Guard from GR and surrounding areas;
--regional pride and participation -- every helicopter, jet
fighter, and transport plane Tomahawk Cruise Missile -- M-1
Tanks: (say -- "every time you saw a helicopter or jet fighter
in the sky, every time you say tape of the precision of a
Tomawahwk Cruise Missile or laser-guided bomb, or the M-1 Tank -
- saw critical component or major system produced in Grand Rapids
-- 175 defense contractors -- in this high-tech war -- (Grand
Rapids newspaper article)
At one point in a movie called "Awakenings," a fellow who's
been asleep for decades wakes up and has the whole world in front
of him. When his doctor asks him what he wants to do that day,
his face breaks into a huge grin and he shouts: "Everything!"
That's what we need in America -- that belief in unlimited
possibilities.
*
There's a terrific spirit alive in the country right now --
this country that's draped in flags and decked in yellow ribbons.
Maybe it's because the troops of Desert Storm not only rescued a
nation abroad -- they also transformed a nation at home. That
confidence, that quiet pride, that sense of duty showed us a
glimpse into our better selves. We liked what we saw. We want
to see more.
And we will, because the lesson of those servicemen and
women who stood tall and withstood all -- was that Americans have
integrity and courage and strength. Together we can do anything.
For they were not only willing to die for our country: they are
also willing to truly live for it -- every day of their lives.
Grand Rapids is like every other American city -- what you feel
here in the heart of America --
180th -- 150 civilians-turned-soldiers
207th -- Evacuation Hospital unit -- 35 -- "made me
appreciate life
how fragile life can be" -- Scud missile
attack
welcome home: flags, band music, banners, prayer of
thanks,
--rally of support -- 2,000 people at Veterans Memorial Park
-- sea of red, white and blue flags, ribbons, etc. -- prayers,
speeches, readings of letters, patriotic songs, signs -- "love,
support" -- spontaneous chants "U.S.A.! U.S.A.!"
yellow ribbons -- 450 students from Lee High and Middle,
five recent grads, in support of troops
policemen tiny American flags on little yellow ribbons
Tammi Peck's tree with name of 2 women and 19 men from
area, 1/31
war hit home when pride: Lt. Steven Harper, also from
Creston High School (28 -- grad. 81?), among the very first
bombers
-Melissa -- BUSH MET??? C. March 8, captured heart and
concern of nation -- came to symbolize the feisty, independent
American spirit -- Grand Rapids native, daughter of two Grand
Rapid public schools teachers, grew up in Grand Rapids inner
city, graduated from Creston High School (1988); sang in school's
acappella choir, babysitter
--casualty -- Jack Edwards, wife Gayle, Marine pilot and
reservist, three children, 34, "Semper Fi," "We're a military
family"
--Gayle, Bennett, Spencer (also Adriane) -- your
picture in every paper touched the hearts of all America -- first
casualty buried at Arlington National Cemetery -- postmaster said
thousands of letters just to "Gayle Edwards, Grand Rapids."
previous vets -- WWII Blue Star flags from VFW posts --
"Operation Hometown"
To walk these streets a couple of months ago would have been to
feel the heart of America --
(Hinchliffe/Blymire)
June 24, 1991 9 a.m.
GRAND Outline
PROPOSED OUTLINE: FOURTH OF JULY EVENT
Grand Rapids, Michigan
"I ask every community in this country to make this coming
Fourth of July a day of special celebration for our returning
troops. They may have missed Thanksgiving and Christmas --
but I can tell you this: For them and for their families,
we can make this a holiday they'll never forget."
--President Bush, March 6, 1991
*
PROPOSED THEME:
Because of two Desert Storm-related subjects specific to
Grand Rapids (it's the location of 175 defense sub-contractors
and it's the hometown of POW Melissa Rathburn-Nealy), this could
be the speech to focus on the President's call for the Fourth of
July to be a day to celebrate the troops.
In addition, since the Grand Rapids Parade is saluting
veterans from WWI to Desert Storm, the speech could summarize the
President's call to include in all our lives the dedication to
independence symbolized by decades of military service and by
this traditional holiday.
PROPOSED OUTLINE:
I.
INTRODUCTION
A. Jokes, local interest, acknowledgements, etc.
II. INDEPENDENCE
A. Reflective introduction on meaning to Americans
B. Specific examples of military service and sacrifice
WWI - present
C. Desert Storm
1. General lessons
2. Specific as embodied in Grand Rapids
(representative of heart of America)
a. Pride (defense sub-contractors'
work)
b. Contribution (Two National Guard
units called up)
b. Personal stake (hometown POW
Melissa Rathburn-Nealy)
C. Spirit of America (specific Grand
Rapids projects -- e.g. policemen
donating flags; schools launching
yellow ribbon projects, etc.)
d. Sacrifice (two Grand Rapids men
killed in Desert Storm)
III. FUTURE
A. Turn this spirit and pride into "can-do" optimism
for future -- represented by independence of
Independence Day
GRAND, pt. 2
reserve UNITS:
180th; 207th; 1st Battalion, 24th Marines, A Co.
--A Co. -- only ones still deployed, families representing
them, in their absence
180th -- 169 total in unit, in Desert Storm (Daharan),
with the Tiger Brigade, returned 5/20
-- (You were there each step of the way) 207th -- stationed
in Daharan, working in hospital, treated 70 patients from SCUD
attack, returned 5/24
IDS PRESR
PIDS PRESS
PARADE
rifice made by 373 U.S. men and
Lesher said. "I'm really surprised
displayed on trailers in that parade.
NNS
women who died in combat and
by this light turnout, though. Just a
"That parade is going to be a big
non-combat roles during Desert
short time ago everybody was
deal," Britten said.
CONTINUED FROM Al
Storm. They joined more than 1.3
ready to celebrate, and now it's
At the end of Thursday's parade,
rade," Roy Schmidt said.
million others who have died in
over, I guess. That's too bad."
uniformed dignitaries and about
His brother Tom Schmidt, 34, of
U.S. military service.
Members of the Michigan Na-
300 spectators gathered at Veter-
1246 Eastview Court NE, added,
tional Guard 126th Infantry, based
an's Memorial Park.
16,
Cole Schmidt, 4½, sat on the
"There wasn't room at the curb to
curb Thursday with his cousin
at Wyoming's Grand Valley Ar-
A group of Civil War re-creation-
sit at the Santa Claus parade. After
Derek Abbring, 6. They waved
mory, paraded a line of sand-col-
ists, dressed as members of the 3rd
Desert Storm, I thought there'd be
small American flags and ribbons
ored Humvees (the Army officially
Michigan Volunteer Infantry, fired
more people here."
of red, white and blue. They were
calls the jeep's replacement an
a volley of musket shots.
For decades, Memorial Day was
waiting for the grandfather, World
HMMWV). The vehicles carried
Grand Rapids Mayor Gerald
celebrated on May 30. But in 1971,
War Il veteran Ralph Schmidt, to
members of FAR (Friends and Rel-
Helmholdt issued stern words for
Congress created a guaranteed
march past.
atives of soldiers who served in the
those who failed to show.
three-day holiday, moving Memo-
"Sure I know what Memorial
Persian Gulf War).
"Once again a large majority of
rial Day to the fourth Monday in
Day is," Cole said. "It's for when
this community found it too painful
FROM
PIDS
the soldiers came home from the
"We've not made as big a com-
May. But most veterans' groups
or whatever to come out and pay
have clung to the traditional date.
fighting. It's for all the dead people
mitment to this parade as we might
their respects to those who have
G
5, takes own life
Campbell admits the conflict
in the war."
have," said Major David Britten.
served this country and lost their
ed for 17 years, but she di-
over the most appropriate time to
Grand Rapids Police Officer
He said the Guard is planning to
lives," Helmholdt said.
some of their five children
honor the dead may cause apathy,
Donald Lesher saluted each time
march in force in a parade in down-
"But the mayor says that every TO
fe and then himself with a
but he thought the recent Persian
an American flag passed the traffic
town Grand Rapids on July 3. He
year," explained retired Air Force
F
1 Ave. NE. Page A1.
Gulf glory and grief would inspire a
blockade where he stood guard.
said plans call for an Air National
Col. Eugene Raab. "I won't let the
larger crowd.
"You've got to appreciate these
Guard jet fighter fly-over and an
turnout dampen my feelings about
or magnet schools
Campbell said Americans must
guys and show them some respect.
MIAI Abrams main battle tank
Memorial Day. This is a quality
niddle and two elementary
teach their youths to honor the sac-
They did something special for us,'
and a Cobra combat helicopter to
program not a quantity program.
received by the Grand Rapids
federal grant will allow offi-
fall. Page Al.
P recreation center open
inary plans that will keep the
in and fund part of the opera-
h. A hearing on the budget is
DOWNSTAIRS CLUB
MENS
ity Hall. Page Al.
embering dead vets
if those who died in U.S. mili-
aning of Memorial Day hasn't
for a sparse crowd turned out
n Grand Rapids. Page Al.
ENTIRE STOCK
ect in robberies held
essed like a baker Thursday to
terri Avenue SE The man was
L.A. GEAR
police lockup and was being
ink robbertes. Page
ises for workers
SPORTSWEAR
suspending pay increases for
he company also is cutting the
PAGE 029
ent and requiring each depart-
Page CI.
SALE
ated 'outstanding'
For
it
lay
PRESS PHOTOS/LANCE WYNN
when her father disappeared with
g
Sgt. Lawrence Bisson of Grant, his wife, Patty, and his daughter, Sarah, embrace and listen to a prayer.
the squadron.
"After all these years you want
PAGE 002
Great to be back': 180th is home
something to turn up, yet when you
hear that they were 10 miles off of
Fort Lauderdale
it's real diffi-
cult to deal with because they were
so close," said Powers-Spengler,
By Said Deep
who lives in Connecticut., "It's been
in
The Grand Rapids Press
very difficult tonight."
de-
VOLK FIELD, Wis. - Anid banners pro-
The team's archaeologist, Ted
3
claiming them heroes, West Michigan's
Darcy, of the Kailua, Hawaii-based
180th Transportation Co arrived stateside
aircraft recovery company Wreck-
finders, said that while initial indi-
early today to waving flags and cheers
from about 250 people wrapping up their
cations were positive, he cannot
part of the Persan Guf War.
yet confirm the planes' identities
More than 150 of the civilians-turned-
with certainty. The Navy lost more
soldiers touchel down at the Wisconsin
than 100 TBM Avengers off Flori-
Air National Guard's Volk Field aboard a
da, he noted.
Northwest 747 1 1:25 a.m. Family mem-
One link to the Lost Squadron is
B5
bers applauded and screamed as the plane
a number spotted on the sunken
C1
landed while a LS. Army band played
C5
"The American Stdier March."
ELOVE
lead plane - 28' - the same as the
number on Flight 19's lead plane,
B3
"I thought this by would never come,"
in
B10
Rapids, "I'm happy relieved. We were
SAJAY
Troors,
said Darcy A second link is the let-
said a beaming Sg Carrie Boss of Grand
ters FT visible on some of the
planes, the Navy's designation for
beginning to think to would live there.'
Fort Lauderdale-based aircraft:
D14
'It's great to be bck," added Spec. John
Another positive indication is the
Maison of Rockforas he boarded a bus
number of aircraft. No other ditch-
'19
that would take thenit back to Fort Mc-
ing of five Avengers was ever re-
)-31-37
Coy where they willndergo three days of
ported by the Navy, said Darcy.
see 180TH, A4
Relatives and well-wishers gather on the tarmac at Volk Field, Wis.
5-17-91:A1
see TRIANGLE, A4
FROM G.R.P.L.
1, heat mak
AIDS kills 3; 50 more
kids' parale
received transplants
Tullp Time schedule. A4.
from infected donor
harvest festival.
Nearly all the non-band mem's were
The Associated Press
Group, which is representing Li-
er
in Dutch costumes. At Lincolnemen-
feNet.
,ig
tary School in Holland, studer/could
ATLANTA - AIDS has killed
The organs and tissues were dis-
borrow a uniform by paying alposit,
three patients who received heart
tributed to 30 hospitals across the
JUN 24 '91
it-
because many did not have thrown,
and kidney transplants from an in-
United States, The Journal-Consti-
ar-
said one of the school's teachers
fected man, and health officials are
tution reported.
u-
"For a lot of these kids, this trand
tracking more than 50 other recipi-
Officials would not identify the
new," fourth-grade teacher Billyson
ents of the man's tissues and or
hospitals or the states in which the
in- said.
gans, it was reported today.
transplants took place.
ne-
The route down Eighth Street Co-
At least one other person, who
The donor, a 22-year-old Virgin-
1at
lumbia Avenue to Kollen Park wined
received a bone graft from the
la man, was shot to death in a rob-
with spectators. Many had left bkets
man, has tested positive for the
bery in 1985.
per
and chairs in place from Wedney's
AIDS virus, The Atlanta Journal-
He tested negative for HIV the
Constitution reported.
human immunodeficiency virus
Centers
for
Disease
that causes AIDS - twice before
am SD excited 1 feel like I am
tal honors Gulf War veterans.
g to explode," said Patty Bis-
Organizers said they expect
of Grant just before husband
more than one million people to
rence greeted her and their
line the boulevard Sunday, drawn
ghter, Sarah, 1, with hugs and
by floats, veterans, military hard-
es.
ware and the appearances of such
iane Avram of Grand Rapids
celebrities as Bob Hope, Jimmy
she was nervous to see her
Stewart, Cesar Romero and
band, Sgt. Steve Avram. "It's
George Peppard.
N a long time," Avarm said.
To get people in the spirit, a 500-
1 nervous; people change. I've
foot yellow ribbon was tied around
PRESS PHOTO/LANCE WYNN
en a lot more independent."
the Hollywood sign on Thursday.
ut Avram's worries seemed to
Troops of the 180th Transportation Co. gather in formation inside a hangar before heading home.
Some peace groups criticized the
: when she saw her husband
event as a promotion of war, how-
held him in her arms.
night. There they picked up Tomas
take them to Fort McCoy where
diers is planned for June 29 in Mus-
ever, and the Alliance for Survival
3r 1st Sgt. Bob Stefans of
Arismendez's wife, Nena, and their
they would turn in their M-16s be-
kegon and for July 4 in Grand Rap-
said it would hold a "Teach Love,
vaygo, the fanfare, media atten-
2-year-old daughter, Monica.
fore being allowed to spend the
ids.
Not War" reception beforehand.
and the number of people who
Thursday morning they were back
early morning with their family.
Their stint in Saudi Arabia was
The group's request to march in
ned out to welcome home the
on the road and clocked another
They were scheduled to return to
suppose to run out on April 10 but
the parade was turned down.
was something he was not
eight hours before arriving at Volk
the base at 3 p.m today,
that was pushed back another five
"Welcoming home the troops
1y for, he said:
Field.
The unit will spend about three
weeks, Many worried Congress
should be a message of peace, not a
It's almost scary," said Stefans,
"He is very special," said Aris-
days at Fort McCoy during which
would extend their six-month tour
commercial for war," said the Alli-
ietnam veteran. "I don't know
mendez's grandmother, Trine,
time all of their active duty will be
by another six months.
ance's Jerry Rubin, who is no rela-
/ to act. I'm just verwhelmed
wearing a T-shirt with a picture of
validated, they will be given a phys-
Members of the military trucking
tion to the 1960s Vietnam War pro-
it now. It is contrary to when
her grandson printed "I am SO
ical, a chance to receive any legal
company were put on alert Sept. 28
tester of the same name.
ame home from Vietnam. It
excited to see him, I don't want to
assistance and, of course, pick up
and notified Oct. 8 of their call to
The parade's organizer, veteran
kes you feel proud."
cry when I see him" but crying be
their final active duty pay check,
active duty.
showman Johnny Grant, said the
ylvia Arismendez was S0 proud
fore she could finish her sentence.
said Major Frank Cozza, a public
After the unit exited the plane,
affairs officer at Fort McCoy.
And after more than a month of
event is meant to be a homecom-
er son, Sgt. Tomas Arismendez
25, of Holland, she and her
soldiers were escorted inside a
training they were soldiers ready to
ing, not a glorification of war.
From there, members can either
really don't have a concern,
ighter, Audelia, 19, and mother,
hanger specially prepared for re-
return home with family or aboard
take part in the growing troop mo-
1e Lozano, 73, drove from Tex-
buses provided by the military. If
bilization that became known as
because the way this thing is laid
turning troops. The floor and walls
were painted white, and banners
Operation Desert Shield.
out, we're just celebrating the wel-
0 greet him.
the group returns Monday, a party
come home, a job well done by the
I am very proud of him," she
congratulating them decorated the
is planned at the Reserve Center in
The mental and physical adjust-
troops," said Grant, who is the
1. "We don't mind coming all
walls.
Muskegon, said Janice Schettler, a
ments clearly were tough on many,
city's honorary mayor of Holly-
way.'
In ashort speeth, Col. AI Gentry,
support group leader and wife of
but to talk to the soldiers today just
wood and overseer of the Holly-
he three left Corpus Christi
the deputy base commander, wel-
Capt. Tim Schettler, the command-
being home was enough to forget
wood Walk of Fame:
n esday and drove 26 hours before
comed the troops home. Minutes
er of the unit.
those troubles - at least for the
The parade will feature a flyover
iving in Holland Wednesday
later, the soldiers boarded buses to
In addition, a parade for the sol-
moment.
FROM
1991
Here's the Tulip Time schedule for today
Here are today's Tulip Time activities
and College, Central between 7th and 9th,
Show/Dinner package, $15.
8:30 a.m.: A TASTE of HOLLAND. A Dutch
FREE
5:00 paid DUTCH HERITAGE SHOW. Hol
History Breakfast Buffet. Mass Center, Hope
10:00 a.m.: THE STARS of LAWRENCE
land Christian High School. Adm: $5
College Campus, $0
WELK Civic Center 8th and Pine Adm: $9
5:00 p.m.: THE FANTASTICKS A Sentimen
9.00 a.m. 8:00 p.m.: TULIP TIME MARKET
12:00 Noon: TAFFETAS, Musical Cabaret
tal Musical/Dinner Show. West Ottawa High
JUN 24 5
13th and Central, $.50.
Brunch Show, Holiday Inn Ballroom, Adm:
School, Adm. $15.
9:00 a.m.-6:00 pank "HATS OFF to YOU"
$13.
5:30 TAFFETAS. Musical Cabaret/Din
LANDSCAPE
FLOWER SHOW Holland Armory, 9th west
12:30 p.m. KLOMPEN DANCERS. 8th be
mer Theater, Holiday Inn Ballroom, Adm: $15.
of Central, Adm: 32.
tween River and College, FREE
7:00 P he: BARBERSHOP on PARADE Cen
1175
9:00 a.m.9.00 p.m.; NETHERLANDS MUSE-
2:00 p.m.: SHOWSTOPPERS: An All-Senior
tral Wesleyan Auditorium 446 W. 46th, across
(On 76th between Bu
UM. 12th and Central, Adm. $1.
