[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.