    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book I)]
    [April 18, 2002]
    [Pages 639-642]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner
    April 18, 2002

        The President. Thank you for that warm welcome. I'm honored to be
    your President, and I'm honored to be a proud backer of the Crawford
    Texas Volunteer Fire Department. [Laughter] Anybody here from----
        Audience members. We love you, George! [Laughter]

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        The President. I was hoping somebody would be here from the Crawford
    Volunteer Fire Department. [Laughter] It's a long drive from Crawford,
    but thanks for coming. [Laughter]
        This evening we pay a fitting tribute to our Nation's first-
    responders, the men and women who answer America's alarms. Yours is one
    of the highest callings in our country and one of the hardest. Your
    neighborhoods depend on you and so does your country. And you've never
    let us down.
        It's good to be here with Hal Bruno. This man
    was one of the finest names in TV journalism. You know him as a champion
    of fallen firefighters and a champion of their families. And as a
    lifelong volunteer, Hal, you have the respect of the people in this
    room, and we thank you for your service.
        And America has come to know my friend, a steady and strong man, the
    man I picked to be the FEMA Director, Joe Allbaugh. I'm proud of--[applause]--there's something reassuring
    about old Joe. [Laughter] It might be his haircut. [Laughter] But I know
    him well and trust him because he's got a big heart. And as Hal just told me, I'm proud of the fact that he's welcomed
    into any firehouse in America.
        And I give my thanks to a former volunteer fire chief, an eloquent
    former volunteer fire chief, the man who founded the Congressional Fire
    Services Caucus, my friend Congressman Curt Weldon. I want to thank Chief Dave Paulison for his willingness to serve our country.
        I want to thank the Congressmen who are here, Steny Hoyer as well as Rob Andrews. I understand that Senator Biden and Senator Sarbanes are to
    be here. They might be trying to pass some legislation right now--I
    hope. [Laughter] I've got a few suggestions in mind if they--
    [laughter]--if they're interested. But I want to thank the Members of
    the Congress who are here. Thank you for taking time out of your
    evenings to be here and support this really important evening.
        I want to thank Chief Nigro, Chief
    Plaugher, and Chief Shaffer for their leadership and for leading the Pledge of
    Allegiance. And I want to thank you all for being such fine Americans.
        This annual event recognizes more than a million Americans who
    accept the difficult and dangerous work of fighting fires. At this hour,
    across our country, career and volunteer firefighters are waiting for
    the next call and prepared for anything that might come. Every one of
    them knows the risk that may be only minutes away, and every firefighter
    has made a decision. It has been said that a firefighter's first act of
    bravery is taking an oath to become a firefighter.
        We often read about surveys that ask Americans whom they trust and
    respect the most. In addition to their own family, one of the groups the
    young people of America most often name is the firefighters of our
    country--and rightly so. You defend us against humanity's oldest enemy.
        In many ways, modern societies have gained control over fire. We
    have invented new methods of detecting fires and new practices to
    prevent them. Yet, we know there will always be fires, and someone will
    have to face the flames. America will always need the kind of people who
    do that work. There is no substitute for the raw courage of the
    firefighter.
        On September the 11th, the world saw once again the true meaning of
    heroism. Thousands of lives were saved from certain death by the courage
    of rescuers. Thousands were killed in the attack on our country, but not
    one of the victims was abandoned. Undoubtedly, for many who died that
    terrible day, the last voice they heard was the voice of a rescuer.
        A woman who lost her daughter at the World Trade Center has written
    this: ``We do not know what Ann's final time on Earth was like. But one
    thing we do know; if she were conscious of being in a fire,

