[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
[March 18, 1996]
[Pages 476-478]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 476]]


Remarks to the Community at Fort Polk, Louisiana
March 18, 1996

    Thank you. General Shalikashvili, Deputy Secretary White, General 
Sheehan, General Tilelli, General Shelton, Admiral Miller, General 
Sherfield, Command Sergeant Major Austin, Command Sergeant Major Laye; 
to the Members of Congress who are here, Senators Johnston and Breaux 
and Congressmen Jefferson, Fields, Hayes, and McCrery; to the members of 
the Joint Readiness Training Center, the members of the Fort Polk 
community, to the Department of Defense civilians, and to all the men 
and women of America's Armed Forces.
    Let me say I was very impressed by that recent maneuver where you 
rushed the ropes--[laughter]--and I was very impressed when all the 
people behind you rushed up behind you, and I know you're a lot warmer 
now and that's the main reason you did it. [Laughter] I wish you were 
about 5 feet taller; you could be a windbreaker for us up here. 
[Laughter]
    I am delighted to be the first sitting President ever to visit Fort 
Polk. I know well the Joint Readiness Training Center. As some of you 
may know, before it came here it was located in my home State when I was 
Governor, in Little Rock at the air base there and at Fort Chaffee. I 
must say when I was Governor and it was announced that we were losing 
the JRT Center to Fort Polk, I had some qualms about it. But from the 
looks of things today, it's been a good move. It's stronger than ever 
before, and the JRTC is serving the United States well. Thank you very 
much.
    As all of you know, I come here today primarily to stand with the 
veterans of Operation Uphold Democracy, the men and women who restored 
freedom to Haiti. We have been true to our word and true to our mission 
because of your skill and professionalism. The vast majority of our 
forces have returned from Haiti on time, just as we said they would. The 
last 500 American peacekeepers are now packing up, and in less than 30 
days they too will be home.
    You made history by showing once again that when America acts on 
behalf of its values and its interests, it gets the job done. You 
undertook a difficult task, and every single one of you who served in 
Haiti can say with great pride, ``Mission accomplished.'' You made a 
difference for our Nation's security and for a neighbor in need. We and 
other nations will now have to help Haiti in the hard road ahead of it, 
but the military job was done, done by you and other allies who came to 
work with you. And for that, every single one of you should be very 
proud.
    Eighteen months ago our Nation faced a serious challenge. Just a few 
hundred miles from our shores a brutal regime was torturing and 
murdering the citizens of Haiti. More than 3,000 of them had been killed 
in a reign of terror. The democracy that they had voted for in 
overwhelming numbers was stolen from the people. Tens of thousands were 
fleeing to America and to other nations in unsafe boats and rafts, and 
many died along the way. There was a clear threat to our borders and to 
the civility of our region. Because it was the right thing to do and 
because it was in our interest, we decided to intervene. We gave our 
word that democracy would be restored. And because the military 
dictators came to the United States and broke their word when they 
promised to leave, you, the men and women of Uphold Democracy, kept 
America's word.
    From beginning to end, this mission was a testament to the skill and 
professionalism of America's Armed Forces. The coup leaders knew from 
the outset they were facing the best trained, the best equipped, the 
best prepared fighting force on Earth. When they learned that the 82d 
Airborne and other units were on the way, they gave way. That enabled 
our troops to land on the ground without bloodshed and prove once again 
that our military might is the indispensable muscle behind our 
diplomacy. You are trained to fight. Time and again, you have stood down 
aggression and triumphed in battle.
    In Haiti you came to a different kind of mission and showed the 
world another side of America's magnificent military. You and our troops 
who are now in Bosnia have demonstrated a dedication to fighting for 
peace as great as your ability to prevail in war. You've paved the way 
for the return of Haiti's democratic government. You took guns off the 
street. You helped to develop a local police. You gave the people there 
a new sense of security. You