Citizen Vaudeville Review Show. Evergreen
from Hollend Christian High School, $7.
HOURS: Mon.-Fri. a.m.-
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. ORGAN RECITALS
Commons Senior Centers: 480 State St. Adra:
7:15 paus .OMPEN DANCER Centennial
Twenty-minute organ recitals every 1/2 how
S6.
Park Square, FREE
West Michigan's Largest Woo
Dinner Chapel, Hope College 12th and Col
1:00 p.m.: AUTHENTIC DU TCH CHURCH
7:30 p.m.: BARBERSHOP on PARADE. Hol-
lege, FREE,
service Pillar Church Dis R. College: LAWRENCE FREE
land Christian High School $7.
You Can Pic
STARS
of
8:10 pm.: ALUMNI KEOMPEN DANCERS
WOOD
10:00 5.00 CAPPON
19th berween River and Gollege FREE.
PHIDE
JUN 24 '91 15:53
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE 028
PRESS PHOTOS/TERESA HE
John Bartosiewicz, 69 commander of Catholic War Veterans post 1058, awaits the start of the parade
Gulf War
y
Civil War
fervor fails
ons, military
DW highlight
II learn about
in get crowd
LAIR-B1
to parade
By Doug Guthrie
The Grand Ramds Press
0g several
ents without
Bill Campbell marched past empty
the hardest hit
curbs holding a manila folder that bore
ing to as
the handwritten name of a friend killed
in Vietnam,
B
On Thursday's 125th remembrance
TRO-C1
of those who died in U.S. military ser
vice, Campbell said the true meaning of
Memorial Day hasn died - althoughit
is being ignered by many.
this not theffirst time I've walked up
anders
B5
the route alone, said Campbell, adju-
Metro
C1
tant of the United Veterans Council.
That's why we'r doing this. To repair
Sports
C6
it.
State
B
Even in the wake of Persian Gulf War
Television B10
patriotism, a sparse crowd turned out
for a parade Thursday evening through
Weather
D14
downtown Grand Rapids. High school
bands. veterans' groups and a World
6266
War II-era tank paraded from Michigan
Street and Monroe Avenue to Veterans
15 37 43 46
Memorial Park on East Fulton Street.
78 80
Roy Schmidt, 37, of 829 Myrtle St.
NW, sat with members of his family on
grass between Monroe and the Gerald
R. Ford Federal Building. The view was
win
unobstructed because nobody sat on
the curb for several yards in either di-
rection.
y in
The Schmidts had come to honor
their father, Bernie Schmidt, a World
War II veteran who usually marches in
the parade but is hospitalized with
ase
pneumonia.
ST just don't think people understand
the true meaning of Memorial Day This
is even a beautiful night to watch a pa-
Sgt. Vince Petales, Spc. Bill Miller, Spc. Pat Vander Ploeg and Sat Crai
involving Ferris
as barred public
5-31-91-A1: see PARADE, A2
Cherry represents the Michigan National Guard 126th Infantry
id by non-mem-
elations efforts.
$ first time ways
Inner city wins library and recre
ons may spend
called "service
By John Couretas
scheduled for Monday at 7pm. in
OF equivalent of
The Grand Rapids Press
ninth floor City Commission
ues required of
chambers at City Hall Formal
members who
Commissioners order fee
Inner-city residents won two ma-
adoption of the budget is slated for
ong to the union.
jor budget battles Thursday when
June 18.
Buddy, have you got a dime?
the Big Rapids
Grand Rapids commissioners
The library branch proposal and
That's how much more Grand Rapi
ictories. But all
agreed to fund a: new library
funding for the recreation center
residents will be paying starting July If
employee unions
branch in the Madison Square
have been the most intensely politi-
garbage bags and tags.
embers.
neighborhood and committed the
do things.' said
cal issues to arise out of City Man-
City commissioners on Thursday a
city
to
JUN 24 ' 91 12:01
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE 016
6/03/91
Page
52
Grand Rapids Press Index
May 1991
Date
Page Col.
Perry, Michael David
Kentwood
5/30
S018
3
Persian Gulf War
180th finally leaving for home
5/15
Al
6
207th gets a warm welcome home from the gulf
5/09
A1
2
Family, food and green tops after time in
...
5/30
NE2
1
Great to be back: 180th is home
5/17
Al
2
Culf War fervor fails to get crowd on parade
5/31
Al
2
Gulf war vets of 180th Co. return to open
...
5/21
A1
2
Lowell greets vels with new monument
5/25
A3
2
Nursing home residents salute returning
5/02
B1
2
One son is home from gulf, the other's on
5/02
NE9
1
...
Three in 180th win Bronze Stare for gulf
5/22
B3
1
Worrior drops to his knee to ask for hand
5/21
A4
1
Wyoming prepares warm welcome for returning
5/07
B2
3
Pet Loss Support Group
Grieving pet owners find solace together
5722
C1
1
Phillips, Clark
Long-time Methodist minister; dies
5/28
C2
3
Phillips, Marc Bradley
Lakeside student nets $10,000 scholarship
5/16
EA12
1
Pinery Park Elementary School
Drive under way to reopen Pinery Park School
5/23
SW1
1
Pinery Park School
Have play, will travel
5/02
SW4
4
Pinsky, H. Rhett
Commerce in brief
5/26
E10
1
Pioneer Club Road
Limited Pioneer Club work okd
5/09
EAZ/
I
-
Pipe, Nicole
Graduation is June 7
5/23
NW9
1
Pittman, Norris
Figure in cocaine ring gets five-vear
5/11
A3
3
Plainfield Township
Car dealership okd for Plainfield Avenue
5/09
NE4
4
Cost lower than expected for major sewer
5/16
NE6
3
Family, food and green tops after time in
5/30
NE2
1
May 20 hearing slated on motorboat ordinance
5/09
NE12
4
Officials eye restrictions on billboards
5/09
NE1
1
Officials want more say in libraries if
5/23
NE10
1
Residents' objections kill water line project
5/23
NE2
4
Tax abatement given firm for $1 million
5/30
NE15
4
Township pair get 2% raises
5/23
NE2
1
Versluis Park plan includes swimming
5/23
NE7
3
Year-long talks bring new pact for employees
5/09
NE7
3
Zoning Appeals Board vacancies are filled
5/16
NE5
1
Planned Parenthood Centers of
Local centers to reconsider federal funding
5/24
A1
3
Plaster Creek
A warning to swimmers
5/15
B1
4
Platschorre, Lee Ann
5 bid to replace Joswick; 2 others are
5/30
S016
5
Pllatjes, Mark
DI
2
JUN 24 '91 11:33
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE 002
1/08/91
Page 478
Grand Rapids Press Index, 1990
Date
Page Col.
Perkins,
Rochelle
Perkins aces mini-monster at Lake Doster
8/09
NW19
1
Perkis, Shirley K.
Commerce in brief
2/04
D10
1
Perles. George
Pressure from Perles claimed by Grand
3/23
Al
3
Perna, Tom
letter to editor
2/18
C11
3
Perras, John
Commerce in brief
11/25
E3
1
Perrin, Matt
Meijer turns over Fuller Avenue store to
11/24
A3
5
New owner of Meijer store likes challenges
9/10
A10
2
Perrin, Matthew
Grand Rapids grocer purchases problem
9/05
B5
2
Perry Drug Stores
Perry to open 4th area store
5/11
A12
4
Perry Drug stores
Fired former Revco workers picket Perry
7/20
C4
1
Perry, Allan E.
Commerce in brief
6/24
D3
4
Perry, Jim
Giver of glee
8/16
El
3
Perry, Lois M.
Genealogist becoming an expert on area
...
7/05
S011
1
Perry, Lowell
Republican challengers could force key
10/26
B1
1
Perry, Lyle Jr.
letter to editor
10/24
A13
2
Perry. Michael
Commerce in brief
9/23
E3
1
Perry, Paul
A wee but Ireland makes Aquinas home
3/17
A1
1
Perry, Rodney Darrell
Crash
2/07
A4
1
Perry, Sam
2 hurt in shootings at Franklin, Eastern
3/11
All
3
Perry, Wesley S.
Management career from the start challenged
7/29
D3
1
Persian Gulf crisis
180th will depart Ft. McCoy tonight for
11/14
Al
5
600,000 cookies going to troops as little
10/11
S09
3
A new peace movement begins to stir
12/09
El
1
All in the family: Son in Gaudi keeps
12/27
EW10
4
Anti-war protesters march for a peaceful
11/13
BI
1
Area guardsmen ship out at dawn
11/23
Al
2
Arrist hombs Saddam with patrintism
10/06
A4
1
Care, concern heading to Mideast
10/04
NW1
1
Children ship out cookies, greetings to
10/11
NE5
1
Companies fight fuel prices in innovative
9/30
DI
2
Cookie crew goes to work, baking treats
9/27
S016
3
Couple become parents as Army calls mom
11/14
A1
3
Daane's send cookies to military personnel
12/07
C6
5
Democrats blamed for spending mess
10/17
Al
2
Disabled vets sending gifts to troops in
9/26
B1
3
JUN
24
'91
11:36
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE 003
1/08/91
Page 479
Grand Rapids Press Index. 1990
Date
Page Col.
Persian Gulf crisis
Drive for military overseas organized
10/04
NE16
4
Employers ready to help reservists in case
9/04
C6
2
Families learn to cope with soldiers at war
10/07
A1
2
GR is on a roll to ship softer toilet paper
11/03
A3
2
Gas station workers feel customers' wrath
8/09
C9
2.
Gifto bring Christmas to soldiers' families
12/09
A3
2
Gulf duey cpurs firms to alter military
12/23
F1
2
Homilton students send best to one of
11/22
S05
1
Hospital unit starts to head for gulf
12/29
A1
2
Housewife's call leads to billboards urging
12/26
C1
1
Hugs, kisses and breakfast: reserves leave
10/11
Al
5
In his Time. dad found son hiking in Arabia
8/25
A1
2
Korean War vet seeks gift donations for
10/25
SW16
1
Letters to leaders urge peace. say oil
12/24
A1
2
Local relief agencies set up funds to
6/24
A2
1
Local reserves placed on alert
10/01
A1
6
Local surgeon is happy to assist in this
9/18
A1
2
Local unit told it will be sent to Mideast
10/16 A1.
2
Lower gas prices fuel holiday spirit
12/27
A1
1
Marine reserve unit readies for California
12/08 A3
1
Mideast standoff leads to upswing in
10/11
B1
5
Moms in Guard unit come home fr Christmas
12/23 A1
2
Pass the popcorn to U.S. troops stationed
11/15
SW13
2
Praying for peace
11/24 B1
2
Press Ad-viser answers new call - this
10/14
F5
1
Pupils become pen pals with U.S. soldier
12/27
S08
4
Red Cross program eases strain on families
11/15 B1
1
Reservists sweating out call-up order
8/23
B1
2
Sailor from gulf thankful to be home for
11/20
B1
1
Saudi rules may keep local Christmas trees
11/17 A3
2
School children get a glimpse of gulf life
11/15
EA22
3
Serving up friendship
11/26 A1
3
Soldier on funeral leave drops in on his
11/15
NW15
1
Soldier sends bit of desert in package
12/06
SW14
1
Soldiers' families share holiday dinner
11/26 B1
2
Steelcase concerned for dealer in Kuwait
10/19
A9
2
Students adopt U.S. troops in gulf
12/06
SW20
3
Students' Halloween candy is slated for
11/08
EA6
4
Support group readies packages to be sent
11/28 B1
4
Those left behind have extra duty, too
10/10
A1
1
Troops to get packages of Ottawa care
11/22
SW2
1
Troops will enjoy holiday pine tree
12/05
A1
3
WWII guardsmen commemorate past as present
10/11
A1
2
War games real for W. Michigan citizen
10/29
Al
1
War threat sparks debate among students
12/13
S01
1
We Care aims to send presents to U.S.
10/18
SW7
1
We Care effort is special on Vets' Day
11/12
A1
2
White ribbons trigger debate over gulf role
12/27
EA5
1
Women join to support soldiers in Middle East
9/28
C1
1
Yule gifts sought for area GIs
10/18
NE16
3
Persons, Christopher D.
Commerce in brief
4/22
E6
1
Peruchietti. Patrick J.
Commerce in brief
1/07
D8
1
JUN 24 '91 11:38
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE. 004
2/05/91
Page 39
Grand Rapids Press Index
January 1991
Date
Page Col.
Parks
Public hearing is Jan. 17 on recreation plan
1/10
EA5
5
Parks, Delton
Country Fresh keeps finding green pastures
1/13
C1
2
Parkview Elementary School
Storyteller bundles up for Parkview kids
1/17
SW5
1
Water-main break shuts school for day
1/07
B2
4
Parsons, Bruce N.
Engler names 3 from area to college boards
1/05
A3
1
Patrick, David
letter to editor
1/27
E6
4
Paul Steketee & Sons Inc.
Steketee's agrees to sell stores
1/29
A1
3
What's in store for downtown Steketee's?
1/30
D5
2
Pawloski, Gerard L.
Shooting suspect is ruled fit for trial
1/12
A3
1
Payne, David
Collector's watchful eye spots a knockout
1/10
A1
5
Descendant says Dempsey watch stolen,
1/23
B1
3
Peace
Followers of Martin Luther King to march
1/13
A3
1
Pearson, Bill
Commerce in brief
1/27
D5
1
Pearson. Paul
24 are seeking positions as trustees on JC
1/27
E3
4
Peck, Tammi
Her effort to honor troops in gulf is kind
1/31
NW12
4
Peek. Kenneth
Shooting suspect is ruled fit for trial
1/12
A3
1
Peltz, Joanne
Elementary pupils to get direction from
1/17
EA11
1
Penguins
Out of the wild, or just sittin' on a
1/10
NE16
4
Perschbacher, Walter III
Perschbacher heads planning unit
1/31
S018
3
Persian Gulf crisis
2 area Guard units leave soon for Saudi duty
1/10
A1
6
Agony of doubt, resolve grips area over
1/13
A1
3
All in the family: Son in Saudi Arabia
1/03
S011
1
Backed Bush to show united front, Henry says
1/15
D2
3
EGR native's letter on military service
1/12
A3
1
Followers of Martin Luther King to march
...
1/13
A3
1
Forum raises questions, few answers on war
1/14
B1
4
GR area's Arab-Americans don't foresee any
1/16
A1
2
Hundreds march through downtown in plea
...
1/15
Al
4
Last of 207th unit leaves Fort McCoy for
1/13
A6
1 HAV
Life behind a mask: the real desert shield
1/03
A1
1
Local Lithuanians slam president's lack
1/15
D1
2
Nightmares: Subtle horrors of war stay
1/15
D1
2
Notes from home
1/09
D1
2
Prayers for peace dominate church services
1/14
A1
3
ROTC youths alert to tension in gulf
1/16
B1
1
Scary scenes of war greet Press reporter
1/13
D5
1
Security hiked at airport due to Rulf crisis
1/15
D1
2
JUN 24 '91 11:42
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE. 006
2/05/91
Page 41
Grand Rapids Press Index
January 1991
Date
Page Col.
Persian Gulf war
War shows human nature's worst side,
1/21
A5
5
Wasn't him, ex-shipmate says, hearing POW's.
1/22
A1
2
When war finally arrives, it's an emotional
1/17
A4
1
With two sons in the Persian Gulf, he's one
1/24
NE12
4
Perspectives
Reformed Journal gains new Perspectives
1/12
B1
2
Peters, Charles W.
letter to editor
1/21
A12
4
Peters, Greg
Equipment, approach help prevent ski injuries
1/26
D1
S
Phillips, Gary
letter to editor
1/04
A10
4
Piaget. Tom
Commerce in brief
1/27
D5
1
Piedmont Industrial
Dutch office parts supplier receives tax
1/03
SW5
2
Pike, Mark
Farmer credits quick-thinking rescuers
1/17
NW8
1
Piland, Gail
Alternative education teacher wins state
1/17
SW16
2
Pine Rest Northwest Clinic
Pine Rest satellite clinic is now open
1/17]
NE11
1
Pinewood Middle School
Attendance areas fixed for fall Pinewood
1/17
S04
1
Pinewood first for team teaching: MIles
1/17
S01
1
Pitsch. Paul
letter to editor
1/29
A6
4
Plainfield Township
Board plunges into the issue of reopening
1/10
NE2
2
East Beltline rental area is concerned
1/10
NE7
1
Member sought for review board: several
1/10
NW7
1
Neighbor raps township official for not
1/08
D2
S
New liquor license is awarded to restaurant
1/31
NE12
5
Officials: 8 percent assessment increases
1/10
NES
1
Progressive Die is leaving township
1/17]
NE12
4
Toyota dealership proposal considered
1/09
D1
4
Union fights cross-training
1/31
NE13
1
Poelman, Eric A.
2 bank-heist suspects are without lawyers:
1/08
D1
$
Poland
GR native works as part of Polands' press
1/01
B1
2
Telkton Township
Review board gains ILEW members
1/24
NW7
1
Poltrock, Thomas
Southkent consortium chief Thomas Poltrock
1/17
S04
1
Porter, Charles
24 are seeking positions as trustees on JC
1/27
E3
2
Porter. Darcy
Ex-Courtland Township official; dies
1/28
B2
4
Pott, Jon
Reformed Journal gains new Perspectives
1/12
B1
2
Potts. Haley Jr.
Suspect enters guilty plea in 1989 rape
1/11
B1
4
JUN 24 '91 11:48
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE. B 009
3/04/91
Page 45
Grand Rapids Press Index
February 1991
Date
Page Col.
Quick, Frederick F.
Slaying suspect pleads guilty
2/22
C2
4
Quinn, Jami
Press salutes
2/14
C4
1
Quinn, Patrick M.
Commerce in brief
2/17
E3
1
Radeliff. William Pryor, Sr.
Quest for kowledge never ends
2/28
D3
1
Railroad track abondonment
Railroad is given ok to abandon
2/28
E1
$
Ramona Beach Club
Developers create more parking for restaurant
2/19
B1
$
Reeds Lake access ramp should be moved,
...
2/07
EA4
3
Residents urge flexibility to build Lake
2/05
B2
$
Randall, Craig
QBs ready for Division I test
2/03
D1
2
Ranke, H.
letter to editor
2/10
D7
4
Rapes and rapists
Assault conviction in DNA case brings
2/28
C3
4
Convicted rapist of 7-year-old girl gets
2/13
D1
3
Memory of rape never left me: victim
2/21
C1
6
Rapist gets 25-50 year prison sentence
2/05
B2
1
Stab victim called a liar as case is
...
2/27
F1
1.
Suspect confessed to rape, inmate testifies
2/22
C1
6
Woman raped in car after leaving bar
2/15
C3
5
Rapistan Corp.
