    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [April 17, 1996]
    [Pages 591-593]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the 7th Fleet Aboard the U.S.S. Independence in Yokosuka,
    Japan
    April 17, 1996

        The President. Thank you. Thank you very much.
        Audience member. We love you, Mr. President!
        The President. Thank you. Thank you, Admiral Ellis, General Myers,
    Admiral Clemins, General Freeman, Admiral Tobin. Captain Polatty, I'm
    delighted to be here with you. Master Chief Dwiggins; to the members of
    the Japanese Self-Defense Forces; and to the sailors and families of the
    U.S.S. Independence and the 7th Fleet; to the children from the Sullivan
    School back there and their proud parents over here, I gather, and the
    other schools that are here, I want to thank you for this wonderful
    welcome.
        The First Lady and I are delighted to be here, along with the
    Secretary of State, Ambassador and Mrs. Mondale, my Chief of Staff, Mr.
    Panetta, and Mr. Lake, the National Security Adviser. I should tell you
    that this is a particularly emotional moment for the Secretary of State
    because 51 years ago this September he came here to this very harbor as
    a 19-year-old ensign. So think what you might have ahead of you, all of
    you in the Navy. You may be Secretary of State some day.

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        I'm glad to be here on the U.S.S. Independence and with the 7th
    Fleet. I know there are others represented here, I hope, from the Mobile
    Bay and the Bunker Hill, from the Blue Ridge and the McCluskey, the
    O'Brien and the Hewitt, the Asheville and the Curtz--one enthusiastic
    sailor here--[laughter]--the I-5 Team.
        You know, for almost as long as there has been a United States there
    has been a ship called Independence. To you, the latest in the line of
    America's finest sailors, to all the United States Armed Forces in
    Japan, I bring a heartfelt message from every American back home: Thank
    you for your skill, your sacrifice, and your service. Thank you, and God
    bless you all.
        Way back in 1959 when the Indy slipped down the ways, President
    Eisenhower was in office, the cold war was at its peak, and most of you
    weren't even born yet. But because the Indy was there, along with
    millions of brave men and women, we won that long cold war struggle.
        Time after time, the sailors of the Independence stood up for
    freedom and stood down freedom's enemies. In the Cuban missile crisis,
    Indy was there. In Vietnam and Lebanon and Grenada, Indy was there. When
    Iraq invaded Kuwait, you were the first carrier on the scene. You
    delivered our answer up close and personal. In peacetime and war, this
    great ship and its battle group have been there as America's shield and
    America's sword.
        Your last deployment off Taiwan helped to calm a rising storm.
    Without firing a single shot, you reassured nations all around the
    Pacific. With the quiet power of your example, you gave the world
    another example of America's power and America's character. And I thank
    you especially for that.
        Through you, the United States is in the Western Pacific. We fought
    three wars in Asia in this century and sacrificed some of our finest
    Americans in every single one. With your strong presence here, we are
    preventing war's return and preserving stability for a remarkable region
    that is growing so fast it buys enough American products and services to
    support the jobs of 3 million of your countrymen and women back home in
    the United States.
        Make no mistake, there is still a threat that war could return.
    Without you, the stability and prosperity of Asia could be in danger,
    and, therefore, so could America's. Old rivalries could break out again.
    A rogue state could get the wrong idea. A changing region could become
    unstable. But with you here, Asia is more secure, and so is America.
    Halfway around the world, your loved ones are safer because you are here
    at your stations, keeping the peace in a time of change and challenge.
        I applaud the job you have done in building an alliance with the
    Japanese Self-Defense Forces. And I salute the officers and crew of the
    Myoko who honor us with their presence here today.
        Fifty years ago no one would have believed that an American carrier
    and a Japanese cruiser could be berthed side by side, that our forces
    would work shoulder to shoulder day-in and day-out. But today Prime
    Minister Hashimoto and I have signed a Joint Security Declaration to
    strengthen our alliance and prepare it for the challenges of the 21st
    century together. We can do this because you are here, backing our
    commitments with your power.
        America won the cold war, but now we are about the business of
    securing the peace, thanks to your dedication and your excellence. Let
    me say that I am well aware that we see that excellence every day in so
    many ways, here, from the pilots and everyone on the flight deck to the
    boiler technicians, from the mess cooks to the storekeepers, to the
    officers on the bridge. It takes every single one of you, working
    together as a team, to keep this ship on the flight line, to land some
    of the best aircraft in the world on what looks to their pilots like a
    postage stamp in the sea. Your teamwork has notched record after record,
    including the mark among active ships for arrested landings, 343,000 of
    them. Congratulations. As someone said to me as the helicopter was
    setting down, that's a lot of nonskid. [Laughter]
        As the oldest ship in the Navy, you do fly this remarkable ensign
    behind me that says, ``Don't Tread On Me.'' And as was said earlier in
    the introduction by the admiral, this week, this very week is the 221st
    anniversary of the Revolutionary War battles of Lexington and Concord,
    the first in America's long struggle for independence. I hope you will
    think about that, each and every one of you, this week. I hope you will
    imagine what it might have been like so many years ago, over 200 years
    ago, for those young people embarking on their struggle, risking their
    lives for what was then nothing more than a dream.

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        Now, more than 200 years later, you represent in your uniforms the
    oldest democracy in human history. Thanks to you and those who came
    before you, your skill and professionalism, not only does the oldest
    fighting ship in the fleet inspire the same respect as we have for our
    early patriots but thanks to you and the people who came before you, we
    are still here.
        As you keep it that way, on freedom's flagship, remember that 221
    years of people like you have made America what it is today and make
    possible this remarkable partnership we celebrate with the Japanese and
    make possible the guarantee of freedom for your children and your
    grandchildren and people throughout the world. I thank you for that.
        I also want to say a special word of thanks to the families of the
    7th Fleet for their support. Our military families bear such a heavy
    burden of America's leadership, especially those stationed at Yokosuka
    and other bases so far from home; those who have to cope with the extra
    strain of long periods when ships are at sea, when one parent has to
    carry the full load to run a household and raise the children. We ask so
    much of our families, but again and again they deliver. Our Nation is
    grateful to you as well, for our security depends upon you as well.
        To the men and women of the 7th Fleet, you must know that you
    represent the very best of America. Over and over again, you have proved
    your excellence. Thanks to you, the world knows now that the United
    States will stand firm in Asia. Thanks to you, we can make this new
    Security Declaration with Japan, and everybody knows that we mean it and
    that we can mean it. We can stand firm for peace and security, for
    democracy and freedom, for a good and decent future for the children of
    this region and the children of the United States, thanks to you.
        Our Nation is in your debt now and forever. God bless you, and God
    bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. In his remarks, he referred to
    Rear Adm. James Ellis, USN, Commander, Carrier Group 5; Lt. Gen. Richard
    Myers, USAF, Commander, U.S. Forces Japan; Vice Adm. Archie Clemins,
    USN, Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet; Maj. Gen. Waldo Freeman, USA, Commanding
    General, U.S. Army Japan; Rear Adm. Byron Tobin, USN, Commander, U.S.
    Naval Forces Japan; Capt. David Polatty, Commanding Officer, and MMCM
    Ashley Dwiggins, Command Master Chief, U.S.S. Independence; and Joan
    Mondale, wife of Ambassador Walter Mondale.