[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[April 25, 1994]
[Pages 770-771]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Memorial Service Honoring Victims of the Iraq 
Helicopter Tragedy at Fort Myer, Virginia
April 25, 1994

    Today in this chapel built for heroes, we come to mourn the lives 
and to celebrate the lives of those who died on April 14th. To all the 
families who are here present and the families who are not here, I think 
it should be clear that in addition to the distinguished leaders of

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our military, the clergy, and the friends, the spirit of all Americans 
is in this chapel today. The hearts of all Americans have gone out to 
these families.
    When we joined 3 years ago with Britain and France and Turkey to 
protect the Kurds of northern Iraq, to shelter them from air attacks, to 
sustain them with shoes and coats and food and fuel and medicine, the 
world took note of something continually special about our great Nation 
and what drives us.
    The lives of the Americans and their 11 compatriots who were lost 
reflected that spirit, those values, that heart, that hope that brought 
us to protect the Kurds in the first place. They were literally part of 
a mission to provide comfort. They have honored us all with their 
compassion and courage and, ultimately, with their sacrifice.
    We know, as has already been said, that those who enter the military 
understand clearly that they assume great risks, that even though the 
world has changed, that the specter of the cold war is fading, the way 
of life we cherish as Americans and our hopes for the rest of the world 
still depends upon their skills, their sacrifice, their courage, and 
their clear willingness to undertake those risks.
    And yet, I have to say that as President and as an American, when it 
becomes the job of those of us in positions of responsibility to explain 
loss to these wonderful families that came about through a terrible 
accident, the burden of reminding all of us that all who served 
undertook those risks is still very great.
    We must remember not only those who died for their service to their 
country but for how they were loved. We must, all the rest of us in 
America, pray for these families: for the husband and the father whose 
young child will now have to learn about him through photographs and 
stories, for the family of an ambitious young man who wished to go to 
college and become an artist, for a distinguished American veteran of 
more than two decades whose soldiers loved him for his steel and his 
heart, for the wonderful daughter and sister who lifted those around her 
with her vigor and promise, or the young pilot who grew up with his 
heart set on the skies, and for all the others.
    Their lives were suddenly taken from their beloved families and from 
our Nation and our service and their important mission. No one's words 
can wipe away the grief, the pain, the questions. It is our duty, first, 
to continue the mission for which they gave their lives; second, to find 
the answers which they rightfully seek; and third, to pray that together 
they will find the strength as the days go forward to ease their grief 
and lean on their faiths.
    The Americans we honor today represented the best in our country. In 
a tragic irony, all who were involved in this accident, including the 
pilots of the two jets, were there on a common mission, to save the 
lives of innocent people. We know that just as we are all proud of their 
ability and their bravery, their readiness for any challenge, their 
devotion to their families, we all understand that they, like we--none 
of us are immune from error, from tragic circumstance.
    One of the fathers, himself an Air Force colonel, said that he 
thought his daughter was a hero. Well, they're all heroes. And we owe it 
to them to honor their lives and their service, to answer the questions 
of their families but more than anything else, to remember when words 
fail that we are taught over and over again in the Scriptures, things 
will always happen that we can never fully understand. And as President 
Lincoln said, ``The Almighty has his own purposes,'' that the faith 
which sustains us, according to the Scripture, is the assurance of 
things hoped for, the convictions of things unseen.
    As I look out into the faces of mothers and fathers and wives and 
sons and daughters and brothers and sisters, I say on behalf of a 
grateful nation, we honor your sacrifice. And we will do our best to 
live every day with the memory of your sacrifice. And we pray for you 
that time will give you the strength and the faith to remember the very 
best and finest of the lives of your loved ones, to be always grateful 
for what they did and never cynical, even in the face of this tragedy, 
for there are things which happen to us all which can never be fully 
understood. What is clear and beyond any doubt is that they loved their 
country and they swore an oath including a willingness to give their 
lives for their country. They did it in a very noble cause.
    We share your grief. We honor their lives. We pray for you and for 
their souls.

Note: The President spoke at 10:56 a.m. in the Memorial Chapel.