Rapistan loses case against former executives
2/21
B5
1
Rasmussen, Paul C.G.
letter to editor
2/06
A10
4
Rathbun, Joan/Leo
Kin fear for woman MIA, a GR native
2/02
A1
1
Valentine from Melissa mailed day she
2/24
A1
3
Rathbun-Nealy, Melissa
Army details how Melissa got lost, was
2/25
A1
5
Bracelets help blind pen pals to Melissa
2/27
A1
5
Creston pays tribute to graduate missing
22/08
Al
2
Female soldier officially declared MIA
2/13
A1
4
Friends and strangers offer support as
2/06
A1
3
Kin fear for woman MIA. a GR native
2/02
A1
1
Local female MIA reportedly held in target
2/11
A1
5
Neighbors on street where Melissa lived
2/06
A4
1
Valentine from Melissa mailed day she
2/24
A1
3
Victory doesn't end grief for three families
2/28
A1
2
Woman MIA's convoy came under fire on
2/03
A1
1
Raz, Robert
A quiet love
2/24
H1
3
Razmus, Richard
Commerce in brief
2/17
E3
1
Reahm, Richard C.
Commerce in brief
2/03
H8
2
Recycling
Major step in bringing in food service to
...
2/14
NE15
1
JUN 24 '91 11:52
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE. 011
9/01/91
Page 44
Grand Rapids Press Index
March 1991
Date
Page Col.
Persian Gulf War
Tight security measures costly for Kent
...
3/17
Al
1
WWII well who whi POW given curious
3/14
SW5
1
...
Pestle, John W.
Commerce in brief
3/03
H3
1
Petersen, Ray
Carved with care
3/02
A3
2
Peterson, Craig
N'west faces
3/20
NW16
5
Petrucci, Barry T.
letter to editor
3/01
A8
4
Philippus, Elizabeth
Pen pals meet
3/14
B1
2
Pine Rest Christian Hospital
Pine Rest establishes special phone line
3/16
A3
1
...
Pipe, Tim
w WCOL Pacco
7/16
SW?A
5
Pit Stop 76 station
Police hunt 2 believed to have robbed 6
3/14
B2
3
...
Pillman, Norris Jean
Suspect admits to transporting cocaine
...
3/21
B2
1
Pitts, Russell A.
Commerce in brief
3/03
H3
1
Pivower. Matthew V
Commerce in brief
3/03
M3
I
Place, Tanya
Ravenna's Place is familiar with trip to
...
3/07
NW15
3
Plainfield Township
Bopard opts for one big water bank st
3/20
NES
3
...
Dealers add to north-end car-sales othip
3/07
NEL
1
Neighbors' concern is traffic at dealership
3/20
NE11
1
Special designation allows Blythfield
3/20
NES
1
...
Water, sewer service is criticized
3/07
NE2
3
Plainfield Township Library
Library is dropping Wednesday nights
3/20
NE10
$
Plaster Creek
Signs will warn public of polluted creeks
3/01
Al
1
Flymouth Track of HESL Nichigan
...
Rucking down the blaze
3/08
C1
1
Poel, Robert W.
Air Perce POWs treated harshly, doctor says
3/14
Al
1
Poisonings
Poisonous alcohol concoction kills one,
...
3/06
Al
1
Survivor had no taste for deadly alcohol
3/07
F1
6
Polega, John
letter to aditor
3/24
D9
3
Pologa, Kenneth #.
letter to editor
3/27
A12
2
Poles, David W.
Commerce in brief
3/03
H3
1
Poley, Barbara
The final frame If organizer of handicapped
:
3/16
A1
1
Polich-American immigrants
JUN 24 '91 11:54 FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE 012
9/01/91
Page 46
Crand Rapide Press Index
March 1991
Date
Page Col.
Prusi, Melissa
letter to editor
3/31
E6
2
Public Museum of Grand Rapids
Tale of tiles has new twist
3/14
D1
1
Purim celebration
Balancing act
3/04
B1
2
Purple East Plus
Suspect is arrested In at OR aloid
3/02
A4
€
Putnam, George
3 who posed as police convicted 111 robbery
5/30
AS
C
Qua-Ke-Zik Sportsman Club
Board seeks club land for high school
3/19
D2
1
Divisive fight looms over land acquisition
3/20
S021
1
Quinn, Patrick M.
Commerce in brief
3/31
DS
1
Quinn, Thomas
Commerce in brief
3/10
C2
2
RMC Properties
Planners ok subdivision
3/28
EA6
4
Rasymakers, Donb and Barbara
Award served up to Raaymakers
3/22
01
2
Railroad track abandonment
Decision on rail abandonment is still
3/01
C10
3
Rainfall Inc.
Commerce in brief
3/10
02
2
Ramona Beach Club
Assessment on Rose's is too high, owner says
3/13
D1
6
City gives final approval to Ramona Beach
...
3/19
D1
1
Decision time is near for lakefront
...
3/07
EA12
4
Developers say Rose's will be kept open
...
3/20
EA12
1
How city will vote on lakefront eatery
3/14
EA18
1
Reeds Lake restaurant vote March 18
3/05
D5
3
Ramona Park
Memories of city's resort days, roots fill
3/14
B1
4
Rapes and rapists
Suspect linked by DNA to rape pleads no
3/06
C3
5
Three suspects sentenced in gang rape
3/19
D2
4
Rapid Motor Parts Service Inc.
Burglary suspect may have died after leap
...
3/26
A1
6
Suspect who jumped into river may be alien
3/27
B2
6
Rathbun, Leo/Joan
Media quest for Melissa stories robs
3/06
Al
3
Rathbun-Nealy, Melissa
Air Force POWs treated harshly, doctor says
3/14
A1
2
Ex-POW Melissa keeps a promise and visits
...
3/16
A3
1
Friends hope Melissa emerges unharmed from
3/02
A1
2
Globe, Melissa don't see eye to eye on love
3/25
A5
2
Media quest for Melissa stories robs
3/06
A1
3
1
Melissa calls hospital to cheer a special
3/09
A1
1
Melissa gets 3 medals, including Purple Heart
3/13
A1
4
]
Melissa healing: may be home this week
3/12
C1
2
Melissa quietly returns home
3/15
Al
4
1
Melissa's phone call ends weeks of anxiety
3/05
Al
4
JUN 24 '91 11:55
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE 013
9/01/91
Page 47
Grand Rapids Press Index
March 1991
Date
Page Col.
Rathbun-Nealy, Melissa
Melissa, parents reunite Sunday, meet Bush
3/08
A1
2
Thanks, admiration flow both ways at
3/25
Al
3
There she is: Rathbuns ecstatic
3/04
A1
1
Weary Melissa finally can let her hair down
3/17
A3
2
letter to editor
3/31
E7
4
Recycling
Ban near on yard waste in landfills, state
3/29
C1
1
Hotline for used-oil info about to be
3/14
B2
3
Junior high leads the way in recycling
3/28
SW15
1
Progress is reported in recycling program
3/28
NE11
1
Recycled products to get preference under
3/27
B3
1
Red Coat Lane
Neighbors balk at Red Coat Lane plan
3/28
NW8
1
Reed, Douglas B.
Commerce in brief
3/31
D5
1
Reeds Lake
Limit use of Gilmore site, residents say
3/27
B3
3
Reeds Lake Boulevard
Part of $1.5 million plan is aimed at
3/28
EA14
4
Reens, Thomas J.
letter to editor
3/17
H6
4
Refuse and refuse disposal
$1.5 million cleanup urged for dump site
3/26
B3
1
City, county rap EPA landfill cleanup
3/07
F2
1
County adds two drop-off sites for
3/11
B1
1
Remenap, Randall
Accreditation panel picks local principal
3/20
SW8
4
Principal is elected to panel
3/28
NW4
3
Remer, Mary A.
letter to editor
3/15
A10
3
Repper. Kim
Mayor, councilmen to be elected Monday
3/31
F2
1
Research Technika
Commerce in brief
3/17
E4
1
Residential furniture industry
Residential furniture industry slow in
3/21
E1
2
Rhirdo, Kelly W.
Commerce in brief
3/03
H3
1
Richards, Robert K.
Commerce in brief
3/10
C2
2
Richmond, Rebecca
Her writings give rich details of past
3/31
B1
1
Richter, Gerald W.
Grandville official gets 3-5 years in sex
...
3/05
D5
3
Public works chief quits his post after
3/25
B1
5
Rickman, Scott T.
Commerce in brief
3/03
H3
1
Riddle, Tom
Commerce in brief
3/03
H3
1
Riddler
Puzzle has been solved, but Wyoming
3/30
A3
1
Ries, Janice
letter to editor
3/31
E6
3
JUN 24 '01 11.57
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE. 014
5/01/91
Page 44
Grand Rapids Press Index
April 1991
Date Page Col.
Ousting, John
Vosting picked LVL zoning panel
4/04
EA10
4
Orchard View Elementory School
Orchard View renovations approved
4/04
NE7
1
Orr, Ronald John
Ex-GR resident granted new murder trial
4/02
B1
2
Ortiz, Brian
2 students top bookmark contest
4/04
NW9
1
Ostwis, Ralph
Physician gains ok to ham it up for medicine
4/18
S014
3
Orzula, Art
letter to editor
4/21
F8
4
Dtt. John P.
John Ott named to Catholic diocese post
4/00
B1
E
UCCO, Demis
Commerce in brief
4/21
D4
1
Overbeek, Norman J.
Koster Excavating firm exec; dies
4/15
B2
6
Page, Brian J.
Commerce in brief
4/07
E5
3
Palmitier, Jeff
Aid is sought for youth center
4/25
SW8
4
Park Place Hotel
Meijer sues banks to recover funds in hotel.
4/19
C1
5
Parking
Aquinas parking plan draws critics
4/26
C1
2
Parks
Jaycees' family project will clean an area
4/04
EA6
4
...
Parks, John
Commerce in brief
4/21
D4
1
Parrish, Meredith
Commerce in brief
4/14
D2
2
Partin, Charlie
Partin named region's top coach
4/30
C5
4
Pastoor, Virginia
letter to editor
4/26
A8
4
Paul I. Phillips Recreation Center
Pleas to save recreation center rejected
...
4/24
D2
3
Payne, Thomas Jr.
Gulf vet says support back home appreciated
4/11
S018
3
Peck's Drug Store building
A pause before demolition
4/24
A12
1
Group out to save Peck, 2 nearby buildings
4/22
B1
6
Pellerito, James
Seven to vie in school board election
4/11
S013
3
Perna, Gail
Four to be on June school ballot
4/18
SW6
4
Perry, Michael D.
Former principal's husband among 8 seeking
4/10
C3
6
Persian Gulf War
Ailing mom gets moment of joy as Desert
...
4/01
B3
1
Area companies send aid to Kurds
4/16
BI
2
Back from the gulf, soldier is greeted
4/18
SW5
5
...
Cheery homecoming
4/04
B1
3
JUN 24 '91 11:59
FROM G.R.P.L.
PAGE. 015
Page 47
/91
Grand Rapids Press Index
April 1991
Date
Page Col.
ase, Margaret
letter to editor
4/19
A12
4
Margaret
Junior League honors 17 volunteers
4/29
C2
6
n, Gerald J.
Commerce in brief
4/21
D4
1
e-Zik Sportsmen's Club
Schools take club to court in land battle
4/18
S012
4
enboss, Bob
letter to editor
4/11
A14
4
enbush, Ruth A.
Commerce in brief
4/14
D2
2
Frederick F.
Fatal stabbing brings 10-15 years in prison
4/16
B2
5
Joanne
Teacher gices kids a lesson in fabric art
4/18
SW2
1
Upholstering Co.
Split vote snags upholstery shop's bid
...
4/04
NW6
1
Upbolsterer gets backing to open shop
4/25
NW5
3
son Hotel
Opening day
4/14
F1
1
Opening softly
4/21
D1
2
Steely nerves for a steel job
4/03
A1
2
mi. Mary
letter to editor
4/11
A14
4
:oad strikes
Area firms prepared for shutdown
4/17
A1
5
Ts Wes
Time to remember: Wes Ramey Day Tuesday
4/08
C1
2
ill, Eric
2-truck 28th Street accident injures Ohio
4/24
D3
2
...
; and rapists
Life term given in rape of 89-year-old
4/19
C2
1
Suspect admits he raped, stabbed victim, 85
4/16
B1
6
run, Leo
Melissa is married, wants to settle down
...
4/05
A1
1
oun-Nealy, Melissa
Melissa is married, wants to settle down,
...
4/05
A1
1
-POW
iff, Clarence
Ratliff asks new trial on charges he tried
4/10
C1
1
Food & Beverage
Beating victim refused to see doctor, mom
4/12
C1
1
...
hfar Kennels
Kennel request turned down
4/25
S09
5
cling
Board rejects DPW plan to reorganize, add
...
4/03
F2
1
He's hoping to get cash from grass
4/04
SW10
2
Hospitals turning from disposable to reusable
4/21
E7
1
Kent panel to get another look at plan
...
4/15
B3
1
Recycling expo at mall May 11
4/25
S010
4
Volunteers proclaim the message of recycling
4/21
A2
2
cling Roundup
Citizens group slates recycling drive
4/18
S09
1
C2
1976-77
V.3
WH
us. PRESIDENT
PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Gerald R. Ford
Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and
Statements of the President
1976-77
(IN THREE BOOKS)
BOOK III-JULY 10, 1976 TO JANUARY 20, 1977
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1979
November 1
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[1009]
1009
Remarks at a Rally on Arrival at Grand
Rapids, Michigan. November 1, 1976
WOULD you please be very quiet for just a minute I would hope that we might
even hear a pin drop.
I don't think that I can adequately express in words tonight Betty's appre-
ciation and mine for this tremendous welcome to the home that we love so
much, Grand Rapids.
I have made a lot of speeches, and this is the hardest one to make, because as
I look out in this audience and as I saw so many people as we came down Monroe
Avenue-Democrats, Independents, Republicans-people that Betty and I lived
with, that Betty and I love, that I tried to help over the years when I had the
honor of representing this great congressional district, I could tell you some
stories about how the tough problems came to our office. And we never asked
the person that walked in that office whether he or she was a Democrat or a
Republican. We said, what can we do to help you, and that is the way I want
to be your President.
You know, those wonderful experiences over a period of time, of taking that
trailer down through Ottawa County, Ionia County, Kent County, and sitting
and listening to wonderful people who had a problem, who wanted to give me a
little trouble, give me a hard time-and they did-but also we had a couple of
friends that might come in and say nice things about us. But the wonderful ex-
perience of representing the Fifth Congressional District will be something that
I will never forget, and I thank you for the opportunity.
You know, I had a speech I was going to make, but I threw it
away. [Laughter]
But I have got a couple of friends that I would like to introduce to you
and to suggest that you can help me if you help them. First, I would like to
recommend, because I know him, because I know the job he has done in
Congress, I would like to recommend to you that you vote tomorrow for Marv
Esch for the United States Senate. Then I would equally say it would be very
helpful to me as your next President if you would send Hal Sawyer to represent
you here in the Fifth District.
As we came off the expressway, we went down College Avenue and Betty
said, "I went to Fountain School." We went right by it. Then we went by
2835
[1009]
Public Papers of the Presidents
November 1
Central High School, but then, you know, I said to her, "Well, South High,
that was a great school, too." [Laughter]
But anyhow, Grand Rapids, Kent County, Ottawa County, Ionia, well, all
of them-western Michigan can make the difference and this is what I want
you to know and what I think it is all about tomorrow.
You know, on August 9, 1974, I was sworn in as your President. You know
better than anybody in this country, I never sought the office, but circumstances
put me in the position where I stood in the East Room of the White House.
Betty held the Bible open; I put my hand on it. I took the oath of office at a
tough time, when there had been a great loss of trust in the White House it-
self. We had high inflation. We were on the brink of a recession. We were still
involved in Vietnam. But with some apprehension I walked over to the Oval
Office. But before doing so, I said to all Americans, not just to you from here,
that you had not elected me by your ballots, but I prayed that you would con-
firm me with your prayers. And you did.
We went through troubled times for the last 2 years. But because you stood
with me, because you prayed with me, because you believed in America, because
you had strength and faith-and 215 million other Americans-we have turned
things around, and we see brighter skies, and we see greater opportunity. We
see, as we saw on July 4, when there was a great spirit that was expressed in
America, our 200th birthday, all of a sudden, Americans-Democrats, Inde-
pendents, and Republicans-came to the conclusion that we not only could
read history-and it was a great history-but more importantly, together, re-
gardless of our political persuasion, we could write history for the third cen-
tury of America's great history, and we will.
It is so nice to be back here where I see Bill Milliken, I see Bob Griffin, I see
Bob VanderLaan,¹ I see all the people that I grew up with, that Betty grew up
with. You know, it is hard to express one's deep sentiments about a com-
munity and an area that has been so good to us.
So, as I conclude these totally prepared remarks-[laughter]-tomorrow
each and every one of you have a great decision to make. I suspect it might be
the right one.
Let me conclude with just this final comment: Betty and I have been honored
to represent this part of the country-but all America-in the White House
during the last 2 years, and they have been troubled, and they have been tough.
But we kept the ship of state on the right course, and I tried to keep a firm,
commonsense hand at the tiller. And the net result is, things have turned
1 Governor of Michigan, U.S. Representative, and Michigan State Senator, respectively.
November 1
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[1010]
around. America has made incredible progress in the last 2 years. But we are
just moving. We are going to get better. We are going to make America what
our forefathers said it would he.
When I was sworn in, I asked for your prayers. I said you hadn't elected me.
But tomorrow all of you in this great area of western Michigan can really de-
cide the election. You can decide the election in Michigan.
In Kansas City I said I wouldn't concede a single vote, I wouldn't concede
a single State-and I don't concede Michigan to the opposition. Western Michi-
gan can turn the tide. Western Michigan can decide the fate of the next 4 years
in this country. It will make the difference in Michigan. It will make the differ-
ence in the election.
And so, I say to you calmly, from the depth of my appreciation: Tomorrow,
yes, I want your prayers for confirmation, but tomorrow I ask that you confirm
me with your votes, and I won't let you down. I promise that.
Thank you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 8:20 p.m. at the Pantlind Hotel, following a parade motorcade from the
Kent County Airport.
1010
Remarks at Dedication Ceremonies for the Gerald R. Ford
Health and Physical Education Building at Grand Rapids
Junior College. November 1, 1976
Thank you very much, Phil, Congressman Guy Vander Jagt, Mr. Godfrey, rev-
erend clergy, students, faculty and guests:
You don't know how much it means to Betty and to myself to come home
and see this wonderful turnout. Of course, the welcome we received from the
airport to the Pantlind Hotel will be indelibly impressed on our minds. I saw,
as Betty did, literally thousands of people that we grew up with. She went to
Central, and I went to South, but we get along pretty well and have for 28
years.
But mainly to see the great changes that have taken place in Grand Rapids
since we were young-this is a great and growing community. It has the same
strong character that it has always had, but it has changed with the times.
