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323154803
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Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Dallas, TX 11/11/89 [OA 8130]
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id
323154803
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document
title
Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Dallas, TX 11/11/89 [OA 8130]
citationUrl
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13888-042
collections
Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Curt Smith Chronological Files
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323154803
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
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:
Smith, Curt, Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1992
OA/ID Number:
13888
Folder ID Number:
13888-042
Folder Title:
Texas Vietnam Veterans [Memorial], Dallas, Texas, 11/11/89
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
18
29
1
4
[unknown]
father whose son or daughter will know him as a Smary hero, but never
2
as a dad. Love for the young boy whose mom still caresses a
tear-stained battle ribbon. And the teenage nurse -- her entire
life before her -- maimed by a mindless aimless, erratic shell.
They are the true Lone Star heroes of America's Longest War.
And we must thank them, honor them. Thank them by giving Viet
Nam vets hope and opportunity. And by linking them to the heroes
of the Alamo. Where mar 59105, tyrs defied superior forces. Or San
Jacinto, Sam Houston's ode to bravery and daring. Most of all,
we can thank them by teaching future generations what this
memorial teaches us. About selflessness. And sacrifice. About
how America would not be the land of the free if it were not also
the land ye of the brave.
Last year, 40 per cent of the visitors to America's Viet Nam
memorials were boys and girls age 12 or younger. They don't
remember the conflict in Southeast Asia. But they miss their
uncle, their aunt, their brother, their dad. And when they say,
"What was the / war all about? What does it mean?" we owe them an
answer. For what their loved ones died for, we nust live for.
And keep alive the lessons which inspired these Lone Star heroes
of Viet Nam.
We must tell them that to defend democracy is always a
valiant cause. From the fields of Flanders to the rugged cliffs
of Normandy. Whether scaling Korea's uplands. Or trudging --
alone and valiant -- through the rice paddies of Mekong.
3
And tell them, too, that to acclaim a love of liberty -- the
liberty which outlasts oppression -- this, also, is a valiant
cause. For liberty can ensure for individuals, choice; for
society, pluralism; and for Nations, self-determination.
We must tell them that America went to Viet Nam not to serve
itself -- but those who asked only the chance to chart their
destiny. And of the valor of Americans who gave of themselves,
and often of their lives. Fighting bravely, in an unknown land,
so that freedom might prevail.
Finally, we must say to these kids: This is your memorial.
For we want you to know about the wonderful people whose names
illuminate these tablets. They were brave. They loved their
country. They respected one another. They would want you to
have the future they were deprived of. A future devoid of war
and fear. And that their sacrifice made possible.
Lincoln called such sacrifice "that last full measure of
devotion." And we must never forget it. For if the Texans we
honor today could speak, they might say, "Praise us as you will
-- but above, we want to be remembered."
Today, we remember the Lone Star heroes of America's Longest
War. And through them, heroes from every war throughout our
history where America's uniformed sons and daughters took up
arms, and bore our burden, for a cause larger than themselves.
The nearly 3.3 million Americans who served in Viet Nam --
more than 450,000 of them Texans. And the Viet Nam veterans
alive today -- 175,000 in Texas -- we remember them. Men like
4
' S Sam Johnson, a prisoner for 7 years in what they called the
Hanoi Hilton. Tortured. Arms crippled. Now a State legislator.
And Ron Cowart: He returned from Nam to become a Dallas cop.
And found Cambodians to be leery of the police. So he opened a
storefront police station in a poor Asian neighborhood. He terms
it "Officer Friendly"; it's helped Asians and non-Asians to
mingle, and crime to plummet.
Then, there are America's wounded from the Viet Nam
I
conflict -- 17,250 from the State of Bowie and Travis and Davy
Crockett -- and today, we remember them.
Our more than 2,500 missing or unaccounted for -- 162 from
the Lone Star State -- we remember them. For while missing in
action -- and from our lives -- MIAs are not missing from our
thoughts -- nor from our hearts. And so the POW-MIA flag now
flies at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington on Memorial
Day, Veterans Day, and POW-MIA Recognition Day. // And we will
not rest until every veteran unaccounted for is accounted for.
// While prisoners of war are in inevitable result of armed
conflict, we must never allow our veterans to become prisoners of
neglect. //
Finally, 58.022 Americans gave their lives in Viet Nam. And
fully 3,243 -- the third largest number of any State -- came from
almost 600 Texas cities and small towns. And we remember them.
Men like Ruben Jose Carbajal of El Paso, only 21 when he was
killed by a fragmentation device. And Robert Larry Oakes from
Lamesa -- only 20, killed by rifle fire. Both died exactly 20