    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [December 23, 1996]
    [Pages 2233-2235]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 2233]]

    Remarks at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
    December 23, 1996

        Thank you very much. Please sit down. Lieutenant General Wilhelm,
    Sergeant Major Wilson, Major General Howard, Major General Smith,
    members of the Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville community, my good friend
    Governor Hunt, Representative McHale, Representative-elect McIntyre,
    Mayor Choate, Chaplain. I also want to thank Chief Warrant Officer
    Anderson and the 2d Marine Division Band. Thank you all.
        Lieutenant General Wilhelm was not quite right; one person here at
    least would have preferred to hear him speak--me. [Laughter] I've heard
    me speak before. And he spoke so well, even if briefly, that he said
    most of what I meant to say in fewer words.
        He reminds me of the first speech I ever gave, 20 years ago, as a
    public official. It was at a Rotary Club installation banquet. And the
    banquet began at 6:30, and I was introduced to speak at 10. You know, it
    was one of those things--there were 500 people there; everyone was
    introduced except 3 people--they went home mad. Ten people spoke first,
    and the guy got up to introduce me, and he said, ``We could stop now and
    have had a very nice evening.'' [Laughter] Now, he didn't mean that, but
    I knew how he felt.
        Let me tell all of you, beginning with you, General Wilhelm, this
    day has been especially moving to me. When I got on the plane this
    morning, on Air Force One in Washington, flying down here with General
    Shalikashvili and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Brown and Navy Secretary
    Dalton, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, and yes, General Krulak
    himself--[laughter]--I was looking forward to this day. But I have
    enjoyed it beyond my wildest expectations. I can't say it the way you
    do, but I would like to say at least hoo-rah--thank you very much.
        I'm delighted to be here today to join you in the holiday season, to
    welcome back the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 3d Battalion, 2d
    Marines, from their long deployments, and to make a few Christmas
    deliveries.
        This year at the White House Hillary and I asked the staff, instead
    of giving us traditional Christmas gifts, instead to donate toys to Toys
    for Tots, founded by the Marine Corps Reserve almost 50 years ago and
    represented here on the stage with me. Since then, Toys for Tots has
    become part of America's Christmas. It's brought holiday happiness to
    millions of children. And here in the Camp Lejeune-Jacksonville
    community you have set an outstanding example by collecting thousands of
    toys. Well, today we brought several sacks filled with toys from the
    White House to add to your efforts. I want to thank you for giving us
    the chance to do it. And I want to thank the members of my staff for
    representing all of us at Christmas in this special way.
        Above all, I wanted to bring to Camp Lejeune some heartfelt thank-
    yous--first, to our men and women in uniform who put themselves on the
    line every day. You should know at Christmastime that you do have the
    knowing and profound gratitude of all Americans. You are helping us to
    fulfill a sacred pledge--to keep our Nation the greatest force in the
    world for peace and freedom, for security and prosperity. Your service
    is helping America to remain the world's indispensable nation, to lead
    in this time of tremendous change all over the world in how people work
    and live, relate to each other, and relate to people far beyond their
    Nation's borders. Only the United States today, thanks largely to you,
    has the ability to lead the world in its advance of peace and freedom,
    in its advance of security and prosperity. We simply could not do it
    without the overwhelming superiority of Armed Forces which you
    represent.
        America knows that you at Camp Lejeune are America's forces in
    readiness--forces like the 3d Battalion, 8th Marines, whom I just met at
    the mess hall and who must stay on alert over Christmas so the rest of
    us can celebrate this holiday of peace in peace. In the last 18 months,
    three/eight has provided vital security for our embassies in Africa,
    supported the mission of giving democracy a new chance in Haiti, and
    performed the spectacular rescue of Captain Scott O'Grady in Bosnia. I
    am very, very proud of all of you.
        After the battle of Iwo Jima, Admiral Nimitz said that among the
    marines who fought there, uncommon valor was a common virtue. Now, more
    than 50 years later, you still demonstrate

    [[Page 2234]]