I can vividly recall when I got through South High in 1931. Those were
tough times. A few of you can remember them. I literally almost had an op-
portunity to come to Grand Rapids Junior College, and I knew what a great
2837
[1010]
Public Papers of the Presidents
November 1
president of the junior college there was in Arthur Andrews. But an old and
dear friend of mine, the principal at South High, he somehow found in the
bookstore's student loan fund 100 bucks so I could pay my tuition to go to the
University of Michigan.
But I always had a fond, fond memory of the junior college, and Betty just
lived around the corner from here. But this is one of the great junior colleges of
this country. I can recall on the floor of the House of Representatives about 10
years ago when there was a movement in the Congress of the United States to
expand what they called then community colleges. They talked about what they
would do and how they had a great role to play in the educational system of
this country. I said, "Heck, we got the best doggone junior college in the coun-
try. We proved it in Grand Rapids."
So, I had a little connection with athletics. I played football at South back
when the ball was round. [Laughter] Paul Goebel used to give me a hard time
when he was officiating and tell me to kind of obey the rules a little bit. But
we used to like to win, and that is what this country is all about-competition.
It is good for America; it is good for schools; it is good for students; it is good
for us. And that is what makes America great today.
Although Arthur Andrews was a super, super president, Frank McCarthy
did a tremendous job. And now you have a fine president in President [Rich-
ard] Calkins, and I congratulate all of you. I know the board of education
kind of stretched the rules a bit, but I am deeply grateful that there will always
be my imprimatur on this wonderful facility of health and recreation and
physical education.
I happen to believe that your gymnasium, your natatorium, your handball
courts, your other facilities here will contribute significantly to the kind of
development, physically as well as mentally, and I happen to believe that in
the world we live today you have got to be strong physically as well as
mentally.
This facility represents the best, and it came from the people of Grand Rap-
ids, the people who have been for so long so generous in making this a great
community. And that is why Betty and I love the community and love you
all.
But I would be remiss if I didn't mention one other name. He was close to
me, although he never coached me. But there is one person I think whose
name is likewise indelibly impressed upon the history of this great institution,
and that is John Boss, one of the great, great members of the teaching profes-
2838
November 1
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[1011]
sion. He may not be remembered by the younger, but by some of us he was
a super guy.
So, either educationally or athletically, you are number one, we are proud
of you, and I am indebted to all of you for making it possible for my name to
be identified with this great institution and this wonderful facility.
Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 10:10 p.m. In his
and Richard Godfrey, president of the Grand
opening remarks, he referred to Phillip E. Run-
Rapids Junior College Faculty Association.
kel, superintendent of schools for Grand Rapids,
1011
Remarks on the Eve of the Presidential Election.
November 1, 1976
[Recorded October 30, 1976. Released November 1, 1976]
TOMORROW is a very crucial election. But tonight America is strong, Amer-
ica is free, America is on the move. But 2 years ago America was in deep
trouble. When I became President, inflation was over 12 percent. We were on
the brink of a serious recession, the worst in 40 years. There had been a loss
of trust in the White House itself. We were still involved in Vietnam.
When I took the oath of office in August of 1974, I said I had not been
elected by your ballots, but I asked that you confirm me by your prayers. Those
prayers really helped.
In the meantime America has turned around. I put the ship of state on an
even keel. I held a firm hand on the tiller for a steady course. Today we are
doing much, much better. The rate of inflation has been cut by more than 50
percent. The job picture is getting better. We have added 4 million more jobs
in the last 18 months. Eighty-eight million people are working today. We
have restored confidence and trust in the White House itself, and America
is at peace. Not a single young American is fighting or dying on any foreign
soil tonight, and I will keep it that way for the next 4 years.
We have two major problems: One, to keep America strong, to meet the
challenge of any adversary, to strengthen our alliances. And I pledge to you
that the United States will remain number one. Our Army, Navy, Air Force,
and Marines will be the best, as they are today. Some people have wanted to
cut the defense budget. That would be a big gamble. I believe that the way to
2839
J81
C2
976-77
us PRESSENT
PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Gerald R. Ford
Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and
Statements of the President
1976-77
(IN THREE BOOKS)
BOOK II-APRIL 9 TO JULY 9, 1976
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1979
[485]
Public Papers of the Presidents
May 15
the United States, which they are. We have got peace today, we are going to
keep it, and if you give me 4 more years, we will keep it for 4 more years.
As you know, I had the great privilege of representing the Fifth Congressional
District just a few miles north of here for almost 26 years. The policy that I
followed for that period of time was that we had an open door, we were candid,
we emphasized integrity, we were forthright, we called them as we saw them.
We never promised more than we could deliver, and we delivered everything
we promised. And that is the way we have run the White House for the last
21 months, and that's the way it will be run for the next 48 months if you give
me the support that we need on Tuesday, and the support that we will get
between now and November.
Well, Betty and I can't thank you all enough for being here at Niles and
welcoming us warmly and giving us the opportunity to say a few words to you.
We hope we have earned your support. We believe we have done a good job,
and I ask you for your support next Tuesday so I can be the Republican repre-
sentative in the great contest that will end on November 2.
I've worked hard. We've done the right thing. We've got America on the right
track. We will keep it there. I can assure you that Jerry Ford, if you give me your
support next Tuesday and next November, I won't let you down for the next
4 years.
Thank you very, very much.
NOTE: The President spoke from the rear platform
Following the whistlestop tour, which ended in
of Amtrak's "Presidential Express" train at the
Niles, the President traveled by helicopter to Hol-
Amtrak Station in each community on the whistle-
land, Mich., where he participated in the Tulip
stop tour. At each stop he left the train to greet the
Festival Parade.
community welcoming committee and members of
the audience.
486
Remarks on Arrival at Grand Rapids, Michigan. May 15, 1976
LET ME thank all of you for coming out today. Betty and I have had a very,
very thrilling day going from Flint to Niles on a train, and then we just had
a tremendous reception down at Holland at the Tulip Festival. But it's so nice
to be back in Grand Rapids, our hometown. We have the First Mama with
us, and we have Susan. You want a date, Susan? [Laughter]
But as we were flying with the helicopter from Holland over to Grand
Rapids, my memories went back to 1948 when I first made the gamble to run
for Congress from the Fifth Congressional District. And at that time I ap-
May 15
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[486]
pealed to a lot of Republicans. I appealed for support from a lot of Independents,
and I asked for the help and assistance of a lot of Democrats. And the net result
was I think I got a lot of all of them, and for that I am deeply grateful, because
that was the beginning of my opportunity to serve the people of Grand Rapids,
of Holland, Grand Haven, all of the Fifth Congressional District.
And now, some 27 years later, I am asking for the help and assistance of all
of the people of this part of Michigan and the great State of Michigan. This
includes all of the Republicans who believe in the philosophy and believe in
the record that I have tried to carry out in 21 months. It includes all of the
Independents in our great State of Michigan and the Democrats. And may I
thank the Democrats who are here, including Dick Vander Veen,¹ including
the others who have been helpful over the years in supporting what we have
tried to do for the Fifth District, the city of Grand Rapids.
This is our hometown, and when I think of the days at Madison School, the
days at South High-of course Betty went to Central-but when I think of the
wonderful people that have been so kind to all of us over the long, long period
of time, we have done the best job we could, whether it was in Congress, whether
it was Vice President, and for 21 months as President.
It's a great, great part of this country where we are now, and there are some
wonderful people that we have tried to help, some wonderful people that we
have tried to represent as best we could, and some people who have supported
us through thick and thin.
Our hearts and our affection-they are all with you in this part of our great
country. To see you all here on this sort of disagreeable night, it makes me-
and I am sure Betty and Susan-feel like we are kind of welcome back home.
So, I thank you for all of the support over the years. I thank you for what you
can do to help us on next Tuesday. We have never let you down. In the future-
and we will never let you down in the future as President of the United States.
Thank you very, very much. It is nice to see you all.
NOTE: The President spoke at 7:14 p.m. at the Kent County Airport.
1 U.S. Representative from Michigan.
[487]
Public Papers of the Presidents
May 16
487
Exchange With Reporters on Arrival at Freeland, Michigan.
May 16, 1976
IT IS great to be at the Tri-City Airport of Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City. We
have had a great day and a half in Michigan. It's very encouraging, and we are
very optimistic.
As I say on many occasions, I think the voters of Michigan will respond to
what we have done. We have produced the peace. We have turned the economy
around, and we have restored the faith and trust of the American people. Those
are all strong and, I think, very sound assets for America in this very difficult
time.
I will be glad to answer any questions.
REPORTER. How big do you. think you might win by on Tuesday, Mr.
President?
THE PRESIDENT. I never make a point spread. I think we will do very, very
well. I think the people of Michigan know what we have done under the most
difficult circumstances, and we are counting on their support.
Q. Mr. President, can your campaign survive a loss in Michigan?
THE PRESIDENT. Ann [Ann Compton, ABC News], we aren't planning on it.
So as long as it isn't planned on, doesn't take place, I really don't think it is a
matter that we ought to be concerned about.
REPORTER. Okay, thank you.
THE PRESIDENT. Thank you all very, very much.
NOTE: The exchange began at 2:56 p.m. at Tri-City Airport.
488
Remarks at a Bicentennial Celebration in Saginaw, Michigan.
May 16, 1976
Thank you very, very much, Al Cederberg-my good friend Guy Vander Jagt,
the Congressman from the western part of the State is here-George Olson,
Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Kennedy, Reverend Beck, distinguished guests, ladies and
gentlemen:
May I say at the outset, I hope I have as many friends in this audience as George
Olson and Al Cederberg have. [Laughter]
It is a great privilege and pleasure for Betty and Susan and myself to be here
1610
Beth,
Here's what 1 know about
MICHIGAN; hope it's of use: :
Michigan is the "great Lakes State
Yes, Michigan! is the slogan
Mich. is the WOLVERINE stat e
Univ. of Michigan/Mich. State
RIVALRY:
WOLVER!
ES/SPARTAN'S
Freedom Festival CANADA) July yth(w/
"Motor City /Motown"
call me at
313 998 1305 of
you need mork!
marl
976-37
us. PRESIDENT
PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Gerald R. Ford
Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and
Statements of the President
1976-77
(IN THREE BOOKS)
BOOK II-APRIL 9. TO JULY 9, 1976
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1979
[641]
Public Papers of the Presidents
July 3
641
Message on the Observance of Independence Day.
July 3, 1976
[Recorded June 21, 1976. Released July 3, 1976]
TWO HUNDRED years ago we, the people of the United States of America,
began a great adventure which stirred the imagination and quickened the
hopes of men and women throughout the world. The date was July 4, 1776;
the occasion, the signing of our Declaration of Independence.
No other nation in history has ever dedicated itself more specifically nor
devoted itself more completely to the proposition that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with such unalienable rights of
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Two centuries later, as we celebrate our Bicentennial Year of independence,
the great American adventure continues. The hallmark of that adventure has
always been an eagerness to explore the unknown, whether it lay across an ocean
or a continent, across the vastness of space or the frontiers of human knowledge.
Because we have always been ready to try new and untested enterprises in gov-
ernment, in commerce, in the arts and sciences, and in human relations, we
have made unprecedented progress in all of these fields.
While reaching for the unknown, Americans have also kept their faith in
this wisdom and experience of the past. Colonists and immigrants brought with
them cherished values and ideals in religion and in culture, in law and learning
which, mixed with the native American ways, gave us our rich American
heritage.
The unique American union of the known and the unknown, the tried and
the untried, has been the foundation for our liberty and the secret of our great
success. In this country, individuals can be the masters rather than the helpless
victims of their destiny. We can make our own opportunities and make the
most of them.
In the space of two centuries, we have not been able to right every wrong,
to correct every injustice, to reach every worthy goal. But for 200 years, we
have tried and we will continue to strive to make the lives of individual men
and women in this country and on this Earth better lives-more hopeful and
happy, more prosperous and peaceful, more fulfilling and more free. This is
our common dedication, and it will be our common glory as we enter the third
century of the American adventure.
NOTE: The President spoke at 2:30 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White House. His remarks were
recorded for later use on radio and television.
July 3
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[642]
642
Remarks at the Honor America Program. July 3, 1976
THANK YOU very much, Bill Marriott. May I express my appreciation and
the gratitude of the American people for the wonderful job that you and your
associates with the Honor America Committee have done for the last few years.
We are most appreciative of a wonderful job and such a tremendous effort, and
let me say on behalf of all of us, thank you very much.
There are times for solemn ceremonies, and their will be many reverent
thanksgivings all over America this week and next. But we Americans are un-
comfortable with too much solemnity. We like to make a joyful noise unto
the Lord, to sing our country's praise with grateful hearts.
Laughter and liberty go well together. Ragtime and jazz, marches as well
as hymns and spirituals set the beat of the American adventure. We have ex-
ported America's happiness to the world with our gramophones, our movies,
and our own talented performers. Americans sang on riverboats, danced around
the wagon trains, joked as they marched into battle. We took all of the arts of
those who came to join the American adventure and made new arts of our own.
No nation has a richer heritage than we do, for America has it all. The United
States is probably the only country on Earth that puts the pursuit of happiness
right after life and liberty among the God-given rights of every human being.
When Jefferson wrote that, he pulled off an historic switch. For a long time,
English law had used the phrase "life, liberty, and property" to describe the
most precious things that couldn't be taken away from anybody without due
legal process.
But Jefferson dropped property in the Declaration of Independence and sub-
stituted the pursuit of happiness. Like any good politician, Jefferson knew
how to say exactly what he meant when he wanted to. So, life and liberty are
plain enough to everybody, but Jefferson never did say what he meant by the
pursuit of happiness.
If we have liberty, how each of us pursues happiness is up to us. However you
define it, the United States of America has been a happy nation over the past
200 years. Nobody is happy all the time, but most of the people have been happy
most of the time. Even in our darkest hours, we have managed a little fun.
I knew what happiness was when I was a boy. It was the Fourth of July. For
weeks we would save up our pennies, nickels, and dimes, and then at the last
moment Dad would come through with a couple of bucks for skyrockets. Then,
1961
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July 3
of course, there would be the big flag to hang out on the front porch and the ice
cream freezer to turn and the first big spoonful that gave you a headache. Then
there were parades and bands and those long speeches-this won't be one.
[Laughter]
There would be a picnic and softball games, the endless wait until it got dark
enough for the roman candles-sparklers for the little ones, who reallv liked
the lightning bugs better. When it was all over, you went to bed happy because
you knew it would happen all over again the next Fourth of July.
Here we are on the eve of our 200th, the greatest Fourth of July any of us will
ever see. We are happy people because we are a free people, and while we have
our faults and our failures, tonight is not the time to parade them. Rather, let's
look to the third century as the century in which freedom finds fulfillment in
even greater creativity and individuality.
Tonight, we salute the pursuit of happiness as we listen to our exciting past in
song and in story. Two hundred years ago today, John Adams wrote his wonder-
ful wife, Abigail, that he expected the glorious anniversary of independence to
be observed down through the ages "with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bon-
fires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other."
So, break out the flags, strike up the band, light up the skies; let the whole
wide world know that the United States of America is about to have another
happy birthday, going strong at 200, and in the words of the immortal Al Jolson,
"You ain't seen [heard] nothing yet."
Thank you very much.
Now Betty and I will return to our seats to join you in the enjoyment of this
Bicentennial celebration. But first, I have one very satisfying task to perform.
The next personality you will meet is a gentleman I have introduced on a num-
ber of occasions, and who has introduced me on a number of occasions. There is
no doubt in my mind that introducing him is a lot easier than following him.
[Laughter]
So, ladies and gentlemen, I present my very good and very dear friend, Bob
Hope.
NOTE: The President spoke at 8:12 p.m. in the
referred to J. Willard Marriott, Sr., chairman of
Concert Hall at the John F. Kennedy Center for
the American Historic and Cultural Society,
the Performing Arts. In his opening remarks, he
which sponsored the Honor America Program.
July 4
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[643]
643
Remarks in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. July 4, 1976
Governor Shapp, Senator Scott, Senator Schweiker, Governor Ray, Congressman
Schulze, Lieutenant Governor Klein, Secretary Kleppe, Administrator Warner,
reverend clergy, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Governor Shapp, I am deeply grateful for your very kind and generous re-
marks. The Sun always shines in Pennsylvania. [Laughter]
They came here in the snows of winter over a trail marked with the blood of
their rag-bound feet. The iron forge that gave this place its name had been de-
stroyed by the British when General Washington and his ragged Continental
Army encamped here-exhausted, outnumbered, and short of everything except
faith.
We gather here today, the 200th anniversary of our independence, to com-
memorate their sacrifices even before we celebrate the glorious Declaration.
Americans will remember the name of Valley Forge as long as the spirit of sac-
rifice lives within their hearts.
Here the vein of iron in our national character was forged. In the 18th century
the colonial American was far more free and far more prosperous than his
European cousin. Englishmen regarded us with some envy as appropriate sub-
jects to share their grinding tax burdens.
After Concord Bridge and Breed's Hill, the British generals were impressed
with our markmanship and fighting spirit, but they still dismissed Washington's
militiamen as a rabble of arms.
Many years later, when he was 91, a veteran of Concord was interviewed
and asked why he took up his rifle against his King. Did he feel intolerably
oppressed? "No, never paid a penny for one of them stamps, never drank any
tea, never heard of Locke. Only read the Bible and the Almanac."
Well, then, what did all the fighting mean? "Young man," the aging revolu-
tionary said very firmly, "what we meant in going for those Redcoats was this:
We had always governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn't mean
that we should."
Without Jefferson's eloquence, those are the words of the American people's
Declaration of Independence. That was the straight talk that brought some
11,000 ordinary Americans-farmers, workers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers-
into this valley of sacrifice in the bitter winter of 1777. Uncounted hundreds
were never to leave.
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They did not die amid the banners and the fearful sounds of battle. They
weakened slowly and quietly succumbed to cold, sickness, and starvation. Yet
their courage and suffering-those who survived as well as those who fell-
were no less meaningful than the sacrifices of those who manned the battle-
ments of Boston and scaled the parapets of Yorktown.
In the battle against despair, Washington and his men kept freedom's lonely
vigil. The leader and the led drew strength and hope from one another. Around
the winter campfires that dotted these fields, the flame of liberty was somehow
kept burning.
Something happened at Valley Forge. That ragged, starving Army here
emerged and changed in a way that can be sensed but never fully described.
They suffered, they trained, they toughened, they buried their dead, and they
stayed. They stuck it out. When spring melted the snows and green returned
to this beautiful countryside, a proud and disciplined fighting force marched
out of this valley to victory, into the pages of history, unaware of the greatness
they had done and oblivious of our gratitude.
As Abraham Lincoln noted long afterwards at another sacred site in Penn-
sylvania, nothing we can say here today can further consecrate or hallow this
ground. But we can rededicate ourselves to the spirit of sacrifice shown at Val-
ley Forge, Gettysburg, the Argonne Forest, Anzio Beach, and Iwo Jima.
