[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
[November 11, 1995]
[Pages 1737-1738]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the Dedication of the World War II Memorial Site
November 11, 1995

    Thank you, Dr. Encinias, for that introduction and for your truly 
remarkable service to our Nation. General Woerner, Governor Carey, 
Chairman Wheeler, Congresswoman Kaptur, I thank you all for what you 
have done to bring us to this day. I want to thank Mr. Durbin for his 
idea and for the triumph of his idea today and the triumph of the idea 
that an American citizen can have a good idea and take it to the proper 
authorities and actually get something done. To all the Members of 
Congress, and especially to Congressman Montgomery on his retirement, 
for all of his service to our veterans; to Mrs. Boyajian, thank you for 
your wonderful remarks today; General Shalikashvili, Secretary Perry, 
Secretary Brown, my fellow Americans.
    I would like to begin by asking on the occasion of this last 
observance of the 50th anniversary of World War II that all of us 
express our appreciation to those who served on the World War II 
Commemorative Commission, and especially to its leader, General 
Kicklighter, for a magnificent job. Thank you all, and thank you, 
General.
    On this Veterans Day, we gather in special memory of World War II, 
and we dedicate this site to ensure that we will never forget. That war 
claimed 55 million lives, soldiers and civilians, children, the millions 
murdered in the death camps. It engulfed more of the Earth than any war 
before it or any war since. It was, as Governor Carey said, the coming 
of age not only for many Americans but for America, the moment that we 
understood that we could save the world for freedom and only we could 
save the world for freedom, and so we had to do it.

[[Page 1738]]

    Today, we honor those who did just that, the fighting men and women 
who wore our uniform all around the world and the millions of civilians 
on our Nation's homefront who did the remarkable things embodied by Mrs. 
Boyajian. For all they did for our troops and for all they did without, 
all the sacrificing at home to help the cause abroad, we thank them, 
too.
    My fellow Americans, the World War II generation emerged from the 
darkness of global war to strengthen our economy, to enlighten our 
society, and to lead our world to greater heights. More than 16 million 
women worked in our factories and cared for our soldiers. After the war, 
they began to play a larger role in our economy and, over time, a 
remarkable role in our military.
    Many thousands of African-Americans served their country with 
courage and distinction as Tuskegee Airmen and Triple Nickel 
paratroopers and Sherman tank drivers and Navy Seabees. After the war, 
we began slowly to act on a truth too long denied, that if people of 
different races could serve as brothers abroad, surely, surely, they 
could live as neighbors at home.
    I cannot let this moment pass without expressing my gratitude to all 
those of other ethnic and racial groups, who themselves knew 
discrimination, who also served in World War II, and the especially 
brave and heroic Japanese-Americans who served in World War II, many of 
them with their own relatives in internment camps.
    All these people took a fuller and larger and more meaningful role 
in American life after the war, and we were stronger for it. And instead 
of turning its back on the world the way the previous generation did 
after World War I, the World War II generation stood with its allies and 
reached out to its former adversaries to cement the partnerships and 
create the institutions that secured a half-century of unparalleled 
prosperity in the West, no return of world war and victory in the cold 
war. We owe that generation a very great deal. And this monument will 
tell us we must never forget that either.
    This memorial whose site we dedicate today will be a permanent 
reminder of just how much we Americans can do when we work together, 
instead of fighting among ourselves. It will honor those who served and 
those who made the ultimate sacrifice. It will pay tribute to the 
millions of civilians who supported the war effort in spirit and action. 
It will stand as a monument to the values that joined us in common 
cause, that are worth defending and that make our life worth living. All 
these things we must never forget.
    Here in the company of President Lincoln and President Jefferson, 
the White House in which every President but George Washington has 
lived, and the monument to George Washington just behind you, with the 
stately Capitol dome beyond, the World War II Memorial will join the 
ranks of our greatest landmarks because it was one of the greatest and 
most important periods in our history.
    We will seal this plaque soon with the earth of 16 World War II 
cemeteries, and so, in our small way, infuse this place with the spirit 
and the souls of those who died for freedom.
    I want to thank all of those who have worked so hard to raise the 
funds for this project, including my good friend Jess Haye from Dallas. 
I want to thank Secretary Perry and the Department of Defense for making 
an initial contribution. And to all of you in the future who will give 
to make sure that this project is done and done right, I thank you.
    America must never forget the debt we owe the World War II 
generation. It is a small downpayment on that debt to build this 
monument as magnificently as we can.
    From this day forward, this place belongs to the World War II 
generation and to their families. Let us honor their achievements by 
upholding always the ideals they defended and by guarding always the 
dreams they fought and died for, for our children and our children's 
children.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 2:40 p.m. on The Mall. In his remarks, he 
referred to Miguel Encinias, World War II veteran and prisoner of war; 
Gen. Fred Woerner, USA (Ret.), chairman, and Hugh L. Carey, vice 
chairman, American Battle Monuments Commission; Peter Wheeler, chairman, 
World War II Memorial Advisory Board; Roger Durbin, World War II veteran 
and activist for the memorial; and Helen Boyajian, Home Front 
Representative. A portion of these remarks could not be verified because 
the tape was incomplete.