[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[November 11, 1997]
[Pages 1539-1540]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 1539]]


Remarks at a Veterans Day Ceremony in Arlington, Virginia
November 11, 1997

    Thank you very much. Secretary Gober, members of the Cabinet, 
members of the Joint Chiefs, General Foley. Commander Hitchcock, thank 
you for your example and for that magnificent address. Leaders of our 
veterans services organizations, ex-prisoners of war, Gold Star Wives 
and Mothers, veterans, members of the Armed Forces, my fellow Americans.
    Almost 42 million Americans have served in our Armed Forces over the 
great history of our country. More than 25 million of them are still 
with us today. That is a remarkable gift for which we can be grateful, 
for today we pay tribute to the men and women who offered the highest 
form of service to America. In a world of constant change and 
uncertainty, we can know with certainty that today America is free, 
secure, and prosperous because of the gift of your service.
    For different reasons, in different ways, in different wars, and in 
times when we were not at war, Americans of all backgrounds have donned 
our Nation's uniform and pledged their lives to maintain our freedom. 
From Belleau Wood to Normandy, from Iwo Jima to Inchon, from Khe Sanh to 
Kuwait, all the veterans we honor today gave something to serve. Many 
gave their lives. Others bear the burden of injury for the rest of their 
days. Still others made it through with bodies intact but lives changed 
forever, perhaps none more than our prisoners of war.
    In this century alone, more than 142,000 Americans were held in 
prison camps or interned; 17,000 died during the ordeal. The many ex-
POW's here today know better than anyone the precious value of freedom 
because they have paid the price of losing their freedom. Let us never 
forget their very special sacrifice. And let us never waver for a moment 
in our common efforts to make a full accounting for all our MIA's.
    As President, you all know I am charged with the performance of many 
ceremonial duties, but there is not a single one more important than 
this chance to express the pride and the profound gratitude of all 
Americans for all you have done. In a wonderful sense, our veterans are 
ordinary Americans, but there is nothing ordinary about your patriotism.
    Our veterans have won victories for freedom for over 200 years now. 
And it's worth pointing out, this year especially, that those victories 
have not all occurred beyond our borders; some have occurred within 
them, as we remembered twice this fall. First, in Little Rock, in my 
hometown, where the Army helped to end the integration crisis 40 years 
ago and remind Americans that what we are pledged to do, and what you 
have donned the uniform for, is to defend freedom and equality for all. 
And here in Arlington, with the unveiling of the Women in Military 
Service for America Memorial, we gave long overdue thanks to the 1.8 
million women veterans who have served our country. Both these events 
reaffirm the powerful truth that we must be, always, one America.
    Around the world democracy is on the march. Former adversaries are 
now our partners. We stand on the cusp of a new century and a new 
millennium that holds the promise, but, as Commander Hitchcock reminded 
us, not the guarantee, of an unprecedented peace and prosperity. The 
benefits the world enjoys today belong in no small measure to America's 
veterans. To make the promise of peace and prosperity a reality in a new 
era, America, with its special ability and its special responsibility, 
must continue to lead for peace and freedom against aggression and 
tyranny.
    At this very moment, our men and women in uniform are doing just 
that. In the Balkans, after 46 months of the bloodiest, most 
dehumanizing conflict since World War II in Europe, 23 months of peace 
forged at Dayton have put Bosnia on the hard path to lasting stability. 
We have seen steady progress in recent months, elections held, public 
safety enhanced, the economy gaining strength and creating jobs for 
people who were desperately poor and unemployed, refugees returned, war 
criminals brought to justice. All that was possible because our troops 
and their allies are maintaining a stable and secure environment in 
Bosnia.
    And in the Persian Gulf, our pilots are patrolling the no-fly zones 
in Iraq, making it clear to Saddam Hussein that another move against

[[Page 1540]]

Kuwait or Saudi Arabia would be a big mistake and helping to enforce the 
international community's sanctions against Iraq. Saddam's efforts to 
rebuild his weapons of mass destruction and his interference with the 
United Nations inspectors who are keeping him from doing so are 
unacceptable.
    I want every single American to understand what is at stake here. 
These inspectors, since 1991, have discovered and destroyed more weapons 
of mass destruction potential than was destroyed in Iraq in the entire 
Gulf war. They are doing what they should be doing. They must get back 
to work, and the international community must demand it.
    In meeting today's challenges, we must seize tomorrow's 
opportunities. Veterans Day, as we all know, began as a tribute to 
Americans who fought for freedom in Europe in World War I, when we 
learned that Europe's fate and America's future were joined. Throughout 
this century, from World War II to the cold war, each time Europe's 
freedom and security were endangered, America rose to the challenge.
    Now we have to have the opportunity to escape this century's cycle 
of aggression and instability in Europe and to build something that has 
literally never existed before, an undivided, peaceful, democratic 
Europe. In July, we in NATO invited Poland, Hungary, and the Czech 
Republic to begin the process of joining our alliance. Their entry into 
NATO and our partnerships with Europe's other new democracies and 
historic accords with Russia and Ukraine will make America safer, NATO 
stronger, and Europe more united and stable.
    I am gratified that all our leading veterans organizations strongly 
support enlarging NATO. It is one of the most fitting tributes we can 
pay to America's veterans because it will help to ensure that the 
horrors of war in this century are not visited upon Americans in the 
next century.
    It is our solemn obligation to preserve the peace that so many of 
you in this audience and throughout our country sacrificed so very much 
to build. And when our Senate considers this question early next year, I 
hope they will remember the lessons our veterans have taught us, that 
Europe's security is vital to our own, that allying with Europe's 
democracy is our best sword and shield, and that it is far, far better 
to prevent wars than to wage them.
    Ladies and gentlemen, we have learned that the world will never be 
completely safe for democracy, as President Woodrow Wilson hoped for on 
the eve of our entry into World War I. There will always be threats to 
our well-being, to the peaceful community of nations to which we belong. 
Indeed, in the years ahead, we will see more and more threats that cross 
national borders: terrorism, weapons of mass destruction proliferating 
around the world, the growth of organized crime and drug trafficking. We 
will have to find new ways to meet these new security threats.
    But let us not forget today that, thanks to the valor of our 
veterans, the world is safer today from complete destruction than it has 
been in a long, long time. And let us resolve to maintain the skill and 
professionalism of today's Armed Forces and to honor those presently in 
uniform with our support. And it will remain that way.
    Thirty-six years ago, on this day, at this place, a President who 
lies buried in this cemetery spoke to the America people. John Kennedy 
said, ``There is no way to maintain the frontiers of freedom without 
cost and commitment and risk.'' So today, let us do more than observe a 
few moments of silence and just return to ordinary business. Let us 
truly reflect on the sacrifices made by our veterans to advance freedom 
and democracy. And let us rededicate ourselves to the hard work done in 
this country to bring us where we are today, knowing that these gains 
and future ones will require continued cost, commitment, and risk. And 
let us never forget those who gave their lives that our Nation might 
live free, secure, and at peace.
    I do believe that the next 50 years can be the brightest chapter in 
America's rich history and the best time in all of human history if we 
do our part to honor and follow the example of those whom we honor 
today.
    God bless them and their families, and God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. at Arlington National Cemetery. 
In his remarks, he referred to Maj. Gen. Robert F. Foley, USA, 
commander, U.S. Army Military District of Washington; and Wayne 
Hitchcock, national commander, American Ex-Prisoners of War.