    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [July 29, 1993]
    [Pages 1233-1235]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Presenting the Young American Medals for Service and Bravery
    July 29, 1993

        The President. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, especially
    to our honorees, I want to welcome you to the White House and say I hope
    you had a wonderful day in Washington. I know you've been over to the
    Justice Department with the Attorney General. I want to thank her for
    her service to America and for her introduction and to recognize some
    others who are here: Floyd Clarke, the Acting Director of the FBI;
    Robert Bonner, the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration;
    Henry Hudson, the Director of the U.S. Marshals Service; S.S. Ashton,
    Jr., of the Office of Justice Programs; and Ellen Wesley, who
    coordinates this program at the Department of Justice. I'd also like to
    recognize at least four Members of the Congress who are here: Senators
    Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan from North Dakota, and Senator Larry
    Pressler from South Dakota, and Congressman Tim Johnson from South
    Dakota. I want to thank you for coming.
        The Young American Medal for Service and the Young American Medal
    for Bravery are awarded to a young person whose deeds, in a very real
    way, represent the best our Nation can offer. At a time when we hear too
    much about self-interest and not enough about what each of us can do to
    advance the common good of all Americans, seven young people here being
    honored, with their families, are role models for all the rest of us.
    Their selfless acts of service to their neighbors remind us of our own
    responsibilities to our communities and to our Nation.
        As extraordinary as the courage and initiative of all these young
    people has been, we must remember, too, that every American can
    contribute. Look how the American people are responding to the challenge
    presented by the horrible floods in the middle of the country or how
    they responded to Hurricane Andrew last year. Most Americans want to do
    more and will every day if they're given a chance to do it.
        The medals we award today honor special acts. And in the same
    spirit, I have tried to launch in the Nation's Capital for young people
    throughout the country a program of national service that will give
    people the opportunity to help people day-in and day-out, and to earn
    some money as well against their college edu-

    [[Page 1234]]

    cation.
        The plan was passed yesterday by the House of Representatives, and
    we are one vote shy of ending the filibuster in the Senate. I hope that
    will happen tomorrow, and millions of young people over the next umpteen
    years will be given the opportunity to serve in a very real and
    compelling and human way in their own communities.
        Lately we hear a lot about the things like cost-effectiveness and
    efficiency, and those are very important things, but they sound sort of
    bureaucratic. Today we honor things that matter more, the potential of
    the human heart and the courage of even the very young, what the great
    American writer from my part of the country, William Faulkner, called
    the truths of the heart: love and honor and pity and pride and
    compassion and sacrifice. When an emergency struck, the young people we
    honor today didn't wait, they acted. When a need arose, they didn't
    question whether they would succeed in the end, they simply went to
    work. We have a lot to learn from the young people we honor today.
        Now I'd like for each of them to come up on the stage and receive
    his or her medal as I call their names, and then we have a place for
    them to stand. I'd also like for their parents and family members to
    stand as I read a few words about them.
        The Young American Medal for Bravery is presented to Waylon Dean
    Bertsch of Buchanan, North Dakota. I'd like the people who are here with
    Waylon to stand up. Anybody here? There they are, back there. When
    Waylon was 10 years old, his 5-year-old sister, Andrea, fell through the
    ice in a river near their home. He sent for his parents and then went to
    his sister's rescue. After falling through the ice himself, he kicked to
    keep his body and his sister above water. It worked. When their parents
    arrived, they pulled both of them out alive. Good for you.
        Christopher Paul Erichs, Rapid City, South Dakota. Stand up. Give
    him a hand. [Applause] A student at Christopher's school entered a
    classroom with a sawed-off shotgun, ordered the teacher to leave, and
    took 22 students hostage over a 2\1/2\-hour standoff with professional
    negotiators. As the gunman moved to light a cigarette, Christopher
    snatched the shotgun from his hands, calmly freed the other hostages,
    and called in the police. Let's give him another hand. [Applause]
        Jessica Ann Johnson of Elliott, Iowa. Who is here with you? Look,
    you've got plenty of folks here with you. Jessica was just 7 years old
    on her family farm when she heard the screams of her 4-year-old brother.
    He had crawled into a pigpen and was attacked, trampled, and bitten by
    450-pound sows. She went into the pen with the sows, dragged her brother
    to a safe spot, went back through the pen and went to her mother for
    help.
        I can only tell you that this is something I have a limited, similar
    experience with. When I was 6, I was attacked by a ram on our farm, and
    I was darn near killed. I know how terrifying it is when you're that age
    to be attacked by an animal that can take your life. To think that this
    young girl at her age, to have that amount of courage to save a member
    of her family is really astonishing. Let's give her a hand. [Applause]
        After I got bloodied by that ram, I got into politics thinking I
    wouldn't get knocked around so much. I think you ought to stay on the
    farm. [Laughter]
        The Young American Medal for Service is presented to Kelly Elizabeth
    Broxton from Gaithersburg, Maryland. Who's here with you? They couldn't
    contain themselves. They started clapping early. Stand up. This is
    great. Kelly taught over 300 students about basic first aid, certified
    first aid training, and how to get treatment for substance abuse. She
    also organized a youth council that recruited students from 19 other
    schools to perform community service projects. Good for you.
    Congratulations.
        Dennis Chisholm, Jr., of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Your family
    is standing. Give them a hand. [Applause] Dennis volunteered his many
    talents during the school year and 5 days a week in the summer to work
    in a center for children with disabilities. He helped other children
    develop motor skills and build their self-esteem through a range of
    physical and creative activities, including music and even computers.
        I think that I should note that we have just celebrated this week
    the 3d anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a major piece
    of civil rights legislation. But like every other piece of civil rights
    legislation we ever signed, it can only work if there is change in the
    hearts and minds of the rest of the American people. And this young man
    has helped other people to see the abilities of people with
    disabilities.

    [[Page 1235]]

    We're all in his debt.
        Another person who has done much the same is Sarah Elizabeth
    Greensfelder of Baltimore. Sarah has taken part in all kinds of
    community service programs: at blood drives, the Special Olympics, Johns
    Hopkins Pediatric Center, in nursing homes, or with housebound senior
    citizens. When she was selected for this medal she had volunteered over
    900 hours for helping others, the equivalent of working full-time for
    half a year. Let's give her a hand. [Applause] Where's your family? They
    should stand, too. Let's give them a hand. [Applause] That's good. Look
    at that. You've got a whole back row. Thank you.
        Now I'd like to ask--I'm not going to leave you over there--Gennie
    Sue Sluder of Clatskankie, Oregon--did I say it right?
        Ms. Sluder. No. [Laughter]
        The President. How do I say it? Say it.
        Ms. Sluder. Clatskankie.
        The President. Clatskankie, Oregon--[applause]--stand up. Gennie
    started a program called Help Hungry Kids. She went to the school board
    and managed a statewide campaign that asked students at all 235 high
    schools in Oregon to donate $1 and two cans of food apiece for needy
    children. Now she's at George Fox College, and she's working at two jobs
    to put herself through school. But when she was in high school she
    thought of a way to organize a plan for every person her age in the
    State to help children who were less fortunate. A very impressive
    accomplishment.
        I want to say again on behalf of all the people of the United
    States, it is a great honor to have these fine young people, their
    families, friends, and supporters in the White House today. They've made
    us all very proud, and they've reminded us again of what is most
    important about our citizenship, our roles in our families and in our
    communities, and in a very real sense, what it means just to be a
    person. They're great. Let's give them one more hand. And thank you all
    for being here.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:05 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these
    remarks.