[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 17 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Pages 917-918]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the Memorial Service for President Richard Nixon

April 27, 1994

    President Nixon opened his memoirs with a simple sentence, ``I was 
born in a house my father built.'' Today, we can look back at this 
little house and still imagine a young boy sitting by the window of the 
attic he shared with his three brothers, looking out to a world he could 
then himself only imagine. From those humble roots, as from so many 
humble beginnings in this country, grew the force of a driving dream, a 
dream that led to the remarkable journey that ends here today where it 
all began, beside the same tiny home, mail-ordered from back East, near 
this towering oak tree which, back then, was a mere seedling.
    President Nixon's journey across the American landscape mirrored 
that of his entire nation in this remarkable century. His life was bound 
up with the striving of our whole people, with our crises and our 
triumphs.
    When he became President, he took on challenges here at home on 
matters from cancer research to environmental protection, putting the 
power of the Federal Government where Republicans and Democrats had 
neglected to put it in the past. In foreign policy, he came to the 
Presidency at a time in our history when Americans were tempted to say 
we had had enough of the world. Instead, he knew we had to reach out to 
old friends and old enemies alike. He would not allow America to quit 
the world.
    Remarkably, he wrote 9 of his 10 books after he left the Presidency, 
working his way back into the arena he so loved by writing and thinking, 
and engaging us in his dialog.
    For the past year, even in the final weeks of his life, he gave me 
his wise counsel, especially with regard to Russia. One thing in 
particular left a profound impression on me. Though this man was in his 
ninth decade, he had an incredibly sharp and vigorous and rigorous mind.
    As a public man, he always seemed to believe the greatest sin was 
remaining passive in the face of challenges. And he never stopped living 
by that creed. He gave of himself with intelligence and energy and 
devotion to duty. And his entire country owes him a debt of gratitude 
for that service. Oh yes, he knew great controversy amid defeat as well 
as victory. He made mistakes, and they, like his accomplishments, are 
part of his life and record.
    But the enduring lesson of Richard Nixon is that he never gave up 
being part of the action and passion of his times. He said many times 
that unless a person has a goal, a new mountain to climb, his spirit 
will die. Well, based on our last phone conversation and the letter he 
wrote me just a month ago, I can say that his spirit was very much alive 
to the very end. That is a great tribute to him, to his wonderful wife, 
Pat, to his children, and to his grandchildren whose love he so depended 
on and whose love he returned in full measure.
    Today is a day for his family, his friends, and his nation to 
remember President Nixon's life in totality. To them, let us say, may 
the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life 
and career come to a close. May we heed his call to maintain the will 
and the wisdom to build on America's greatest gift, its freedom, to lead 
a world full

[[Page 918]]

of difficulty to the just and lasting peace he dreamed of.
    As it is written in the words of a hymn I heard in my church last 
Sunday, ``Grant that I may realize that the trifling of life creates 
differences, but that in the higher things, we are all one.'' In the 
twilight of his life, President Nixon knew that lesson well. It is, I 
feel certain, a faith he would want us all to keep.
    And so, on behalf of all four former Presidents who are here, 
President Ford, President Carter, President Reagan, President Bush, and 
on behalf of a grateful nation, we bid farewell to Richard Milhous 
Nixon.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 5 p.m. at the Richard Nixon 
Library and Birthplace. These remarks were part of a White House press 
release including the remarks of Rev. Billy Graham, Henry Kissinger, 
Senator Robert Dole, and Governor Pete Wilson. A tape was not available 
for verification of the content of these remarks.