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    she would have known that somewhere firemen were looking for her, and if
    it were humanly possible, they would save her or give their lives
    trying. She learned that as a fireman's daughter.''
        Another fireman's daughter is here this evening, along with her
    three brothers and their mom, Rosalie. They are the family of Chief Ray
    Downey, who will always be remembered as one of the heroes of September
    the 11th. Those who knew him would tell him--tell you he was the bravest
    of the brave, a fireman's fireman. And today I proudly signed
    legislation designating a post office in Deer Park, New York, as the
    Raymond M. Downey Post Office Building.
        It is our job to make sure that our country does not forget the
    sacrifices of that day and the valor of those who made them. We will
    remember all the innocent people who were murdered and the terrorist
    leaders who sent the murderers. And we'll remember our mission, to run
    down the terrorists one by one and bring them to justice.
        I can't imagine what went through their minds when they were
    plotting this horrible evil. You know, they must have thought America
    was so materialistic, so self-centered, so self-absorbed, so weak that
    all we were going to do was file a lawsuit. [Laughter] They found out we
    think a little different here in America.
        These people are nothing but coldblooded killers. And that's exactly
    how we're going to treat them. There is no cave--[applause]--there's not
    a calendar on my desk that says, you know, you got to quit by this date.
    I'm patient; so is the American people. We're united. You see, when it
    comes to defending that which we hold dear, we're plenty tough, and we
    hold our freedoms dear.
        This is a different kind of war than we're used to in America. The
    days after September the 11th, I told the American people, and I'm
    telling them every chance I get, that this will be a war that will be
    fought on many fronts. Sometimes we'll use our military; sometimes we'll
    cut off their money; sometimes we'll conduct operations that no one will
    see, except the enemy when we grab them.
        I want you to know we're making good progress. But it's going to
    take a long time. It's going to take a lot longer than some of the
    calendar watchers would like. But that's okay, because we've got the
    resolve. Much to the chagrin of the enemy, this Nation has the resolve
    and the desire and the will to do what it takes to defend our freedoms
    and to make sure our children and our grandchildren can grow up in a
    free and peaceful world.
        I sent up--I sent up a budget to Congress that reflects the nature
    of the war we're in. It's a big increase, no question about it. It's a
    $48 billion increase for our Armed Forces. It's the largest increase in
    defense spending since Ronald Reagan. And it's necessary. Here's my
    attitude: If we put our soldiers in harm's way, they deserve the best
    equipment; they deserve the best training; they deserve the best support
    possible from the United States of America.
        I've also made homeland security a priority in the budget, with $3.5
    billion in proposed spending for our country's first-responders. We must
    prepare our country for whatever emergency may come and commit new
    resources to train and equipment our firefighters, our police, and EMS
    crews all around the country.
        You know, people oftentimes ask me what can they do to help fight in
    the war against terror. Firefighters answer that call every day. But
    there are other ways to fight in the war against terror as well. If you
    want to fight evil, do some good. If you want to join the war against
    terror, love your neighbor just like you'd like to be loved yourself.
        That's why I'm calling on people to join the USA Freedom Corps, and
    one of the initiatives is to help our firefighters and police and EMS
    teams--have volunteers

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    support you all, have elderly help out in Neighborhood Watch. I mean,
    there are ways citizens can join in this war against terror.
        And there are other ways as well. If you mentor a child, you're
    doing some good. If you say to a shut-in, ``What can I do to help you
    out,'' you're doing some good. If you go to your church or synagogue or
    mosque and help people feed the hungry, you're doing some good. And it's
    the millions of acts of kindness and compassion which stand squarely in
    the face of evil.
        I am so proud--I am so proud of the way America has responded. You
    know, I think we're beginning to defeat the old culture which said, ``If
    it feels good, just go ahead and do it,'' and ``If you've got a problem,
    blame somebody else.'' You've lived the culture of personal
    responsibility, of being responsible for something greater than
    yourself. That's what the firefighter does. And making the sacrifice and
    risking your life, you're a part of a movement, of a culture that says,
    ``It's important to serve something greater.''
        That was best seen in Flight 93. It's one of the moments that I'll
    never forget--when brave men and women on a flight were told via
    telephone on the plane that America was under attack and they,
    themselves, had become a weapon. They said to their loved ones--they
    told their loved ones they loved them; they said a prayer; one guy said,
    ``Let's roll''; and they drove an airplane in the ground, to serve
    something greater than themselves in life.
        Out of this evil will come incredible good in America. Out of the
    evil done to our country will come more peace in the world, a culture of
    personal responsibility, a willingness to serve something greater than
    ourselves in life. The enemy thought they hit a weak nation, but instead
    they hit the greatest nation on the face of the Earth. And it is my
    honor to be the President of the greatest nation.
        Thank you all. May God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:08 p.m. in the International Ballroom at
    the Washington Hilton Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Hal Bruno,
    chairman, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation; R. David Paulison,
    U.S. Fire Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency; Daniel A.
    Nigro, chief, Fire Department of New York City; Ed Plaugher, chief,
    Arlington County Fire Department, Arlington, VA; and Terry Shaffer,
    chief, Shanksville Volunteer Fire Department, Shanksville, PA. H.R.
    3379, to designate the Raymond M. Downey Post Office Building, approved
    April 18, was assigned Public Law No. 107-167.