    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [September 27, 1994]
    [Pages 1635-1636]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Honoring Russian and American Veterans of World War II
    September 27, 1994

        President Yeltsin, Mrs. Yeltsin, members of the Russian and American
    delegations. We say a special word of welcome to the Red Star Red Army
    Band that has come all the way from Russia to be with our Marine Band
    today. To the Members of Congress who are here, honored veterans,
    distinguished guests: We welcome you all to the White House.
        We gather to celebrate the bonds between the Russian people and the
    American people forged during World War II. And we gather to pledge that
    the opportunity we lost five decades ago to build a better world will
    not be lost again.
        A half century ago, half a world away, brave men and women from our
    nations fought as allies for a common cause and an uncommon sacrifice.
    In April 1945, as the greatest war of this century drew to a close, they
    embraced on the banks of the Elbe River. Their meeting

    [[Page 1636]]

    held the promise not only of the war's end but also of an enduring peace
    that sadly was deferred for decades. Today we honor the Russian and
    American veterans who risked their lives, and sometimes gave their
    lives, to defeat that tyranny. We are deeply honored to have some of
    those veterans here with us at the White House. Theirs was a partnership
    on land, air, and sea but also in heart, mind, and spirit.
        To our children, their stories sound like the stuff of novels and
    movies, but they are real. Some American heroes helped win the war not
    by fighting on the front lines but by ferrying tons of supplies to
    Russia, everything from boots to locomotives. It was very dangerous
    work. Fifty years ago this week, the Liberty ship S.S. Edward H.
    Crockett, carrying 68 members of the merchant marine and the naval armed
    guard, left the Russian port of Archangel to return home. Fifty years
    ago to the day on Thursday, it was torpedoed by the enemy and sank in
    the icy Bering Sea. Miraculously, most of the crew survived. Six of
    those survivors are here with us today, and we welcome them. [Applause]
        In the deserts of Iran, thousands of American soldiers delivered
    gasoline and munitions to Russian units. Many, like Robert Patterson,
    drove in heat so intense that the steering wheels of their trucks burned
    their bare hands. And American nurses, like Anna Connelly Wilson, tended
    to the wounded in primitive field hospitals with no blankets or running
    water.
        In 1944, Joseph Beyrle parachuted into France with the 101st
    Airborne Division, only to be captured and taken to a prison camp in
    Germany. But he escaped, joined advancing Russian troops, and fought as
    a member of a Russian army unit as it drove toward Berlin. While manning
    a Russian tank gun, Joseph Beyrle was wounded, but Russian doctors saved
    his life. I'm especially grateful to them because Joseph survived the
    war and went on to have a son. His son, John Beyrle, works here at the
    White House as one of my advisers on Russian affairs. I'd like to ask
    them both to stand and be recognized here: the Beyrles. Thank you, Mr.
    Beyrle, thank you. [Applause]
        We're also joined today by Russian veterans of the war, including
    Alexsandr Olshansky. Then a young corporal, he was one of the Russians
    who went, who met American troops at the Elbe River. Now, he is a major
    general in the Russian Army. In a few minutes, I will be honored to
    present to Major General Olshansky, as the Russian veterans'
    representative, a medal commemorating our wartime partnership.
        Let us now pause for a moment to applaud all the Russian and
    American veterans of World War II who are here today. [Applause] Each of
    their stories, in different ways, teaches the same lesson. Once before,
    Russians and Americans shared a just cause and prevailed. Today, we are
    partners in peace, not war. Now we have a responsibility to work
    together for our own good and for the good of the world beyond our
    borders.
        Two men symbolize the renewed bond between Russians and Americans:
    Ambassador Malcolm Toon and General Dimitri Volkogonov. World War II
    veterans both, they are the cochairmen of the U.S.-Russian Joint
    Commission on POW's/MIA's. They spent the last 2\1/2\ years on a mission
    to account for U.S. servicemen missing from the Second World War, the
    cold war, and the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam and for Russian
    soldiers missing in Afghanistan.
        President Yeltsin, you first proposed this Commission. It has become
    an important part of our bilateral relationship. The recent repatriation
    of the remains of U.S. Air Force Captain John Dunham is an example of
    your commitment to this Commission's work.
        Our feelings today are perhaps best expressed by the great Russian
    poet Yevtushenko. He wrote with great emotion in words that many Russian
    citizens know by heart, ``We remember those who joined us in battle, who
    embraced us at the Elbe River. And we are faithful to this memory.''
        To the veterans of our two great nations, we say thank you for the
    inspiration of your example. We will learn from it, from your courage
    and your sacrifice. And we vow, finally, to redeem the promise of that
    embrace at the Elbe.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:26 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House.