Press copy of the President's Remarks to the Graduating Class at the United States Naval Academy, 7 June 1961

IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 7, 1961 Office of the White House Press Secretary (AS ACTUALLY DELIVERED) THE WHITE HOUSE TEXT OF THE PRESIDENT'S REMARKS TO THE GRADUATING CLASS AT THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND. JUNE 7, 1961 Admiral, Mr. Secretary, Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Members of the Faculty, Members of the Graduating Classes and their families: I am proud as a citizen of the United States to come to this institution and this room where there is concentrated so many men who have committed themselves to the defense of the United States. I am honored to be here. In the past I have had some slight contact with this Service, although I never did reach the state of professional and physical perfection where I could hope that anyone would ever mistake me for an Annapolis graduate. that you are constantly warned during your days here not to mix, in your Naval career, in politics. I should point out, however, on the other side, that my rather rapid rise from a Reserve Lieutenant, of uncertain standing, to Commander-in-Chief has been because did not follow that very good advice. I trust, however, that those of you who are Regulars will, for a moment, grant a retired civilian officer some measure of fellowship. Nearly a century ago, President Woodrow Wilson came here to Annapolis on a similar mission, and addressed the Class of 1914. On that day, the graduating class numbered 154 men. There has been, since that time, a revolution in the size of our military establishment, and that revolution has been reflected in the revolution in the world around us. When Wilson addressed the class in 1914, the Victorian structure of power was still intact, the world was dominated by Europe, and Europe itself was the scene of an uneasy balance of power between dominating figures and America was a spectator on a remote sideline. The autumn after Wilson came to Annapolis, the Victorian world began to fall to pieces, and our world one-half a century later is vastly different. Today we are witnesses to the most extraordinary revolution, nearly, in the history of the world, as the emerging nations of Latin America, Africa, and Asia awaken from long centuries of paupery and impatience. Today the Victorian certitudes which were taken to be so much a part of man's natural existence are under siege by a faith committed to the destruc- tion of liberal civilization, and today the United States is no longer the spectator, but the leader. That half-century, therefore, has not only revolutionized the size of our military establishment, it has brought about also a more striking revolu- tion in the things that the nation expects from the men in our Service. Fifty years ago the graduates of the Naval Academy were expected to be seamen and leaders of men. They were reminded of the saying of John Paul Jones, "Give me a fair ship that I might go into harm's way. more