[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 23 (Monday, June 7, 2004)]
[Pages 972-974]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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

May 31, 2004

    Thank you all very much. Thank you all. Welcome. Mr. Secretary, 
thank you for your great leadership as Secretary of Defense for our 
country. General Myers, members of the United States military, veterans, 
honored guests, and fellow Americans. This morning I had the honor of 
placing a wreath before the Tomb of the Unknowns. This custom is 
observed every Memorial Day on behalf of the American people as a mark 
of gratitude and respect.
    And when this ceremony is concluded and all of us have gone on our 
way, the Honor Guard will keep watch over the Tomb. Every hour of every 
day, on the coldest nights, in the hardest rain, there is a sentinel of 
the 3d U.S. Infantry standing guard. The soldiers entrusted with that 
duty count it a privilege.

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And today, as we reflect on the men and women who have died in the 
defense of America, all of us count it a privilege to be citizens of the 
country they served.
    In the military tradition, no one is left behind on the field of 
battle. And our Nation is determined to account for all of the missing. 
The same spirit can be seen in the respect we show to each life laid 
down for this Nation. We receive them in sorrow, and we take them to an 
honored place to rest. At this and other cemeteries across our country 
and in cemeteries abroad where heroes fell, America acknowledges a debt 
that is beyond our power to repay.
    This weekend, we dedicated the World War II Memorial, which will 
stand forever as a tribute to the generation that fought that war and 
the more than 400,000 Americans who fell. Some here today can turn their 
minds back across 60 years and see the face of a buddy who never made it 
home. You are veterans who have not forgotten your comrades, and America 
will always honor the achievements and the character of your brave 
generation.
    Through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we 
have known the costs of war, and the war on terror we're fighting today 
has brought great costs of its own. Since the hour this Nation was 
attacked, we have seen the character of the men and women who wear our 
country's uniform. In places like Kabul and Kandahar, in Mosul and 
Baghdad, we have seen their decency and their brave spirit. Because of 
their fierce courage, America is safer; two terror regimes are gone 
forever; and more than 50 million souls now live in freedom.
    Those who have fought these battles and served this cause 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. They will remember young soldiers like Captain 
Joshua Byers, a West Point man born in South Carolina who died in Iraq. 
When this son of missionaries was given command of a 120-man combat 
unit, he wrote this to his parents: ``I will give the men everything I 
have to give. I love them already, just because they're mine. I pray 
with all my heart that I will be able to take every single one of them 
home safe when we finish our mission here.''
    Sergeant Major Michael Stack, who was laid to rest at Arlington, 
wore the uniform for 28 years and is remembered as a soldier's soldier. 
The sergeant major must have been quite a guy. When he was a young 
platoon sergeant, the recruits gave him a nickname, No Slack Billy Jack 
Stack. [Laughter] By all accounts, he was the kind of man you want in 
charge of a tough situation. And by the account of his mother, he 
finished his goodbyes with these words: ``Mom, I'm going because I 
believe in what I am doing. And if I don't come back, we will meet in a 
better place.''
    Those who risked their lives on our behalf are often very clear 
about what matters most in their own lives, and they tell it to those 
they love. Master Sergeant Kelly Hornbeck of the Special Forces was 
killed in action last January, south of Samarra. To his parents back in 
Fort Worth, Texas, he wrote this: ``I am not afraid, and neither should 
either of you be, for I trust in my God and my training, two powerful 
forces that cannot be fully measured.''
    After Private First Class Jesse Givens of Springfield, Missouri, was 
lost last May, his family received a letter he had written to them in 
the event of his death. He wrote this to his son, Dakota: ``You've 
taught me that life isn't so serious, and sometimes you just have to 
play. You have a big, beautiful heart. Through your life, you need to 
keep it open and follow it. I will always be there in our park when you 
dream, so we can play.'' To his wife, Melissa, Private Givens wrote, 
``Do me a favor after you tuck the children in. Give them hugs and 
kisses from me. Go outside and look at the stars and count them. Don't 
forget to smile.'' This is the quality of the people in our uniform.
    And this is the loss to our Nation. Markers on these hills record 
the names of more than 280,000 men and women. Each was once or still is 
the most important person in someone's life. With each loss in war, the 
world changed forever for the family and friends left behind. Each loss 
left others to go on, counting the years of separation, and living in 
the hope of reunion.

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    Although the burden of grief can become easier to bear, always there 
is the memory of another time and the feeling of sadness over an 
unfinished life. Yet, the completeness of a life is not measured in 
length only. It is measured in the deeds and commitments that give a 
life its purpose. And the commitment of these lives was clear to all: 
They defended our Nation; they liberated the oppressed; they served the 
cause of peace. And all Americans who have known the loss and sadness of 
war, whether recently or long ago, can know this: The person they love 
and miss is honored and remembered by the United States of America. May 
God bless our country.

Note: The President spoke at 11:24 a.m. in the Amphitheater at Arlington 
National Cemetery.