[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 17 (Monday, April 28, 2003)]
[Page 455]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

April 19, 2003

    Good morning. This weekend, families across America will come 
together to celebrate Easter and continue the observance of Passover. 
This holy season reminds us of the value of freedom and the power of a 
love stronger than death.
    This year, Easter and Passover have special meaning for the families 
of our men and women in uniform who feel so intensely the absence of 
their loved ones during these days. More than 250,000 American troops 
are serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to protect our security and to 
free an oppressed people. Their families await their safe return, and 
our grateful Nation remembers them in prayer.
    Our whole Nation has also shared in the happiness of learning that 
seven American prisoners of war were rescued in northern Iraq earlier 
this week and are now safe. Thanks to the courage of our marines and the 
help of Iraqis, their families have even more reason to celebrate this 
weekend.
    After hearing the good news, the parents of rescued helicopter pilot 
Ronald Young, Jr., of Georgia thanked people from across America and as 
far away as Australia and Japan for their cards and flowers and prayers. 
Kaye Young, Ronald's mother, said, ``You can't believe the blessings 
that have come out of this. Even as sad as we were, as upset as we were 
to think that he was being held, there have been so many blessings.'' 
Mrs. Young continued, ``All over this country, people cared so much 
about us and about our son.''
    As a nation, we continue to pray for all who serve in our military 
and those who remain in harm's way. We also pray for those who have lost 
people they love in this war. I have met with some of these grieving 
families, and I have seen their sorrow and their strength.
    Corporal Henry Brown, a 22-year-old soldier from Natchez, 
Mississippi, was lost in battle earlier this month. After the news 
arrived, his best friend, Frank Woods, Jr., said this about Henry: ``He 
believed God was working through him, and he was part of the plan. I 
guess part of the plan now is God calling his soldier home.''
    America mourns those who have been called home, and we pray that 
their families will find God's comfort and God's grace. His purposes are 
not always clear to us, yet this season brings a promise that good can 
come out of evil, that hope can arise from despair, and that all our 
grief will someday turn to joy, a joy that can never be taken away.
    Laura and I wish you all a happy Easter and a blessed Passover. 
Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 10:05 a.m. on April 16 in the Cabinet 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 19. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
April 18 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.