May 20, 1969, King and Queen of Belgium

(Huebner/Humes/Safire) JK May 19, 1969 THE PRESIDENT HAS SEEN Suggested Remarks for the Luncheon Honoring the King and Queen of Belgium Your Majesty's first official trip to a foreign country after coming to the throne was to the United States. And SO I can say, not only "Welcome, 11 but "Welcome back. 11 On my recent trip to Europe, the first stop was in Brussels. That first stop was chosen for its special significance: Belgium is the host nation to the European Community and NATO, and in that sense, is in the center of European unity. I remember that evening arrival well - the colorful honor guard, the long red carpet, and most of all, the warmth and sincerity of the welcome of King Baudouin. Your Majesty, you said then that you looked to the day of agreement between those political systems that share the responsibility for world peace. And when that day came, as you put it, "a prayer will be granted. 11 Everyone in the United States shares that prayer with you. It was exactly ten years ago this month that King Baudouin made a visit to the United States at the invitation of President Eisenhower. And many of us remember his address before the Joint Session of Congress on that occasion. He talked about youth, and how his nation and ours could serve youth best by seeking peace. "It takes twenty years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only twenty seconds of war to destroy him, 11 he said, and the force of those words and that sentiment is something we have all reflected upon ever since that day.