Not all sacrifices are made in war. There are also sacrifices of peace. The
sturdy wagon trains that have returned here, the wonderful people who drove
them, and those along the way who rededicated themselves to the great prin-
ciples of the Declaration of Independence offer heartwarming proof that our
American adventure has just begun.
Our Bicentennial is the happy birthday of all 50 States, a commonwealth, and
self-governing territories. It is not just a celebration for the original Thirteen
Colonies. Americans are one people, and we can still hear them saying, "We
have always governed ourselves, and we always mean to."
The earliest English settlers carried the Bible and Blackstone's Commentary
across the Atlantic among their few cherished possessions and established their
own self-governments on a strange and hostile coast. American families in prairie
schooners like these took with them on the overland trails the principles of
equality and the God-given rights of the Declaration of Independence.
Their restless search for a better life was begun in the spirit of adventure, but
it was the spirit of sacrifice that sustained them. They suffered cruel winters,
savage attacks, blazing deserts, and bloody feet. Many were buried beside the
trail, but many stuck it out, dug in, and built permanent settlements where
July 4
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[644]
women stood the same sentry duty as the men. In the West, the Declaration's
promise of legal and political equality for women was first broadened.
The American pioneers knew that in their wilderness homes they could not
be colonials ruled by a distant government. They had assurance that in due
course they could govern themselves as full citizens of equal States. This political
guarantee made all the risks and all the sacrifices worthwhile. Their children
and future generations would have all the rights of Washington, Jackson, and
Lincoln. So do we, and more so.
As we continue our American adventure, the patriots of Valley Forge and
the pioneers of the American frontier-indeed, all our heroes and heroines of
war and peace-send us this single, urgent message: Though prosperity is a
good thing, though compassionate charity is a good thing, though institutional
reform is a good thing, a nation survives only so long as the spirit of sacrifice and
self-discipline is strong within its people.
Independence has to be defended as well as declared. Freedom is always worth
fighting for, and liberty ultimately belongs to those willing to suffer for it.
If we remember this, we can bring health where there is disease, peace where
there is strife, progress where there is poverty and want. And when our Tri-
centennial celebration rolls around 100 years from now, grateful Americans
will come to this shrine of quiet valor, this forge of our Republic's iron core.
Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 9:12 a.m. at Valley
resentative Richard T. Schulze, Lieutenant Gov-
Forge State Park. In his opening remarks, he
ernor Ernest Klein of Pennsylvania, Secretary of
referred to Governor Milton J. Shapp of Pennsyl-
the Interior Thomas S. Kleppe, and John W.
vania, Senators Hugh Scott and Richard S.
Warner, Administrator of the American Revolu-
Schweiker, Governor Robert D. Ray of Iowa, Rep-
tion Bicentennial Administration.
644
Remarks Upon Signing Legislation Establishing the
Valley Forge National Historic Park. July 4, 1976
Governor Shapp, Senator Scott, Senator Schweiker, Congressman Schulze, Sec-
retary Kleppe, distinguished guests:
This is a great privilege for me to sign this very important bill on George
Washington's desk. I am deeply grateful because of the strong congressional
support over a long period of years. Senator Scott, Senator Schweiker, Con-
gressman Schulze, and many others took the lead, and the net result is that under
1965
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July 4
this legislation, the Federal Government will take over this historic site and it
will be known as the Valley Forge National Historic Park.
It will be a great tribute to those that I mentioned in my remarks, to those who
gave so much, and the sacrifices that they made.
So, I congratulate you, Hugh Scott. I congratulate the other Members of the
House and Senate who did such a fine job in making this signing possible.
And so, Governor, we are delighted to take over and make certain that the
good work of the State of Pennsylvania is carried on and that this historic site will
become another in the complex of national historic sites for the preservation of
those things that mean so much to us-those sites that contributed so signifi-
cantly to our national history and our national progress.
Thank you very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 9:40 a.m. at a
Schweiker, Representative Richard T. Schulze, and
ceremony at Valley Forge State Park, Valley
Secretary of the Interior Thomas S. Kleppe.
Forge, Pennsylvania. In his opening remarks, he
As enacted, the bill (H.R. 5621) is Public Law
referred to Governor Milton J. Shapp of Pennsyl-
94-337 (90 Stat. 796).
vania, Senators Hugh Scott and Richard S.
645
Remarks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. July 4, 1976
Charlton Heston, Mayor Rizzo, Governor Shapp, reverend clergy, distinguished
Members of Congress, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
On Washington's birthday in 1861, a fortnight after six States had formed a
confederacy of their own, Abraham Lincoln came here to Independence Hall
knowing that in 10 days he would face the cruelest national crisis of our 85-year
history.
"I am filled with deep emotion," he said, "at finding myself standing here in
the place where collected together the wisdom, the patriotism, the devotion to
principle, from which sprang the institutions under which we live."
Today, we can all share these simple, noble sentiments. Like Lincoln, I feel
both pride and humility, rejoicing and reverence as I stand in the place where
two centuries ago the United States of America was conceived in liberty and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
From this small but beautiful building, then the most imposing structure in
the Colonies, came the two great documents that continue to supply the moral
and intellectual power for the American adventure in self-government.
Before me is the great bronze bell that joyously rang out the news of the birth
1966
July 4
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[645]
of our Nation from the steeple of the State House. It was never intended to be a
church bell. Yet a generation before the great events of 1776, the elected assembly
of Pennsylvania ordered it to be inscribed with this Biblical verse: "Proclaim
liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof."
The American settlers had many, many hardships, but they had more liberty
than any other people on Earth. That was what they came for and what they
meant to keep. The verse from Leviticus on the Liberty Bell refers to the ancient
Jewish year of Jubilee. In every 50th year, the Jubilee restored the land and the
equality of persons that prevailed when the children of Israel entered the land
of promise, and both gifts came from God, as the Jubilee regularly reminded
them.
Our Founding Fathers knew their Bibles as well as their Blackstone.¹ They
boldly reversed the age-old political theory that kings derive their powers from
God and asserted that both powers and unalienable rights belong to the people
as direct endowments from their Creator. Furthermore, they declared that gov-
ernments are instituted among men to secure their rights and to serve their pur-
poses, and governments continue only so long as they have the consent of the
governed.
With George Washington already commanding the American Continental
Army in the field, the Second Continental Congress met here in 1776, not to de-
mand new liberty, but to regain long-established rights which were being taken
away from them without their consent.
The American Revolution was unique and remains unique in that it was
fought in the name of the law as well as liberty. At the start, the Declaration of
Independence proclaimed the divine source of individual rights and the purpose
of human government as Americans understood it. That purpose is to secure the
rights of the individuals against even government itself. But the Declaration did
not tell us how to accomplish this purpose or what kind of government to set up.
First, our independence had to be won. It was not won easily, as the nearby en-
campment of Valley Forge, the rude bridge at Concord, and the crumbling bat-
tlements of Yorktown bear vivid interest.
We have heard much, though we cannot hear it too often, about 56 Ameri-
cans who cast their votes and later signed their names to Thomas Jefferson's
ringing declaration of equality and freedom so movingly read to us this morning
by Miss Marian Anderson.
Do you know what price the signers of that parchment paid for their patriot-
ism, the devotion to principle of which Lincoln spoke? John Hancock of Mas-
1 Blackstone's Commentaries on the Law of England.
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July 4
sachusetts was one of the wealthiest men who came to Philadelphia. Later, as he
stood outside Boston and watched the enemy sweep by, he said, "Burn, Boston,
though it makes John Hancock a beggar."
Altogether, of the 56 men who signed our great Declaration, 5 were taken
prisoner, 12 had their homes sacked, 2 lost their sons, 9 died in the war itself.
Those men knew what they were doing. In the final stirring words of the Dec-
laration, they pledged to one another "our lives, our Fortunes and our sacred
Honor." And when liberty was at stake, they were willing to pay the price.
We owe a great debt to these founders and to the foot soldiers who followed
General Washington into battle after battle, retreat after retreat. But it is im-
portant to remember that final success in that struggle for independence, as in
the many struggles that have followed, was due to the strength and support of
ordinary men and women who were motivated by three powerful impulses-
personal freedom, self-government, and national unity.
For all but the black slaves-many of whom fought bravely beside their
masters because they also heard the promise of the Declaration-freedom was
won in 1783, but the loose Articles of Confederation had proved inadequate in
war and were even less effective in peace.
Again in 1787, representatives of the people and the States met in this place
to form a more perfect union, a permanent legal mechanism that would trans-
late the principles and purposes of Jefferson's Declaration into effective self-
government.
Six signers of the Declaration came back to forge the Constitution, including
the sage of Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin. Jefferson had replaced him as Am-
bassador in Paris. The young genius of the Constitutional Convention was an-
other Virginian, James Madison. The hero of the Revolution, Washington, was
called back from Mount Vernon to preside.
Seldom in history have the men who made a revolution seen it through,
but the United States was fortunate. The result of their deliberations and com-
promises was our Constitution, which William Gladstone, a great British Prime
Minister, called "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the
brain and purpose of man."
The Constitution was created to make the promise of the Declaration come
true. The Declaration was not a protest against government but against the
excesses of government. It prescribed the proper role of government to secure
the rights of individuals and to effect their safety and their happiness. In modern
society, no individual can do this all alone, so government is not necessarily
evil but a necessary good.
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[645]
The framers of the Constitution feared a central government that was too
strong, as many Americans rightly do today. The framers of the Constitution,
after their experience under the Articles, feared a central government that was
too weak, as many Americans rightly do today. They spent days studying all
of the contemporary governments of Europe and concluded with Dr. Franklin
that all contained the seeds of their own destruction. So the framers built some-
thing new, drawing upon their English traditions, on the Roman Republic, on
the uniquely American institution of the town meeting. To reassure those
who felt the original Constitution did not sufficiently spell out the unalienable
rights of the Declaration, the First United States Congress added-and the
States ratified-the first 10 amendments, which we call the Bill of Rights.
Later, after a tragic, fraternal war, those guarantees were expanded to in-
clude all Americans. Later still, voting rights were assured for women and
for younger citizens 18 to 21 years of age.
It is good to know that in our own lifetime we have taken part in the
growth of freedom and in the expansion of equality which began here so long
ago. This union of corrected wrongs and expanded rights has brought the
blessings of liberty to the 215 million Americans, but the struggle for life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is never truly won. Each generation of
Americans, indeed of all humanity, must strive to achieve these aspirations
anew. Liberty is a living flame to be fed, not dead ashes to be revered, even in
a Bicentennial Year.
It is fitting that we ask ourselves hard questions even on a glorious day like
today. Are the institutions under which we live working the way they should?
Are the foundations laid in 1776 and 1789 still strong enough and sound
enough to resist the tremors of our times? Are our God-given rights secure,
our hard-won liberties protected?
The very fact that we can ask these questions, that we can freely examine
and criticize our society, is cause for confidence itself. Many of the voices raised
in doubt 200 years ago served to strengthen and improve the decisions finally
made.
The American adventure is a continuing process. As one milestone is passed,
another is sighted. As we achieve one goal-a longer lifespan, a literate popu-
lation, a leadership in world affairs-we raise our sights.
As we begin our third century, there is still so much to be done. We must
increase the independence of the individual and the opportunity of all Ameri-
cans to attain their full potential. We must ensure each citizen's right to privacy.
We must create a more beautiful America, making human works conform to
1969
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July 4
the harmony of nature. We must develop a safer society, so ordered that
happiness may be pursued without fear of crime or manmade hazards. We
must build a more stable international order, politically, economically, and
legally. We must match the great breakthroughs of the past century by im-
proving health and conquering disease. We must continue to unlock the secrets
of the universe beyond our planet as well as within ourselves. We must work
to enrich the quality of American life at work, at play, and in our homes.
It is right that Americans are always improving. It is not only right, it is nec-
essary. From need comes action, as it did here in Independence Hall. Those
fierce political rivals-John Adams and Thomas Jefferson-in their later years
carried out a warm correspondence. Both died on the Fourth of July of 1826, hav-
ing lived to see the handiwork of their finest hour endure a full 50 years.
They had seen the Declaration's clear call for human liberty and equality
arouse the hopes of all mankind. Jefferson wrote to Adams that "even should
the cloud of barbarism and despotism again obscure the science and libraries
of Europe, this country remains to preserve and restore life [light] and liberty
to them."
Over a century later, in 1936, Jefferson's dire prophesy seemed about to come
true. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, speaking for a mighty nation, reinforced
by millions and millions of immigrants who had joined the American adventure,
was able to warn the new despotisms: "We too, born to freedom, and believing
in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who be-
lieve as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees."
The world knows where we stand. The world is ever conscious of what Amer-
icans are doing for better or for worse, because the United States today remains
the most successful realization of humanity's universal hope.
The world may or may not follow, but we lead because our whole history
says we must. Liberty is for all men and women as a matter of equal and un-
alienable right. The establishment of justice and peace abroad will in large
measure depend upon the peace and justice we create here in our own country,
where we still show the way.
The American adventure began here with a firm reliance on the protection of
Divine Providence. It continues in a common conviction that the source of our
blessings is a loving God, in whom we trust. Therefore, I ask all the members of
the American family, our guests and friends, to join me now in a moment of
silent prayer and meditation in gratitude for all that we have received and to
ask continued safety and happiness for each of us and for the United States of
America.
1970
July 4
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[646]
Thank you, and God bless you.
NOTE: The President spoke at 11:18 a.m. at In-
ceremonies, Mayor Frank L. Rizzo of Philadelphia,
dependence Hall. In his opening remarks, he re-
and Governor Milton J. Shapp of Pennsylvania.
ferred to actor Charlton Heston, master of
646
Remarks at a Luncheon Honoring the President in
Philadelphia. July 4, 1976
Mayor Rizzo, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
First, Mr. Mayor, may I express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the
very thoughtful gift from you and the people of Philadelphia. And may I express
from the bottom of my heart my gratitude for the opportunity for me to partici-
pate in the Fourth of July ceremonies on this occasion on our 200th birthday in
the city of Philadelphia.
It made me, as an American, proud to see what was discussed there. The peo-
ple who participated in the tremendous outburst of feeling among the people of
Philadelphia-you truly represent and epitomize the spirit of the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution itself, and I congratulate you.
And may I thank all the people in Pennsylvania for the opportunity to have a
part in the program at Valley Forge, where the spirit of sacrifice was so evident
200-plus years ago, and to participate in all of the things throughout America
where the 215 million people, wonderful individuals who believe in freedom and
liberty, will lay the foundation for our third century predicated on the gifts
that we have received by the sacrifices and wisdom of those of the past 200 years.
We are all proud to be Americans and proud to turn on to future generations
the blessings that we have had in the past.
Thank you very, very much.
NOTE: The President spoke at 12:42 p.m. in the
with a silver bowl as a gift to the people of
Grand Ballroom at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel.
the United States from the people of Philadelphia.
Mayor Frank Rizzo presented the President
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647
Remarks Aboard the U.S.S. Forrestal During Operation
Sail in New York Harbor. July 4, 1976
Secretary Middendorf, Ambassador Mosbacher, Admiral Kidd, Captain Barth,
John Warner, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
At the outset, let me express my gratitude and appreciation on behalf of all
the American people for everybody who had any part of making Operation Sail
a success. I congratulate each and every one of you for a superb job.
It is a great pleasure for me to join my fellow Americans and the citizens of
the world in this celebration of America's 200th birthday. No tribute could be
more spectacular than the grand international armada which fills this great har-
bor today. The magnificent array of "Tall Ships" and naval vessels, the proud
emissaries of 30 other nations, form an escort of special grace and beauty as the
United States of America enters its third century of independence.
As we view this dramatic scene, we are reminded that America is a proud
family of many peoples from many lands. We are reminded, as well, how the sea
and ships have played a vital role in the life of our country. Our discoverers and
explorers were sea voyagers from many nations. Our earliest colonists, seeking a
new life in a new land, first had to test their strength and spirit against the
Atlantic.
The U.S. Navy and the navies of our allies played a leading part in winning
and defending the freedom we celebrate today. That tradition of strength and
courage spans two centuries, from the time of John Paul Jones to the battles of
Midway and Leyte Gulf.
Since we became a nation, the sea has also been a passageway for millions and
millions of people from all over the world who have come to America to share
its bounty and its opportunity and to enrich our future in return. In this harbor
stands the Statue of Liberty, herself an immigrant from France, lifting her torch
to those who come to join the American adventure.
As we close the log of our second century, we begin an uncharted voyage
toward the future. What may lie along that course and where it may finally take
us, we cannot know. But we do know this: Americans have always moved ahead
with confidence, as we do now, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine
providence and guided by the fixed star of freedom.
So, let us journey together into the seas of tomorrow. For America, the future
is a friend.
1972
July 5
Gerald R. Ford, 1976
[649]
Thank you very kindly.
NOTE: The President spoke at 2:06 p.m. on the
Barth, USN, U.S.S. Forrestal commanding officer;
flight deck of the U.S.S. Forrestal, the host ship
and John W. Warner, Administrator of the Amer-
of the International Naval Review in New York
ican Revolution Bicentennial Administration.
Harbor. In his opening remarks, he referred to
Prior to his remarks, the President rang the
J. William Middendorf II, Secretary of the Navy;
ship's bell 13 times-symbolizing the Thirteen
Emil Mosbacher, Jr., Operation Sail chairman and
Original Colonies-which began the simultaneous
Chief of Protocol for the State Department 1969-
ringing of bells across America in commemoration
72; Adm. Isaac C. Kidd, Jr., USN, Commander
of the Bicentennial.
in Chief of the Atlantic Fleet; Capt. Joseph J.
648
Letter to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel on the Israeli
Rescue of Hostages in Uganda. July 4, 1976
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
The American people join me in expressing our great satisfaction that the
passengers of the Air France flight seized earlier this week have been saved and
a senseless act of terrorism thwarted.
Sincerely,
GERALD R. FORD
NOTE: The Air France airbus was hijacked by
passengers and crew were held hostage in Uganda
terrorists on June 28 after it left Athens on a
until rescued by an Israeli commando unit on
Paris-bound flight which originated in Israel. The
July 3.
649
Remarks at Naturalization Ceremonies at Monticello, Virginia.
July 5, 1976
Thank you very, very much, Governor Godwin, Mr. Justice Powell, Senator
Byrd, Ambassador Nolting, reverend clergy, distinguished guests, ladies and
gentlemen:
It is a very great honor and a high privilege, Governor Godwin, to come to the
Commonwealth of Virginia and to this beautiful and significant home and to
participate in this wonderful ceremony. It is a great honor and privilege for
me to be here today.
I am very proud to welcome all of you as fellow citizens of the United States
of America. I invite you to join fully in the American adventure and to share our
common goal and our common glory.
