[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 22 (Monday, June 3, 1996)]
[Pages 949-950]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

May 25, 1996

    Good morning. This weekend all across our country we gather to 
observe Memorial Day. Over this weekend we honor Americans from all our 
wars who died while defending our Nation. These brave men and women gave 
their tomorrows so that we might live in freedom. We must vow to uphold 
the ideals they died for and make our country great, an America free and 
strong, a force for peace and progress, a land of tolerance and 
opportunity for all.
    Many of you will come together as families and friends to place a 
wreath on a grave, to proudly march in a parade, to tell tales of 
service and sacrifice that are so much the story of our Nation. From the 
Revolutionary War to the Civil War, from the World Wars to Korea, 
Vietnam, Desert Storm, and the other conflicts in our history, all 
remind us that all of our people have given a lot in the military to 
protect the land we love.
    Now we have the responsibility to build a future worthy of their 
sacrifice. We must make sure that America enters the 21st century as the 
greatest force on Earth for peace and freedom. Today, the men and women 
of America's Armed Forces are the best trained, best equipped, best 
prepared in the world, and I am determined to keep them that way. This 
is the surest guarantee of our security and freedom.
    Whether safeguarding the border between North and South Korea, 
rescuing Americans in Liberia, helping the people of Bosnia to uphold 
the peace they chose, all around the world our troops stand sentry on 
liberty's front lines. Today we salute our men and women in uniform and 
the families who support them. We are proud of them and grateful for 
their service.
    Our troops are the backbone of the American leadership that is the 
source of strength at home and our success around the world. Whether 
preventing conflict in the Persian Gulf, reducing the nuclear threat as 
we have done in North Korea, working with other nations to fight common 
dangers like terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime, 
strengthening our alliances in Asia and Europe, or isolating rogue 
nations like Libya and Iraq, steady, strong American leadership is 
making our people safer and the world more secure.
    We also must uphold our Nation's leadership in the powerful global 
movement for democracy and peace. Today, more than ever and more than 
any other nation, America can help to push aside obstacles and point the 
way to peace. From the Middle East to Northern Ireland, from Haiti to 
Bosnia, we are helping millions of people embrace a future of hope.
    If we continue to make good on their trust, we can build an even 
brighter future for our own people and for the world. We owe many debts 
to those who gave all they had to defend America's security and values 
around the world. But we know that to truly fulfill our debts, we must 
build the American dream here at home, too.
    Our troops deserve an America with strong families, safe streets, 
good schools, clean air and water. Even as we balance our budget, my 
administration is working to keep our solemn commitment to America's 
veterans by improving the health care they receive, protecting the 
benefits they've earned, and making sure they have a fair shot at decent 
jobs and good homes.
    Our commitment to our veterans must be the same as our commitment to 
all Americans, to give them the chance to make the most of their own 
lives. Generations of service men and women have fought and died for a 
common ideal, an America that offers opportunity for all, demands 
responsibility from all, that comes together as a community around the 
values we share.

[[Page 950]]

    On this Memorial Day, let us honor their sacrifice. Let us resolve 
to keep our America the strongest nation in the world and the world's 
strongest force for peace and freedom. And let us each do our part to 
keep the American dream alive.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The President spoke at 10:06 a.m. from the Oval Office at the 
White House.