    that high standard. We see that in units like the 24th MEU, which
    suffered such a tragedy when two helicopters collided last May,
    reminding all of us of the dangers of serving in the Armed Forces even
    in peacetime. The families of the victims are still in our thoughts and
    prayers, and today I salute Captain Walt Kulakowski and Major Chuck
    Johnson, who survived the crash, thank God. They're both fully recovered
    and are here with us now.
        I know from my conversation with Colonel Natonski at the time how
    deeply those losses affected the 24th MEU and their extended family here
    at Camp Lejeune. Yet, despite the tragedy, you never lost a stride. You
    fulfilled your mission in the Mediterranean with the skill and
    discipline that is a hallmark of the Marines. And your replacement, the
    26th MEU and Battalion Landing Team one/eight, are showing the same
    excellence even as we meet here today.
        Because of these units' devotion to duty, our forces on the ground
    in Bosnia can now go forward with their important mission. They know,
    and as Commander in Chief I know, that if trouble strikes there, the
    Marines will be there. There is no better insurance policy than that.
        As Lieutenant General Wilhelm said, this has been a good year for
    America. Throughout this year Camp Lejeune's marines and sailors and,
    indeed, all of our Armed Forces have advanced our Nation's interest and
    achieved a record of outstanding success. You have shown what is best
    about our country, the determination to stand up for freedom, to stand
    against oppression, the readiness to give a helping hand. Because of
    your example, people everywhere look to America for help and
    inspiration.
        In the Persian Gulf, America's men and women in uniform tightened
    the straitjacket around a dangerous tyrant. And off the Taiwan Straits,
    they calmed a rising storm. Because of all you have accomplished, more
    people in this holiday season in places like Haiti and Bosnia and,
    indeed, all around the globe can look forward to the blessings of a more
    normal life in the new year. I thank you for the service that has made
    that possible, and your Nation thanks you for that service.
        I want to give special thanks, too, today to our Supreme Allied
    Commander in Europe, General George Joulwan, for all the years of
    arduous service at home and untold years abroad and especially for his
    leading role in bringing peace to Bosnia. Today General Joulwan is
    announcing his intent to retire from the United States Army next spring.
    I thank him for his extraordinary service to the Nation, and I wish him
    and Mrs. Joulwan well. He has served in the finest American tradition.
    [Applause] Thank you.
        Finally, in this holiday season, as families come together all
    across our country, I want to say a special word of thanks to the
    families here. The burden of America's leadership in the world weighs
    heavily on the families of our men and women in uniform, as the families
    of marines who have just departed here for the Mediterranean and Okinawa
    know all too well. Our Nation asks a lot of our military families, long
    separations, uncertainty, living with danger.
        I have visited our forces from Bosnia to the Middle East, from Haiti
    to the Korean DMZ, and all across our Nation. I have seen the strong
    backing our troops get from their loved ones, backing that is absolutely
    essential for them to do their jobs, to keep their families together, to
    raise their children with love and good values and discipline, and to
    build strong communities. In the best of times, providing that kind of
    support takes hard work and sacrifices. In other times, it can require
    even more.
         This year in the Camp Lejeune and Jacksonville community, you have
    shown the strength to overcome real crises, one after the other. In May
    you had to pull together as one after the helicopter crash. You got the
    seabags packed and got your sailors and marines off on their mission.
    Then the mission on the homefront became even tougher than the one in
    the Mediterranean. First, Hurricane Bertha ripped up homes and trees,
    knocked out power, and turned North Carolina into a disaster area. No
    sooner had you cleaned up from that storm when Hurricane Fran arrived,
    packing stronger winds and causing even more damage. But with energy and
    resolve, with the special efforts of your Key Volunteers, you met these
    challenges well, and housed and fed those who couldn't go home, and put
    Lejeune back on its feet.
        This time of year more than any other is a time of family and faith,
    of love and giving gifts. I thank the families here for the gifts they
    have given to America, to enable us to have a Marine Corps, a Navy, an
    Armed Forces that can serve as well as any in all of history.
        For all of America, surely there is no greater gift at Christmastime
    than the peace and free-

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    dom we enjoy. Because you are standing watch, our Nation has the
    greatest freedom in history. Because you are there, we can grow stronger
    and everyone has the chance to make the most of his or her God-given
    abilities. Because you are standing watch, we can raise our children in
    freedom and give them their chance, too. Because you are standing watch,
    those children can sleep without fear and wake up to the kinds of
    holidays we are about to celebrate.
        Day-in and day-out, your sacrifice makes all this possible. It is
    your gift to your country. For all your fellow Americans, in a very real
    sense you make every day Christmas. You have always been faithful to
    America, and America must always be faithful to you.
        Thank you. Semper Fi. Happy holidays. God bless you, and God bless
    America.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:48 p.m. at Goettge Memorial Fieldhouse.
    In his remarks, he referred to Lt. Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm, USMC,
    Commander, Maj. Gen. Ray L. Smith, USMC, Deputy Commander, and Sgt. Maj.
    Albert S. Wilson, USMC, Marine Forces Atlantic; Maj. Gen. Patrick G.
    Howard, USMC, Commanding General, Camp Lejeune; Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr.,
    of North Carolina; Mayor Marvin Choate of Jacksonville, NC; Lt. Bern
    Nowack, USN, Chaplain, Battalion Landing Team, 2d Battalion, 8th
    Marines; Chief Warrant Officer Tommy L. Anderson, USMC, Director, 2d
    Marine Division Band; and Col. Richard Natonski, USMC, Commanding
    Officer, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.