1973
J81
1981
t: t PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
WH
OF THE
UNITED STATES
Ronald Reagan
PLURIBUS UNUM
1981
JANUARY 20 TO DECEMBER 31, 1981
EXECUT
THE
PRESIDE
Room 509
2013
Washington, DC 20500
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1981 / July 3
ing as a service in the Navy, or by such
ment
or
service.".
military commanders or other appropriate
RONALD REAGAN
officers as the Secretary concerned may
designate, to any member of the armed
The White House,
forces of the United States, or to any
July 2, 1981.
member of the armed forces of a friendly
foreign nation, who has distinguished him-
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Regis-
self by outstanding meritorious achieve-
ter, 2:29 p.m., July 6, 1981]
Memorandum on the Combined Federal Campaign
July 2, 1981
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive
can do on their own.
Departments and Agencies
In America, we have traditionally accept-
The Honorable Malcolm Baldrige, Secre-
ed the responsibility of individual giving for
tary of Commerce, has agreed to serve this
good causes. The values that cause us to
year as Chairman of the Combined Federal
care for our neighbors, our countrymen and
Campaign for the National Capital Area.
people in faraway lands are the values that
Combined in this campaign are the
make us great.
annual fundraising efforts of the United
I request that you serve personally as
Way, the National Health Agencies, local
Chairman of the Combined Campaign in
non-federated voluntary agencies and the
your organization and appoint a top assist-
American Red Cross. Through the CFC,
ant as your Vice Chairman. Please advise
Federal Employees have the opportunity to
Secretary Baldrige of the person you desig-
help our neighbors and fellow citizens with-
nate as your Vice Chairman.
out going through government channels.
We have the chance to prove what people
RONALD REAGAN
Message on the Observance of Independence Day
July 3, 1981
Today, all over America, families and
big and small, that remind us what a di-
friends are reuniting to renew ties, enjoy
verse yet united country we are. Each in its
each other's company, and celebrate our
own special way will carry out a wish ex-
Nation's birthday. It is a day when liberty
pressed by one of the Founding Fathers 205
and laughter go hand in hand-when we
years ago.
can acknowledge that, oh yes, we have our
Back in 1776, John Adams wrote his wife
faults, and lots of problems, too, but we're
Abigail that the anniversary of our
happy and proud because we're free, and
independence should be observed with
we know the best of America is yet to be.
great fanfare:
"
with pomp and pa-
If you close your eyes and try to picture
rades
shows and games
and sports
our country, chances are the first thing
and guns and bells
with bonfires and
you'll see is your own hometown. I always
illuminations, from one end of this conti-
see mine, Dixon and Tampico in Illinois.
nent to the other, and from this time for-
Today it is the hometowns of America, both
evermore."
593
July 3 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1981
Well, Mr. Adams, rest assured that what
moment the noose is around your neck, for
you wanted is being done. Your traditions
that parchment will be the textbook of free-
are now ours, and we guard them like na-
dom, the bible of the rights of man for-
tional treasures. And you know why. When
ever." And sign they did.
we unfurl our flags, strike up the bands, and
What makes our revolution unique and so
light up the skies each July 4th, we cele-
exciting, then, is that it changed the very
brate the most exciting, ongoing adventure
concept of government. Here was a new
in human freedom the world has ever
nation telling the world that it was con-
known.
ceived in liberty; that all men are created
It began in 1620 when a group of coura-
equal with God-given rights, and that
geous families braved a mighty ocean to
power ultimately resides in "We the
build a new future in a new world. They
people."
came not for material gain, but to secure
We sometimes forget this great truth, and
liberty for their souls within a community
we never should, because putting people
bound by laws.
first has always been America's secret
A century-and-a-half later, their descend-
weapon. It's the way we've kept the spirit
of our revolution alive-a spirit that drives
ants pledged their lives, their fortunes and
their sacred honor to found this Nation.
us to dream and dare, and take great risks
Some would forfeit their fortunes and their
for a greater good. It's the spirit of Fulton
and Ford, the Wright brothers and Lind-
lives, but none sacrificed honor.
bergh, and of all our astronauts. It's the
Thomas Jefferson wrote that on that day
spirit of Joe Louis, Babe Ruth, and a million
of America's birth, in the little hall in Phila-
others who may have been born poor, but
delphia, debate raged for hours, but the
who would not be denied their day in the
issue remained in doubt. These were honor-
Sun.
able men; still, to sign a Declaration of
Well, I'm convinced that we're getting
Independence seemed such an irretrievable
that spirit back. The Nation is pulling to-
act that the walls resounded with cries of
gether. We're looking to the future with
"treason" and "the headsman's axe."
new hope and confidence-and we know
Then, it is said, one unknown man rose to
we can make America great again by put-
speak. He was neither young, nor strong in
ting the destiny of this Nation back in the
voice; yet, he spoke with such conviction
hands of the people. And why shouldn't
that he mesmerized the hall. He cited the
we? Because, after all, we are Americans.
grievances that had brought them to this
As Dwight Eisenhower once said: "There
moment. Then, his voice failing, he said:
is nothing wrong with America that the
"They may turn every tree into a gallows,
faith, love of freedom, intelligence and
every hole into a grave, and yet the words
energy of her citizens cannot cure."
of that parchment can never die. To the
He was right. If we just stick together,
mechanic in the workshop, they will speak
and remain true to our ideals, we can be
hope, to the slave in the mines, freedom.
sure that America's greatest days lie ahead.
Sign that parchment. Sign if the next
Happy Fourth of July!
Message to the Congress Transmitting the United States-Egypt
Agreement on Nuclear Energy
July 6, 1981
To the Congress of the United States:
U.S.C. 2153(d)), the text of the proposed
I am pleased to transmit to the Congress,
Agreement for Cooperation Between the
Government of the United States of Amer-
in accordance with Section 123d of the
ica and the Government of the Arab Re-
Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42
594
OF CIVIL AND DEFENSE MOBILIZATION
LAW:
= PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1959
Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and
Statements of the President
JANUARY I TO DECEMBER 31, 1959
42108
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959
I
152
Independence,"
represented by the second; and for the confidence that we, if we make
e society which
ourselves worthy, that this third stone will forever symbolize America's
id thereby con-
unending purpose, under God, to lead along the path toward peace, with
ugmenting the
justice for all peoples.
ywhere."
Thank you very much.
marked stages
NOTE: The President spoke at I2 noon
mission for the Extension of the United
from a stand erected on the plaza at the
States Capitol. The other members were
one of the orig-
east front of the Capitol. His opening
Vice President Nixon, Senator Dirksen,
words referred to Sam Rayburn, Speaker
Minority Leader of the Senate, and Rep-
struggling into
of the House of Representatives, and J.
resentative Halleck, Minority Leader of
George Stewart, Architect of the Capitol,
the House of Representatives.
the cornerstone
both of whom were members of the Com-
: in its infancy.
SS of the United
fices to 21,000;
152
9 Message Recorded for Broadcast to
sary to enlarge
Americans Overseas. July 4, 1959
S come a long
My Fellow Americans:
One hundred eighty-three years ago a dramatic event took place in
is occasion by
our country-the proclamation of our independence and the establish-
aterial growth.
ment of our Nation.
ur responsibili-
Today I speak to each of you-American citizens abroad-first, to
convey the greetings of all of us at home on this special occasion; and
le central home
second, to acknowledge a keen appreciation of your important role as
m, understand-
our representatives to the rest of the world.
Approximately two and a half million of you are outside the United
efathers did at
States today, all guests in foreign lands. Whether you are overseas
nulate them as
in an official capacity, serving at one of our diplomatic missions or
and their com-
consular posts; or in uniform, helping to secure the common defense of
differences of
freedom; or studying or teaching at a foreign school; or contributing
knowledge to help improve the health or productivity of one of the
the values on
world's newly developing lands; or working as a correspondent of our
0 differences of
free press; or engaged in commerce; or traveling as a visitor to enhance
falter on her
your understanding of our neighbors on earth-you are, in foreign
eyes, guests of those nations in which you reside. I trust that your hosts
es Capitol, we
may ever consider you welcome representatives of the United States
n, represented
and of everything we cherish.
untiful growth
On this national holiday, I take this opportunity to talk to you
directly about what you represent.
501
I52
Public Papers of the Presidents
First of all, the significance of July fourth. This date annually com-
memorates and renews our dedication to the principles of freedom, of
government elected by the people, of equal opportunity for all.
These are not static principles. What began in 1776 was a continuing,
dynamic experiment. Let us look at the United States today, to see what
we have accomplished, since 1776, in carrying out the American experi-
ment. In these 183 years we have developed an industrialized society
while maintaining our personal freedoms. Despite the predictions of
Karl Marx, our economy has developed swiftly through unprecedented
teamwork on the part of those who toil and those who invest and man-
age. During this development, the working man has obtained an in-
creasingly larger share of the fruits of his labors. We live under the rule
of law, which jealously guards our freedom from illegal restraint. It
guarantees our freedom of information, our freedom of movement. I
do not suggest that all of these achievements exist constantly or uniformly
throughout our land. The goals for which America strives are not always
easy of attainment.
But we have an abiding determination to reach those goals without
sacrifice of principle, and to further the cause of freedom at home and
abroad.
We have grown in the realization of interdependence among nations
as well as among individuals.
We helped establish and steadfastly support the United Nations in ap-
plying the concept of collective security to preserve freedom and integrity.
We felt it our duty to extend help to those who need and desire it.
In the forms of economic, scientific, technological, and defense assistance,
we try to help other peoples realize their legitimate aspirations.
Our major goal is the achievement of a lasting peace with justice.
This, then, is what you represent abroad. You can be proud of the
American experiment, dynamic, vital, constructive, hopeful. I ask you
to tell that story. But let the facts speak for themselves. It is traditional
with us not to impose ideas on other peoples. And in those countries
engaged in social experiments of their own, let them know that we wish
them well in their efforts toward the peaceful enhancement of the individ-
ual. Give our encouragement to all nations to solve their problems in
their own way, in accordance with their own traditions-as we do our-
selves. If my message to you on this Fourth of July could be put into
one sentence, it would be this:
502
Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1959
153
ate annually com-
State the facts of freedom and trust in God, as we have ever done.
les of freedom, of
Thus, we know that truth will triumph.
/ for all.
God bless you all.
was a continuing,
NOTE: The message was broadcast over
guages. In addition, tapes of the broad-
today, to see what
the Government's international radio net-
cast were sent to U.S. embassies for use
American experi-
work (Voice of America) ; highlights of
in connection with Fourth of July cere-
the message were broadcast in other lan-
monies.
lustrialized society
the predictions of
gh unprecedented
153
Ч
Veto of Bill Relating to Housing and
) invest and man-
S obtained an in-
Urban Renewal. July 7, 1959
live under the rule
egal restraint. It
To the Senate of the United States:
of movement. I
I am returning herewith, without my approval, S. 57, "An Act to
antly or uniformly
extend and amend laws relating to the provision and improvement of
ives are not always
housing and the renewal of urban communities, and for other purposes."
For many months I have been looking forward to approving a sound
ose goals without
and constructive housing bill. New homes are now being built at near
dom at home and
record rates. I had hoped to receive from the Congress legislation that
would further advance the cause of better housing for Americans within
ce among nations
the limits of fiscal responsibility.
To my disappointment, the Congress has instead presented me with a
:ed Nations in ap-
bill so excessive in the spending it proposes, and so defective in other
dom and integrity.
respects, that it would do far more damage than good.
eed and desire it.
First, the bill is extravagant and much of the spending it authorizes
defense assistance,
is unnecessary. Its spending authorizations total a minimum of $2.2
tions.
billion-all of which would be available for commitment without further
: with justice.
Congressional or Presidential action. The comparable budget recom-
1 be proud of the
mendations of the Administration totaled $8 IO million.
peful. I ask you
Its authorizations of $900 million for urban renewal-telescoped into
It is traditional
two years-are excessive.
n those countries
Even though we have over 100,000 previously authorized public hous-
now that we wish
ing units as yet unbuilt, the bill would authorize 190,000 more.
ent of the individ-
A new program of direct Federal lending is authorized for housing
their problems in
for elderly persons when needs in this area can be adequately met by pri-
s-as we do our-
vate funds invested under the protection of Federal insurance. The
could be put into
college housing loan program would be continued with increased authori-
zations at interest rates below the cost of money to the Treasury and a
503
PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE
UNITED STATES
Ronald Reagan
PLURIBUS UNUM
1984
(IN TWO BOOKS)
BOOK II-JUNE 30 TO DECEMBER 31, 1984
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1987
July 4 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1984
Remarks at a Picnic Following the Pepsi Firecracker 400 in
Daytona Beach, Florida
July 4, 1984
This has been a fantastic Fourth of July.
I met him. I thought he'd fallen in some-
And I've enjoyed certainly everything that
place on the way. [Laughter]
I've seen since I've been here. And with
You need intense concentration and stam-
the skill and the daring that we witnessed
ina, and it's amazing to see them out there,
out there, and the pursuit of excellence that
bumper to bumper at 200 miles an hour.
those drivers-and I mean all of them that
We've all done a little bumper-to-bumper
are here-made stock car racing a major
driving. I know-you have to, if you live in
American sport. And I know that each of
Los Angeles with the freeways, but you're
them probably is proud and has every right
not going quite that fast.
to be, and we're proud of them.
So, Richard Petty, your victory is some-
I want to take a special word to say-or
thing for which you and those who work
say a special word about Bill France, Sr.
with you can rightfully be proud. I know
Now, Bill France, Jr.-yes, I know what he's
how you all feel, too, because I'm in a little
done. But I think that-I guess it was Bill,
race myself this year. [Laughter]
Sr., that got things really started. And then
But to be a little serious, today we're
I've heard since I've been here that he's the
celebrating our country's independence and
grand old man of stock car racing. Where
freedom. Our Founding Fathers gave us a
do they get this "old man" stuff? He's only
wonderful gift 208 years ago-a free coun-
74. [Laughter] I tell you, the way I read old
try, a country where no one need live in
is, old is 15 years from where you are now.
fear and where everyone can speak and
[Laughter] Seriously, to Bill, Sr., and Bill,
pray and live as he or she sees fit. As we
Jr., they've accomplished so much, and
commemorate our country's birth and its
they've added so much pepper to the
freedom, I hope we can take a little while
American scene.
today to breathe a little prayer of thanks
I think I can understand why stock car
for the great blessings that we enjoy in
racing is so popular. Americans have always
America.
cherished mobility, and we greatly admire
I'm certain that if Jefferson and Adams
innovation. And by combining man and ma-
and Washington were here with us today,
chine, stock car racing brings out the best
they'd be sharing in the festivities. And if
of both of these American impulses.
Patrick Henry were here, from what I've
read about him, he'd have been out on the
I appreciate all the work that goes into
those precision machines also, because it
track with one of the cars. [Laughter] Our
makes you realize that the race is won in
Founding Fathers were kind of gutsy, and
the garage as well as on the track. So, con-
we'd better not forget that. These patriots
gratulations to all of those workers out
and all the others, rich and poor, of every
there that were keeping those competing
race and religion, who worked and strug-
cars out on the track.
gled and sometimes fought and died for our
freedom, are with us in spirit today.
Now, Richard Petty, congratulations, and
And, again, I just want to thank you all
to all the others, for a demonstration of skill
for letting me spend these few minutes
and courage. This race puts the driver to
with you. And God bless you, and God bless
the test. You've got to keep cool under
America. Thank you very much.
great pressure. I was told that when I was
up there watching it. Keeping cool, sitting
Note: The President spoke at 4 p.m. in the
so close to a hot engine, isn't easy, as I
infield area of the Daytona International
found out when Richard Petty came up and
Speedway.
998
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1984 / July 4
Statement by Principal Deputy Press Secretary Speakes on
Elections in Guatemala
July 4, 1984
some-
We have noted with pleasure the record
taking this important step in carrying out
turnout of Guatemalan voters in the July 1
its commitment for a return to constitution-
d stam-
Constituent Assembly elections. The biparti-
al practices and the unprecedented re-
there,
san U.S. observer team and our Embassy in
sponse of the citizenry to the opportunity
1 hour.
Guatemala report from visits throughout
to participate in their political process. We
umper
the country that the process was fair and
wish the Guatemalans well as they prepare
live in
open, well organized, and orderly. We ap-
a constitution and proceed with elections
you're
plaud the Government of Guatemala for
for a new government next year.
some-
work
I know
Remarks at a Spirit of America Festival in Decatur, Alabama
a little
July 4, 1984
we're
ice and
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And
that once when I was attending a meeting
ve us a
thank all those wonderful young people
as Governor of California in one of the
e coun-
that we've seen here in this parade. I don't
hotels in Los Angeles, somebody told me as
live in
know whether any of my remarks or what
we were breaking up that your Governor,
ak and
I'm going to say on this day can be as elo-
George Wallace, was in another part of the
As we
quent as seeing what really the future is all
hotel. And I thought it would only be cour-
and its
about in this great, free land of ours, and it
tesy and friendly of me to drop over and
e while
is embodied in those young people that
pay my respects to him. And he was there,
thanks
came by here.
representing the best interests of Alabama,
njoy in
What a wonderful festival this is. And one
as he always does. And I walked into a
of the most impressive things about it is
meeting where he was telling a group of
Adams
that you began this annual Fourth of July
California business executives the advan-
S today,
celebration 18 years ago when some people
tages of leaving California and moving to
And if
said that patriotism was out of style back in
Alabama. [Laughter]
hat I've
that period. Well, I guess here in Decatur it
But I want to congratulate Admiral Whit-
on the
never was out of style.
mire on receiving the Audie Murphy Patri-
er] Our
When other people were burning our
otism Award. I knew Audie Murphy. He
sy, and
flag, you were waving it. And I don't know
was a good man. He's buried, as you know,
patriots
if a President has ever thanked you for that,
in Arlington Cemetery, and there's a simple
of every
but please accept my gratitude and admira-
stone at his grave that says: "Audie
1 strug-
tion.
Murphy-Texas." But it could say Audie
for our
It's good to be here with Senator Denton,
Murphy-American-because in one of our
Congressmen Edwards and Flippo, and I
roughest hours his courage and plain decen-
you all
was hoping and thought for a time, until
cy cast a light on the entire Republic.
minutes
some things intervened in the schedule-
In World War II, a unit of ours that was
od bless
foul-ups here-that I was going to be able
routed by a superior enemy force-and
to greet my friend and your Governor,
Audie Murphy climbed into a World War II
George Wallace.
disabled tank, up on the turret, and turned
in the
We were Governors together when I was
the machine gun of that turret on the
national
Governor of California. As a matter of fact,
enemy, and all alone was trying to hold off
I was looking forward to telling a little
the hundreds of advancing men of the
thing about him, and now I'll just have to
enemy. At the same time, walkie-talkie
tell it to you and somebody relate to him,
radio-he tried to call for artillery support.
