[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 22 (Monday, June 2, 2003)]
[Pages 660-661]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Memorial Day Ceremony in Arlington, Virginia

May 26, 2003

    Thank you all very much for the warm welcome. Mr. Secretary, thank 
you for your leadership. Secretary Principi, Members of the United 
States Congress, General Myers, members of the Joint Chiefs, General 
Jackson and Colonel Ray and Colonel Steedley, veterans, honored guests, 
and my fellow Americans, we come to this Memorial Day with deep 
awareness of recent loss and recent courage.
    Beyond the Tomb of the Unknowns, in Section 60 of Arlington 
Cemetery, we have laid to rest Americans who fell in the battle of Iraq. 
One of the funerals was for Marine Second Lieutenant Frederick Pokorney, 
Jr., of Jacksonville, North Carolina. His wife, Carolyn, received a 
folded flag. His 2-year-old daughter, Taylor, knelt beside her mother at 
the casket to say a final goodbye.
    An uncle later said of this fine lieutenant, ``He was proud of what 
he was doing and proud of his family, a hard-working guy--the best guy 
you can ever know. I hope the American people don't forget.'' This 
Nation does not forget.
    Last month, in Section 60, First Lieutenant Rob Jenkins was buried, 
along with five other members of a bomber crew. They were lost when 
their plane was shot down over North Africa in 1942. Rob Jenkins had 
joined the Army Air Corps after Pearl Harbor, and he was 20 years old on 
his final mission.
    Six decades later, his plane was found and the remains of the crew 
were carefully identified, returned home, and buried with military 
honors. Rob's sister, Helen, said, ``We were very proud that the 
Government would care that much. After all, it was such a long time 
ago.'' This Nation does not forget.
    On Memorial Day, Americans place flags on military graves, walk past 
a wall of black granite in Washington, DC, and many families think of a 
face and voice they miss so much. Today we honor the men and women who 
have worn the Nation's uniform and were last seen on duty. From the 
battles of Iraq and Afghanistan to the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam to 
the trials of World War to the struggles that made us a nation, today we 
recall that liberty is always the achievement of courage.
    And today we remember all who have died, all who are still missing, 
and all who mourn. And on this day, especially, our Nation is grateful 
to the brave and fallen defenders of freedom. In every generation of 
Americans, we have found courage equal to the tasks of our country. The 
farms and small towns and city streets of this land have always produced 
free citizens who assume the discipline and duty of military life. And 
time after time, they have proven that the moral force of democracy is 
mightier than the will and cunning of any tyrant.
    The widow of one of our marines in Iraq made this point very simply. 
``There is good and evil in the world,'' she said. ``That's what's going 
on, and he was the good.'' All the good people we honor today were 
willing to die in the service of our country and our cause. Yet all of 
them wanted to live. And the images they carried with them at the end 
were the people they loved and the familiar sights of home.

[[Page 661]]

    Not long before his death last month, Army Captain James Adamouski 
of Springfield, Virginia, wrote this to his wife, Meighan. ``I do my job 
110 percent and don't get distracted or discouraged when I'm out flying 
on missions. However, when I have some down time and get to really 
thinking, I realize that for all the good times we're--all the good 
things we're doing here, I just plain miss you.''
    In his last letter home from the Middle East, Staff Sergeant Lincoln 
Hollinsaid of Malden, Illinois, said how much he appreciated getting 
mail from his family. He added, ``I wish my truck and boat knew how to 
write.'' [Laughter] ``I sure do miss them.'' [Laughter] He went on, 
``Today would be a beautiful fishing day. I can see it now: Drop my 
electronic anchors, kick my feet up, three poles out with hooks in 
search for that elusive yet loveable catfish.''
    Americans like these did not fight for glory but to fulfill a duty. 
They did not yearn to be heroes; they yearned to see mom and dad again 
and to hold their sweethearts and to watch their sons and daughters 
grow. They wanted the daily miracle of freedom in America, yet they gave 
all that up and gave life itself for the sake of others.
    Their sacrifice was great but not in vain. All Americans and every 
free nation on Earth can trace their liberty to the white markers of 
places like Arlington National Cemetery. And may God keep us ever 
grateful.
    Almost 7 weeks ago, an Army Ranger, Captain Russell Rippetoe, was 
laid to rest in Section 60. Captain Rippetoe's father, Joe, a retired 
lieutenant colonel, gave a farewell salute at the grave of his only son. 
Russell Rippetoe served with distinction in Operation Iraqi Freedom, 
earning both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. On the back of his 
dog tag were engraved these words from the Book of Joshua: ``Have not I 
commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be 
thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee.'' This faithful Army 
captain has joined a noble company of service and sacrifice gathered row 
by row. These men and women were strong and courageous and not dismayed, 
and we pray they have found their peace in the arms of God.
    May God bless America.

Note: The President spoke at 11:33 a.m. in the Amphitheater at Arlington 
National Cemetery. In his remarks, he referred to Secretary of Defense 
Donald H. Rumsfeld; Maj. Gen. James T. Jackson, USA, commander, and Col. 
Kerry Steedley, USA, chaplain, Military District of Washington; and Col. 
Harold Ray, USAF, 11th wing chaplain, Bolling Air Force Base.