    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
    [May 29, 2004]
    [Pages 941-942]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    May 29, 2004

        Good morning. Monday is Memorial Day, and all across America this
    weekend, people are remembering those who fought for freedom and who
    gave their lives in service to their country.
        Here in the Nation's Capital, Saturday has a special significance as
    we dedicate the World War II Memorial in the presence of thousands of
    veterans of that conflict. When it mattered most, an entire generation
    of Americans stepped forward to fight evil and show the finest qualities
    of our Nation and of humanity.
        The World War II Memorial will stand forever as a tribute to the
    generation that fought that war and to the more than 400,000 Americans
    who gave their lives. Because of their sacrifice, tyrants fell; fascism
    and nazism were vanquished; and freedom prevailed.
        Today, freedom faces new enemies, and a new generation of Americans
    has stepped forward to defeat them. Since the hour this Nation was
    attacked on September the 11th, 2001, we have seen the character of the
    men and women who wear our country's uniform. In places like Kabul and
    Kandahar, Mosul and Baghdad, we have seen their decency and brave
    spirit. And because of their fierce courage, America is safer, and two
    terror regimes are gone forever, and more than 50 million souls now live
    in freedom.
        Our mission continues, and we will see it through to victory. We
    have a strategy to defeat our terrorist enemy and a plan to help
    establish lasting freedom in Iraq.

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    The stakes are high, and they are clear. The enemy seeks to establish a
    new haven for terror and violence at the heart of the Middle East. They
    seek to force free nations to retreat into isolation and fear, yet we
    will persevere and defeat this enemy and hold this hard-won ground for
    the realm of liberty.
        Those who have fought the battles of the war on terror and served
    the cause of freedom can be proud of all they have achieved. And these
    veterans of battle will carry with them for all their days the memory of
    the ones who did not live to be called veterans. Each man or woman we
    have laid to rest had hopes for the future and left a place that can
    never be filled. Each was the most important person in someone's life.
    For their families there is terrible sorrow, and we pray for their
    comfort. For the Nation there is a feeling of loss, and we remember each
    name.
        Through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we
    have known the costs of war. And in every generation, it is the best
    among us who are called to pay that price. Those who have paid those
    costs have given us every moment we live in freedom, and every living
    American is in their debt. We can never repay what they gave for this
    country, but on this holiday, we acknowledge the debt by showing our
    respect and gratitude.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 1:45 p.m. on May 28 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 29. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    May 28 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office of
    the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of this
    address. The Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day proclamation of May 26 is
    listed in Appendix D at the end of this volume.