999
July 4 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1984
And when the artillery commander, want-
have protected those ideals and advanced
ing to know what his safe range was, asked
the cause of democracy.
how close the enemy was to him, Audie
I'm trying to smile, but if I appear as if
said, "Well, if you'll wait just a minute, I'll
I'm frowning a little bit, it's those TV lights
let you talk to them." [Laughter] Well, he
up there-[laughter]-so I'm not really
was actually asking them to direct the artil-
frowning at all; I'm squinting.
lery fire at his own position, because that
But the cause of democracy, that's a sub-
offered the best opportunity of stopping the
ject of high seriousness when, on a night
enemy.
like this, it's hard to be somber and full of
But I'm so happy to be here tonight. I
deep thoughts, it's hard not to be happy.
don't get to the South often enough to suit
We have so much to be thankful for.
me. Come to think of it, I don't get to
California as much as I'd like either.
When I was in China recently, I was priv-
ileged to speak to several hundred students
[Laughter] But I always feel a special affini-
ty for this part of the country and the
at Fudan University in Shanghai. And I
people in it.
talked to them about our country. I'd had
And even now in these modern times
an opportunity to be questioned by a
when people who aren't from the South
number of them, and I felt that they had a
talk about it, they tend to dwell on the
great interest in us and particularly in our
physical beauty of the Old South and wax
young people, their peers here in this land.
poetic about moonlight on the magnolias.
So, in talking to them, I wanted them to
Well, of course the South is lovely, and that
understand who we are as a people, and I
is true; but there are those-and I'm one-
told them that in many ways we're a nation
that loves to contend with itself. We love to
who feel a special affection for its people. I
respect the values that took root here and
argue. And we're free to argue, and that's
as it should be.
the pride that's part of the southern charac-
ter. I'm drawn to your good sense and
But I told them that we always managed
decent traditions, your fidelity to God, and
to stay united around certain things: our
your faithfulness to your region. And I
central belief that all men are created equal
know that you love our country and are
and our belief that democracy is the fairest
very protective toward it.
and most honorable political system yet de-
I mean no slight to the other parts of the
vised by man. And they seemed to under-
country-to my heritage, which was up in
stand. I sensed a very favorable reaction
the heartland there in the Middle West, or
from them and was very pleased by that.
now my home in the West. But I have been
And, of course, what I said was true. We are
struck when, now and then, on news for
great arguers. But in spite of all our differ-
some reason or other-on the TV news-
ences, we're still a united country, and we
there will be an occasion where the com-
celebrate that unity today. We celebrate,
mentator is talking to one of our men in
too, the miracle of 208 years of freedom.
uniform, and I've often been struck by how
I want to talk to you about something, if I
often the young man in uniform, when he
could, that I've been thinking about a great
replies, you hear the lilting cadence of
deal lately. You know, when you work in
Charleston or Memphis or Winston-Salem
the Oval Office, a lot of problems cross your
or Decatur. The South was the home of
desk. We're repeatedly reminded that
patriots in 1776, when a southerner drew
there's a lot to do, so many causes to carry
up our Declaration of Independence. And
about-or care about, and carry forward in
it's the home of patriots today, 208 years
our country and in the world. But I think
later.
what's impressed me most and what's given
We're here tonight at a great celebration,
me a very deep feeling over the last 3½
a birthday party for the Nation. And we
years is how very lucky we are. We are
come together to honor those who invented
truly blessed to live in this time and this
this country and who saw to it that it would
place.
always be a place of high ideals. And we
Now, I say that because there are so
celebrate those who, in each generation,
many people that get more attention than
1000
Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1984 / July 4
Ivanced
they deserve. They run around and survey
where man is not free to do work of his
the modern landscape and see the problems
choosing and profit from his labor, places
ar as if
of mankind, and they say, "Oh, it's such a
where the freedom to worship God has
V lights
troubled world." We hear people say that
been extinguished and where souls have
really
this is a terrible century and that we live in
withered. But we're blessed by God with
an increasingly totalitarian age, that free-
the right to say of our country: This is
S a sub-
dom is dead or an illusion to begin with,
where freedom is. This is the land of limit-
a night
and man is just a powerless victim of histor-
less possibilities.
I full of
ical forces and that history is something
And you don't have to travel too far in
beyond our control, something we can't
the world to realize that we stand as a
happy.
affect. Well, the counsel of these sour souls
beacon, that America is today what it was
would seem to be that mankind has had it
two centuries ago, a place that dreamers
as priv-
and we might as well just give up. Well, let
tudents
dream of, that it is what Winthrop said
me tell you, they aren't talking about the
And I
standing on the deck of the tiny Arabella
American people I know.
I'd had
off the Massachusetts coast, with a little
This is a wonderful time to be alive. And
1 by a
group of Pilgrims gathered around him, and
we're so lucky because as a people, we still
y had a
he said, "We shall be as a shining city for all
have the opportunity to be patriots, and as
in our
the world upon the hill."
a nation, we still stand for something.
his land.
Look at the challenges of our time. God
It isn't so of other places and other sys-
hem to
has granted us the challenge to change our
tems. Can you think of a time when you
e, and I
own country and to make it better by
heard of a West Berliner jumping over the
1 nation
moving it closer to the intentions of the
wall to get into East Berlin? Can you think
love to
of a time when someone took a homemade
men who invented it.
d that's
We have the challenge to make America
balloon-hot-air balloon and tried to float
even more free than she is; to ensure great-
from free Western Europe into Czechoslo-
hanaged
er freedom in the marketplace, where our
vakia? Or when someone took a leaky fish-
ags: our
boldness and our power and our genius can
ing trawler on a death-defying journey so
d equal
bloom. We must work for greater freedom
they could enjoy the freedom of Havana,
e fairest
for you so that you can benefit from your
Cuba? Can you think of a time when any
yet de-
labors and so that your earnings will remain
family, thirsting for opportunity, left a de-
under-
where they belong-in your pockets and
mocracy to live in a country that was not
purses for your families and in your neigh-
free?
reaction
by that.
borhoods.
The truth is that the totalitarian world is
We are
We have the power and the challenge to
a tired place held down by the gravity of its
differ-
expand freedom in all areas of life; freedom
own devising. And America is a rocket
and we
of inquiry and thought, freedom for the
pushing upward to the stars. Other coun-
ebrate,
practice of religion, freedom in commerce.
tries see our entrepreneurial spirit and seek
eedom.
Ours is the challenge to advance the inter-
to emulate it. More and more, the world is
ing, if I
ests of the family, the challenge to protect
reawakening to the fact that freedom is
a great
the interests of the smallest unit of govern-
better than tyranny, that democracy is
vork in
ment, the hometowns of America, where
better than the iron fist of dictators, that
SS your
the expression of the public will is most
freedom is the one condition in which man
d that
directly felt.
can flourish. And man was meant to flour-
o carry
You know, I've often had a feeling some-
ish, was meant to be free. And that is why
vard in
times there in the National Government-I
we were created. That's why it's been said
I think
even had it sometimes at the State level—
that democracy is just a political reading of
S given
never in my hometown-the feeling that
the Bible.
ast 3½
sometimes if we just slipped out, we in gov-
The world has flirted with systems other
Ve are
ernment, and closed the doors, turned the
than democracy, and for a while, some of
nd this
key, and disappeared for a while, it'd take
them were in vogue. There were those who
you a long time to miss us.
said our problems are intractable, and we
We stand for freedom in the world. We
need huge government to tell us what to
are so
n than
see the gulags and the prisons, those places
do. For a while, the doctrine of Marx and
1001
July 4 / Administration of Ronald Reagan, 1984
Lenin seemed something new and revolu-
the top of the peak. Yes, you can hear free-
tionary. And some among us said, "Well,
dom. It was so 208 years ago, and it's so
that's an idea. We should look at it." Well,
today.
all for a while. Times have changed. Man
My friends, we're so lucky. We've been
has moved on, and more and more we can
granted the right to stand for something. So
see that the tide of the future is a freedom
much of our greatness is behind us, but so
tide.
much of our greatness is still before us, out
Man still thirsts for freedom. And wher-
there waiting for us to take advantage of it.
ever the persecuted fight for freedom, our
It is, in truth, a wonderful time to be aliv
souls and our spirits are with them. We're
And those young people that I mentioned
with the trade unionist in Krakow, Poland,
first, with those present in our country who
marching behind a crucifix. We're with the
have been trying to frighten them into be-
Afghan rebel fighting the tanks with an un-
lieving that maybe there isn't a future for
dying ancestral will. We're with the people
them, don't any of us who are grown up let
them believe that for one moment. They're
of Central America, who struggle each day
going to see things we've never seen,
for liberty.
they're going to have advantages we've
And in spite of decades of troubles and
never had.
sometimes self-doubt, look across the world
I thank you. God bless you, and may He
for the persecuted and punished, for those
continue to bless the Nation that has
who yearn to be free, for those who fight
showered this land with love for more than
for the right to worship, to speak freely, to
two centuries. Thank you all. God bless you
write what they want, to enjoy the freedom
all.
God meant us to have. For all those people,
America's not just a word; it is a hope, a
Note: The President spoke at 6:53 p.m. at
torch shedding light to all the hopeless of
Point Mallard Park.
the world.
Following his remarks, the President went
You know, throughout the world the per-
to the Huntsville Hilton Hotel in Hunts-
secuted hear the word "America," and in
ville, AL, where he remained overnight. The
that sound they can hear the sunrise, hear
following morning, he attended a reception
the rivers push, hear the cold, swift air at
for Reagan-Bush workers at the hotel.
Proclamation 5217-Veterans' Preference Month, 1984
July 5, 1984
By the President of the United States
not only a means of rewarding veterans for
of America
their service in the Armed Forces, but also
A Proclamation
a means of preventing them from being pe-
nalized, in the search for employment, by
Forty years ago-on June 27, 1944-
the fact that the months or years they spent
President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into
in the service of their country isolated them
law the Veterans' Preference Act. This stat-
ute brought together, for the first time,
from the civilian world. In recognition of
laws, Executive orders, and regulations ex-
the economic disadvantage suffered by this
tending back to the Civil War which grant-
service, these Acts seek to give these veter-
ed preference in Federal employment to
ans a favorable position in competing for
veterans.
Federal employment. At the same time, the
The primary purpose and philosophy of
veterans' preference laws have been draft-
the Veterans' Preference Acts are to assist
ed so that they are compatible with the
veterans in obtaining and retaining Federal
merit principle of public employment.
jobs for which they qualify. They constitute
Veterans' preference is but a partial rec-
1002
THE HOME BOOK
OF
AMERICAN
QUOTATIONS
SELECTED AND ARRANGED BY
BRUCE BOHLE
11
DODD, MEAD & COMPANY
NEW YORK
1967
208
INDECISION
INDEPENDENCE DAY
1
Alas for him who never sees
Ain't to be inderpendunt, why, wut on airth
is?
The stars shine through his cypress-trees!
Who, hopeless, lays his dead away,
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, Biglow Papers,
Ser. ii, No. 4.
Nor looks to see the breaking day
9
Across the mournful marbles play!
I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it
Who hath not learned, in hours of faith,
all to myself than be crowded on a velvet
The truth to flesh and sense unknown,
cushion.
That Life is ever lord of Death,
HENRY D. THOREAU, Walden, ch. 1.
And Love can never lose its own!
10
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, Snow-Bound,
Voyager upon life's sea,
1. 203.
To yourself be true,
And whate'er your lot may be,
INDECISION
Paddle your own canoe.
2
On the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones
UNKNOWN, Paddle Your Own Canoe, pub-
of countless millions who, at the Dawn of
lished anonymously in the "Editor's
Victory, sat down to wait-and waiting,
Drawer" of Harper's Monthly, May,
died.
1854. A prefatory note explained that
GEORGE W. CECIL, Advertisement, Ameri-
the poem was written by a "lady of In-
diana."
can Magazine, Mar., 1923, p. 87. This
advertisement, titled "The Warning of
11
the Desert," written for the Internation-
So live that you can look any man in the eye
al Correspondence Schools, was signed
and tell him to go to hell.
"William A. Lawrence," Cecil's pen
UNKNOWN. This was first given currency
name. The lines were enclosed in quota-
by one of the engineers of the Panama
tion marks.
Canal. (MENCKEN, The American Lan-
guage, p. 434) Also used by John D.
On the Plains of Hesitation bleach the bones
Rockefeller, Jr. in an address at Dart-
of countless thousands who, on the eve of
mouth College, June, 1930.
Victory, rested-and resting, died.
ADLAI E. STEVENSON, Speech in Chicago, 3
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Nov., 1952, paraphrasing Cecil's lines.
12
3
There is no more miserable human being
Yesterday the greatest question was decided
than one in whom nothing is habitual but
which ever was debated in America; and a
indecision.
greater perhaps never was, nor will be, de-
WILLIAM JAMES, The Principles of Psy-
cided among men. A resolution was passed
chology, ch. 10.
without one dissenting colony, that those
4
United Colonies are, and of right ought to
I mean a kin' o' hangin' roun' an' settin' on a
be, free and independent States.
fence.
JOHN ADAMS, Letter to Mrs. Adams, 3
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, The Biglow Pa-
July, 1776.
pers. Ser. ii, No. 3.
13
The second day of July, 1776, will be the
INDEPENDENCE
most memorable epoch in the history of
5
America. I am apt to believe that it will be
Whoso would be a man, must be a Non-con-
celebrated by succeeding generations as the
formist.
great anniversary festival. It ought to be
EMERSON, Essays, First Series: Self-Reli-
commemorated as the day of deliverance, by
ance.
solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It
6
ought to be solemnized with pomp and pa-
For years I have been known for saying "In-
rade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells,
clude me out."
bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of
SAMUEL GOLDWYN, Address to students of
this continent to the other, from this time
Balliol College, Oxford, 1 Mar., 1945.
forward forevermore.
7
It was certainly better to suffer as a sheep
JOHN ADAMS, Letter to Mrs. Adams, 3
than as a lamb. One might as well perish by
July, 1776.
the sword as by famine.
14
HENRY JAMES, The Ambassadors, p. 211.
Independence forever!
8
JOHN ADAMS. He murmured these words
We've a war, an' a debt, an' a flag; an' ef
on the morning of the day he died, 4
this
July, 1826, upon being aroused by the
INDEPENDENCE DAY
INDEPENDENCE DAY
209
discharge of cannon and upon being told
they should declare the causes which impel
that the blast signalled Independence
them to the separation.
Day. Four days earlier he had used the
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Declaration of Inde-
same words, upon being asked for a
pendence: Preamble.
toast to be offered in his name on the
7
holiday.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men are created equal, that they are en-
It is my living sentiment, and by the blessing
dowed by their Creator with certain unalien-
of God it shall be my dying sentiment,-In-
able Rights, that among these are Life, Lib-
dependence now and Independence forever!
erty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to
DANIEL WEBSTER, Eulogy in memory of
secure these rights, Governments are insti-
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, 2
tuted among Men, deriving their just powers
Aug., 1826. These were the closing
from the consent of the governed. That
words of an imaginary speech attributed
whenever any Form of Government becomes
to Adams, which was part of the eulo-
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
gy.
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to
1
institute new Government, laying its founda-
The United States is the only country with a
tion on such principles and organizing its
known birthday.
powers in such form, as to them shall seem
JAMES G. BLAINE, America's Natal Day.
most likely to effect their Safety and Happi-
2
ness.
That which distinguishes this day from all
We, therefore,
do
sol-
emnly publish and declare, That these
others is that then both orators and artillery-
men shoot blank cartridges.
United Colonies are, and of Right ought to
JOHN BURROUGHS, Journal, 4 July, 1859.
be free and independent States.
And
for the support of this Declaration, with a
3
While Gen'l Howe with a Large Armament is
firm reliance on the protection of Divine
advancing towards N. York, our Congress re-
Providence, We mutually pledge to each oth-
solved to Declare the United Colonies Free
er our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred
and Independent States. A Declaration for
Honor.
this Purpose, I expect, will this day pass
THOMAS JEFFERSON, Declaration of Inde-
Congress.
It is gone so far that we must
pendence, as adopted by the Continental
now be a free independent State, or a Con-
Congress, Philadelphia, 4 July, 1776.
8
quered Country.
ABRAHAM CLARK, Letter to Elias Dayton,
To-day her thanks shall fly on every wind,
Philadelphia, 4 July, 1776. Clark was a
Unstinted, unrebuked, from shore to shore,
member of the Continental Congress
One love, one hope, and not a doubt behind!
from New Jersey.
Cannon to cannon shall repeat her praise,
Banner to banner flap it forth in flame;
4
The flippant mistaking for freedom of some
Her children shall rise up to bless her name,
paper preamble like a "Declaration of Inde-
And wish her harmless length of days,
pendence."
The mighty mother of a mighty brood,
EMERSON, Conduct of Life: Fate.
Blessed in all tongues and dear to every
blood,
Declarations of Independence make nobody
The beautiful, the strong, and, best of all,
really independent.
the good.
GEORGE SANTAYANA. (INGE, Wit and Wis-
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, Ode for the
dom)
Fourth of July, 1876, 1. 43.
5
9
Let independence be our boast,
A safe and sane Fourth.
Ever mindful what it cost;
ToM MASSON, Editorial, Life (1896).
Ever grateful for the prize,
10
Let its altar reach the skies!
Day of glory! Welcome day!
JOSEPH HOPKINSON, Hail, Columbia!
Freedom's banners greet thy ray.
6
JOHN PIERPONT, The Fourth of July.
When in the course of human events, it be-
11
comes necessary for one people to dissolve
Jefferson's Declaration of Independence is a
the political bonds which have connected
practical document for the use of practical
them with another, and to assume among the
men. It is not a thesis for philosophers, but a
powers of the earth the separate and equal
whip for tyrants; it is not a theory of gov-
station to which the laws of nature and of
ernment, but a program of action.
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect
WOODROW WILSON, Speech in Indianapolis,
to the opinons of mankind requires that
13 Apr., 1911.
Weekly Compilation of
Presidential
Documents
308 LISD
Pres Documents
3
Monday, March 11, 1991
Volume 27-Number 10
Pages 245-274
Administration of George Bush, 1991 / Mar. 6
nicalities that let
Appointment of David M. Carney as
campaign, Mr. Kaufman helped direct pri-
for the most hei-
Special Assistant to the President and
mary efforts in Massachusetts, Connecticut,
1 workable death
Director of the Office of Political
Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Currently he
real death penal-
Affairs
serves as the Republican national commit-
March 5, 1991
teeman for the State of Massachusetts. Mr.
need your ideas
Kaufman attended Bridgewater State Col-
W crime package.
The President today announced the ap-
lege after graduating from Quincy Junior
lp in getting it
pointment of David M. Carney as Special
College in Quincy, MA. In addition, Mr.
Assistant to the President and Director of
Kaufman serves as a member of the board
promise you this:
the Office of Political Affairs at the White
of trustees for Quincy Junior College.
this crime bill.
et watered down.
House in Washington, DC.
