[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.