[[Page 477]]

fixed the roads and bridges and brought the food and medicine and 
cleared the way for a return to normal civilized life. You gave the 
people of Haiti the breathing space they need to reclaim their 
democracy, to get their economy started, to undertake the hard work that 
only they can do of building a free nation. Now Haiti has enjoyed its 
first democratic transfer of power in 200 years as a nation, thanks to 
you.
    While the country remains poor, while its institutions remain 
fragile, this country now has better prospects for the future than at 
any time in the past. You did the job. When I sent America's troops to 
Haiti in September of 1994, joined by 27 other countries' troops, I said 
that the United States forces would remain through the inauguration of a 
new president. That took place on the 7th of February.
    I want to now thank and ask you to join me in thanking the 
extraordinary men who led the U.S. and the U.N. efforts in Haiti, 
General Hugh Shelton, General Dave Meade, General George Fisher, and 
General Joe Kinzer. Let's give them a big hand for their service and 
leadership. [Applause]
    There was a lot of extraordinary service from others in uniform as 
well, people like Army Special Forces Sergeant First Class Gregory 
Cardot, who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Today we remember his loss. We 
honor his devotion to duty. And we honor that of all those of Uphold 
Democracy. Like American service men and women everywhere, those of you 
who served in Haiti went above and beyond the call of duty.
    I would like to mention just a few of those in closing who went the 
extra distance and made the extra difference. Sergeant First Class 
Joseph Register, Jr., saw a mob beating a Haitian man. Ignoring his own 
safety, Sergeant Register plunged into the crowd, shielded the badly 
wounded man, and gave him first aid. He protected the man despite great 
personal risk until other soldiers arrived to help. And he probably 
saved that man's life. For his brave actions, Sergeant Register received 
the Soldier's Medal, the Army's highest peacetime award for heroism.
    Airman First Class Patricia Hasboun, who we just saw receive the 
Joint Service Commendation Medal, used her own Creole language skills to 
help teach a Haitian town's police chief to drive as she distributed 
food and toys and clothes to orphanages throughout Haiti.
    While on patrol in Port-au-Prince, Staff Sergeant Mark Maxwell and 
Sergeant Bill Fitzpatrick, now stationed here at Fort Polk, pushed 
through a crowd to find a woman lying on the ground in labor and in 
great pain. Sergeant Fitzpatrick secured the area. Staff Sergeant 
Maxwell, using his skills from the combat lifesaver course, delivered 
that woman's healthy baby boy.
    Special Forces Staff Sergeant Jorge Ramos took it upon himself to 
restore the sanitation system and public washing facilities in the town 
of Leogane. He organized local volunteers and gave a community that had 
been badly neglected one of the essentials of a decent existence. And 
out of gratitude to the sergeant and his troops, the townspeople painted 
a 4-foot-high replica of his Special Forces patch on a nearby wall.
    These are only a few of the stories of Uphold Democracy. We know 
that our success in Haiti would never have been possible without the 
strong support of the military families of Operation Uphold Democracy. 
And I would like to now say a special word of thanks to all of them. We 
Americans know that the burden of our leadership in the world weighs 
heavily on the families of men and women in uniform, here and around the 
world. We ask our troops to travel a long way from home, to be apart 
from their loved ones for long periods of time, to take on difficult and 
dangerous missions. So I thank them.
    And let me also say here publicly what I will have a chance in a few 
moments to say personally to the families of the troops in Bosnia who 
are here today, we also honor your strength and your sacrifice. You are 
giving the people of Bosnia an opportunity for peace. You are helping to 
prevent the recurrence of the most vicious bloodshed Europe has known 
since the end of World War II and to prevent a widened war which could 
have drawn in American forces in the fighting. We know it's tough for 
one parent to be left to carry all the family responsibilities, to bear 
the extra burden of running a household and raising the family. We ask a 
great deal. But time and again, America's military families deliver too.
    All of you have shown what is best about our country: the 
determination to stand up for freedom and to stand against oppression, 
the readiness to give a helping hand, to do all of that together as one 
America. I thank you for that. Your example explains why people all over

[[Page 478]]

the world look to America for hope and for inspiration. We can't be 
everywhere, and we can't do everything. But where we can make a 
difference and where our values and interests are at stake, we must act. 
That was the case in Haiti. You acted and acted well, above and beyond 
the call of duty.
    I congratulate you on your tremendous achievement. I thank you for a 
job well done. Your Nation is grateful and proud.
    God bless you, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 3:45 p.m. on the parade ground. In his 
remarks, he referred to Deputy Secretary of Defense John P. White; Gen. 
John J. Sheehan, USMC, Commander in Chief, Atlantic Command; Gen. John 
H. Tilelli, Jr., USA, Army Vice Chief of Staff; Gen. Henry H. Shelton, 
USAF, Commander in Chief, U.S. Special Operations Command; Adm. Paul D. 
Miller, USN (Ret.); Brig. Gen. Michael B. Sherfield, USA, Commander, 
Joint Readiness Training Center; Command Sgt. Maj. Johnny Austin, Joint 
Readiness Training Center; and Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse Laye, U.S. 
Atlantic Command.