Mr. Kaufman is a lifelong resident of
t our crime fight-
Mr. Carney has been the Acting Director
Quincy, MA. He and his wife Alison have
of Political Affairs since June 1, 1990. Prior
two daughters, Carlin, 11, and Kathryn, 10.
backing them to
to assuming that position, he served as Spe-
cial Assistant to the President and Deputy
portant message I
Director of the Office of Political Affairs.
me to your cities
Before joining the President's staff, Mr.
Address Before a Joint Session of the
1 State and local
Carney was deputy chief of staff to Gover-
e same tools that
Congress on the Cessation of the
nor John H. Sununu. He served on Gover-
Persian Gulf Conflict
Feds-mandatory
nor Sununu's personal staff for 7 years, and
ers; no plea-bar-
was the field director for Governor Sun-
March 6, 1991
1 penalty for hei-
unu's four statewide campaigns in New
Speaker Foley. Mr. President, it is cus-
I of increased re-
Hampshire. He is a 1982 graduate of New
tomary at joint sessions for the Chair to
cutors, and pris-
England College in Henniker, NH. Current-
ly Mr. Carney serves as a member of the
present the President to the Members of
ious thugs will be
swiftly punished.
New England College Board of Trustees.
Congress directly and without further com-
ment. But I wish to depart from tradition
not just another
Mr. Carney, a resident of Hancock, NH,
tonight and express to you on behalf of the
budget-it is the
resides in Arlington, VA, with his wife,
nt.
Lauren. The Carneys are expecting their
Congress and the country, and through you
to the members of our Armed Forces, our
first child this spring.
tests ahead, both
warmest congratulations on the brilliant vic-
ing the American
tory of the Desert Storm Operation.
e're going to roll
Members of the Congress, I now have the
e flag, and stand
high privilege and distinct honor of present-
vomen, and chil-
Appointment of Ronald C. Kaufman as
ing to you the President of the United
-block by block,
Deputy Assistant to the President for
States.
Political Affairs
The President. Mr. President. And Mr.
ol-for your kids,
Is. Take back the
March 5, 1991
Speaker, thank you, sir, for those very gen-
erous words spoken from the heart about
ghborhoods from
is our objective,
The President today announced the ap-
the wonderful performance of our military.
pointment of Ronald C. Kaufman as Deputy
Members of Congress, 5 short weeks ago
Assistant to the President for Political Af-
I came to this House to speak to you about
:. I really wanted
fairs at the White House in Washington,
the state of the Union. We met then in time
gn and for all you
DC.
of war. Tonight, we meet in a world blessed
e of this great
Mr. Kaufman has served as Deputy Assist-
by the promise of peace.
may God bless
ant to the President for Presidential Person-
From the moment Operation Desert
you very much.
nel since February 1989. Prior to joining
Storm commenced on January 16th until
the President's staff, Mr. Kaufman served as
the time the guns fell silent at midnight 1
the northeast regional political director for
week ago, this nation has watched its sons
the 1988 Bush-Quayle campaign. During
and daughters with pride-watched over
President Reagan's first term, Mr. Kaufman
them with prayer. As Commander in Chief,
at 2:18 p.m. in
served as the national political director for
I can report to you our armed forces fought
ton Washington
the Republican National Committee and
with honor and valor. And as President, I
arks, he referred
later coordinated Vice President Bush's re-
can report to the Nation aggression is de-
hornburgh.
election campaign in 1984. In the 1980
feated. The war is over.
257
Mar. 6 / Administration of George Bush, 1991
This is a victory for every country in the
All of us grieve for the victims of war, for
coalition, for the United Nations. A victory
the people of Kuwait and the suffering that
for unprecedented international coopera-
scars the soul of that proud nation. We
tion and diplomacy, so well led by our Sec-
grieve for all our fallen soldiers and their
retary of State, James Baker. It is a victory
families, for all the innocents caught up in
for the rule of law and for what is right.
this conflict. And, yes, we grieve for the
Desert Storm's success belongs to the
people of Iraq-a people who have never
team that so ably leads our Armed Forces:
been our enemy. My hope is that one day
our Secretary of Defense and our Chairman
we will once again welcome them as friends
of the Joint Chiefs, Dick Cheney and Colin
into the community of nations. Our com-
Powell. And while you're standing-[laugh-
mitment to peace in the Middle East does
ter]-this military victory also belongs to
not end with the liberation of Kuwait. So
the one the British call the "Man of the
tonight, let me outline four key challenges
Match"-the tower of calm at the eye of
to be met.
Desert Storm-General Norman Schwarz-
First, we must work together to create
kopf.
shared security arrangements in the region.
And recognizing this was a coalition
Our friends and allies in the Middle East
effort, let us not forget Saudi General
recognize that they will bear the bulk of
Khalid, Britain's General de la Billiere, or
the responsibility for regional security. But
General Roquejoffre of France-and all the
we want them to know that just as we stood
others whose leadership played such a vital
with them to repel aggression, so now
role. And most importantly, most impor-
America stands ready to work with them to
tantly of all, all those who served in the
secure the peace. This does not mean sta-
field.
tioning U.S. ground forces in the Arabian
I thank the Members of this Congress-
Peninsula, but it does mean American par-
support here for our troops in battle was
ticipation in joint exercises involving both
overwhelming. And above all, I thank those
air and ground forces. It means maintaining
whose unfailing love and support sustained
a capable U.S. naval presence in the
our courageous men and women-I thank
region-just as we have for over 40 years.
the American people.
Let it be clear: Our vital national interests
Tonight, I come to this House to speak
depend on a stable and secure Gulf.
about the world-the world after war. The
Second, we must act to control the prolif-
recent challenge could not have been clear-
eration of weapons of mass destruction and
er. Saddam Hussein was the villain; Kuwait,
the missiles used to deliver them. It would
the victim. To the aid of this small country
be tragic if the nations of the Middle East
came nations from North America and
and Persian Gulf were now, in the wake of
Europe, from Asia and South America, from
war, to embark on a new arms race. Iraq
Africa and the Arab world-all united
requires special vigilance. Until Iraq con-
against aggression. Our uncommon coalition
vinces the world of its peaceful intentions-
must now work in common purpose: to
that its leaders will not use new revenues to
forge a future that should never again be
rearm and rebuild its menacing war ma-
held hostage to the darker side of human
chine-Iraq must not have access to the in-
nature.
struments of war.
Tonight in Iraq, Saddam walks 'amidst
And third, we must work to create new
ruin. His war machine is crushed. His ability
opportunities for peace and stability in the
to threaten mass destruction is itself de-
Middle East. On the night I announced Op-
stroyed. His people have been lied to-
eration Desert Storm, I expressed my hope
denied the truth. And when his defeated
that out of the horrors of war might come
legions come home, all Iraqis will see and
new momentum for peace. We've learned
feel the havoc he has wrought. And this I
in the modern age geography cannot guar-
promise you: For all that Saddam has done
antee security and security does not come
to his own people, to the Kuwaitis, and to
from military power alone.
the entire world, Saddam and those around
All of us know the depth of bitterness
him are accountable.
that has made the dispute between Israel
258
Administration of George Bush, 1991 / Mar. 6
ictims of war, for
and its neighbors so painful and intractable.
can make a difference. America will work
the suffering that
Yet, in the conflict just concluded, Israel
tirelessly as a catalyst for positive change.
oud nation. We
and many of the Arab States have for the
But we cannot lead a new world abroad
oldiers and their
first time found themselves confronting the
if, at home, it's politics as usual on Ameri-
nts caught up in
same aggressor. By now, it should be plain
can defense and diplomacy. It's time to turn
e grieve for the
to all parties that peacemaking in the
away from the temptation to protect un-
who have never
Middle East requires compromise. At the
needed weapons systems and obsolete
is that one day
same time, peace brings real benefits to ev-
bases. It's time to put an end to micromana-
e them as friends
eryone. We must do all that we can to close
gement of foreign and security assistance
tions. Our com-
the gap between Israel and the Arab
programs-micromanagement that humili-
Middle East does
states-and between Israelis and Palestin-
ates our friends and allies and hamstrings
n of Kuwait. So
ians. The tactics of terror lead absolutely
our diplomacy. It's time to rise above the
ir key challenges
nowhere. There can be no substitute for
parochial and the pork barrel, to do what is
diplomacy.
necessary, what's right, and what will
gether to create
A comprehensive peace must be ground-
enable this nation to play the leadership
nts in the region.
ed in United Nations Security Council Reso-
role required of us.
the Middle East
lutions 242 and 338 and the principle of
territory for peace. This principle must be
The consequences of the conflict in the
bear the bulk of
elaborated to provide for Israel's security
Gulf reach far beyond the confines of the
nal security. But
t just as we stood
and recognition and at the same time for
Middle East. Twice before in this century,
ression, so now
legitimate Palestinian political rights. Any-
an entire world was convulsed by war.
thing else would fail the twin test of fairness
Twice this century, out of the horrors of
ork with them to
and security. The time has come to put an
war hope emerged for enduring peace.
es not mean sta-
end to Arab-Israeli conflict.
Twice before, those hopes proved to be a
S in the Arabian
in American par-
The war with Iraq is over. The quest for
distant dream, beyond the grasp of man.
'S involving both
solutions to the problems in Lebanon, in
Until now, the world we've known has been
leans maintaining
the Arab-Israeli dispute, and in the Gulf
a world divided-a world of barbed wire
must go forward with new vigor and deter-
and concrete block, conflict, and cold war.
presence in the
or over 40 years.
mination. And I guarantee you: No one will
Now, we can see a new world coming
work harder for a stable peace in the region
into view. A world in which there is the
national interests
than we will.
very real prospect of a new world order. In
ure Gulf.
Fourth, we must foster economic devel-
the words of Winston Churchill, a world
control the prolif-
opment for the sake of peace and progress.
order in which "the principles of justice and
S destruction and
The Persian Gulf and Middle East form a
fair play protect the weak against the
r them. It would
region rich in natural resources-with a
strong.
A world where the United Na-
the Middle East
wealth of untapped human potential. Re-
tions-freed from cold war stalemate-is
v, in the wake of
sources once squandered on military might
poised to fulfill the historic vision of its
arms race. Iraq
must be redirected to more peaceful ends.
founders. A world in which freedom and
Until Iraq con-
We are already addressing the immediate
respect for human rights find a home
eful intentions—
economic consequences of Iraq's aggression.
among all nations. The Gulf war put this
new revenues to
Now, the challenge is to reach higher-to
new world to its first test. And my fellow
nacing war ma-
foster economic freedom and prosperity for
Americans, we passed that test.
access to the in-
all the people of the region.
For the sake of our principles-for the
By meeting these four challenges we can
sake of the Kuwaiti people-we stood our
k to create new
build a framework for peace. I've asked
ground. Because the world would not look
d stability in the
Secretary of State Baker to go to the Middle
the other way, Ambassador al-Sabah, to-
[ announced Op-
East to begin the process. He will go to
night, Kuwait is free. And we're very happy
pressed my hope
listen, to probe, to offer suggestions-to ad-
about that.
war might come
vance the search for peace and stability.
Tonight, as our troops begin to come
We've learned
I've also asked him to raise the plight of the
home, let us recognize that the hard work
>hy cannot guar-
hostages held in Lebanon. We have not for-
of freedom still calls us forward. We've
does not come
gotten them, and we will not forget them.
learned the hard lessons of history. The vic-
To all the challenges that confront this
tory over Iraq was not waged as "a war to
>th of bitterness
region of the world there is no single solu-
end all wars." Even the new world order
between Israel
tion-no solely American answer. But we
cannot guarantee an era of perpetual peace.
259
Mar. 6 / Administration of George Bush, 1991
But enduring peace must be our mission.
good in a land so far away, then surely we
Our success in the Gulf will shape not only
can make this land all that it should be. In
the world order we seek, but our mission
the time since then, the brave men and
here at home.
women of Desert Storm accomplished more
In the war just ended, there were clear-
than even they may realize. They set out to
cut objectives-timetables-and, above all,
confront an enemy abroad, and in the proc-
an overriding imperative to achieve results.
ess, they transformed a nation at home.
We must bring that same sense of self-disci-
Think of the way they went about their
pline, that same sense of urgency, to the
mission-with confidence and quiet pride.
way we meet challenges here at home. In
Think about their sense of duty, about all
my State of the Union Address and in my
they taught us about our values, about our-
budget, I defined a comprehensive agenda
selves.
to prepare for the next American century.
We hear so often about our young people
Our first priority is to get this economy
in turmoil-how our children fall short, how
rolling again. The fear and uncertainty
our schools fail us, how American products
caused by the Gulf crisis were understand-
and American workers are second-class.
able. But now that the war is over, oil
Well, don't you believe it. The America we
prices are down, interest rates are down,
saw in Desert Storm was first-class talent.
and confidence is rightly coming back.
Americans can move forward to lend,
And they did it using America's state-of-the-
spend, and invest in this, the strongest
art technology. We saw the excellence em-
economy on Earth.
bodied in the Patriot missile and the patri-
ots who made it work. And we saw soldiers
We must also enact the legislation that is
key to building a better America. For exam-
who know about honor and bravery and
ple, in 1990, we enacted an historic Clean
duty and country and the world-shaking
Air Act. And now we've proposed a nation-
power of these simple words. There is
al energy strategy. We passed a child care
something noble and majestic about the
bill that put power in the hands of parents.
pride, about the patriotism that we feel to-
And today, we're ready to do the same
night.
thing with our schools and expand choice in
So, to everyone here-and everyone
education. We passed a crime bill that
watching at home-think about the men
made a useful start in fighting crime and
and women of Desert Storm. Let us honor
drugs. This year, we're sending to Congress
them with our gratitude. Let us comfort the
our comprehensive crime package to finish
families of the fallen and remember each
the job. We passed the landmark Americans
precious life lost.
with Disabilities Act. And now we've sent
Let us learn from them as well. Let us
forward our civil rights bill. We also passed
honor those who have served us by serving
the aviation bill. This year, we've sent up
others. Let us honor them as individuals-
our new highway bill. And these are just a
men and women of every race, all creeds
few of our pending proposals for reform
and colors-by setting the face of this
and renewal.
nation against discrimination, bigotry, and
So, tonight I call on Congress to move
hate. Eliminate them.
forward aggressively on our domestic front.
I'm sure that many of you saw on the
Let's begin with two initiatives we should
television the unforgettable scene of four
be able to agree on quickly-transportation
terrified Iraqi soldiers surrendering. They
and crime. And then, let's build on success
emerged from their bunker-broken, tears
with those and enact the rest of our agenda.
streaming from their eyes, fearing the
If our forces could win the ground war in
worst. And then there was an American sol-
100 hours, then surely the Congress can
dier. Remember what he said? He said: "It's
pass this legislation in 100 days. Let that be
okay. You're all right now. You're all right
a promise we make tonight to the American
now." That scene says a lot about America,
people.
a lot about who we are. Americans are a
When I spoke in this House about the
caring people. We are a good people, a gen-
state of our Union, I asked all of you: If we
erous people. Let us always be caring and
can selflessly confront evil for the sake of
good and generous in all we do.
260
Administration of George Bush, 1991 / Mar. 7
v, then surely we
Soon, very soon, our troops will begin the
and radio. A tape was not available for
t it should be. In
march we've all been waiting for-their
verification of the content of the address.
brave men and
march home. And I have directed Secretary
complished more
Cheney to begin the immediate return of
e. They set out to
American combat units from the Gulf. Less
and in the proc-
than 2 hours from now, the first planeload
nation at home.
of American soldiers will lift off from Saudi
White House Statement on Weapons of
went about their
Arabia, headed for the U.S.A. It will carry
Mass Destruction
and quiet pride.
men and women of the 24th Mechanized
March 7, 1991
of duty, about all
Infantry Division bound for Fort Stewart,
values, about our-
Georgia. This is just the beginning of a
The United States has taken a major step
steady flow of American troops coming
in its continuing efforts to halt the spread of
our young people
home. Let their return remind us that all
weapons of mass destruction with the issu-
ren fall short, how
those who have gone before are linked with
ance of regulations extending export con-
.merican products
us in the long line of freedom's march.
trols over chemicals, equipment, and other
are second-class.
Americans have always tried to serve, to
assistance that can contribute to the spread
The America we
sacrifice nobly for what we believe to be
of missiles and chemical and biological
S first-class talent.
right. Tonight, I ask every community in
weapons.
erica's state-of-the-
this country to make this coming Fourth of
Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weap-
he excellence em-
July a day of special celebration for our re-
ons against his own citizens, his use of Scud
sile and the patri-
turning troops. They may have missed
missiles to terrorize civilian populations,
d we saw soldiers
Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I can tell
and the chilling specter of germ warfare
and bravery and
you this: For them and for their families,
and nuclear weapons have brought home
the world-shaking
we can make this a holiday they'll never
the dangers proliferation poses to American
words. There is
forget.
interests and global peace and stability.
ajestic about the
In a very real sense, this victory belongs
Our continuing efforts to stem the spread
n that we feel to-
to them-to the privates and the pilots, to
the sergeants and the supply officers, to the
of weapons of mass destruction will contrib-
ute to the construction of a new world
e-and everyone
men and women in the machines, and the
order. The new regulations will enhance
k about the men
men and women who made them work. It
our ability to head off these dangers so that
orm. Let us honor
belongs to the regulars, to the reserves, to
in the future we will not be forced to con-
Let us comfort the
the National Guard. This victory belongs to
front them militarily as we have in Iraq. At
d remember each
the finest fighting force this nation has ever
the same time, the new regulations are sen-
known in its history.
sitive to the importance of U.S. exports to
m as well. Let us
We went halfway around the world to do
our economic vitality and will not unfairly
:ved us by serving
what is moral and just and right. We fought
restrict legitimate commerce.
m as individuals—
hard and, with others, we won the war. We
lifted the yoke of aggression and tyranny
The expanded U.S. export controls apply
ry race, all creeds
from a small country that many Americans
to equipment, chemicals, and whole plants
the face of this
tion, bigotry, and
had never even heard of, and we shall ask
that can be used to manufacture chemical
nothing in return.
or biological weapons, as well as to activities
you saw on the
We're coming home now-proud, confi-
of U.S. exporters or citizens when they
ble scene of four
dent, heads high. There is much that we
know or are informed that their efforts will
must do, at home and abroad. And we will
assist in a foreign missile or chemical or
irrendering. They
ker-broken, tears
do it. We are Americans.
biological weapon program.
eyes, fearing the
May God bless this great nation, the
But the United States cannot do the job
S an American sol-
United States of America. Thank you all
alone. Our experience in the Gulf has rein-
said? He said: "It's
very, very much.
forced the lesson that the most effective
V. You're all right
export controls are those imposed multilat-
ot about America,
Note: The President spoke at 9:12 p.m. in
erally. The administration has therefore ini-
Americans are a
the House Chamber at the Capitol. He was
tiated vigorous efforts to obtain allied sup-
ood people, a gen-
introduced by Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of
port for chemical and biological weapon
ays be caring and
the House of Representatives. The address
export controls in the Australia Group, mis-
ve do.
was broadcast live on nationwide television
sile export controls in the Missile Technolo-
261