[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 22 (Monday, June 4, 2007)]
[Pages 688-689]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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

May 28, 2007

    Thank you all. Secretary England, members of the Cabinet, General 
Pace, Members of Congress, members of the United States military, 
veterans, families of the fallen, my fellow citizens: Welcome.
    Today we honor the warriors who fought our Nation's enemies, 
defended the cause of liberty, and gave their lives in the cause of 
freedom. We offer our love and our heartfelt compassion to the families 
who mourn them. We pray that our country may always prove worthy of the 
sacrifices they made.
    For seven generations, we have carried our fallen to these fields. 
Here rest some 360,000 Americans who died fighting to preserve the Union 
and end slavery. Here rest some 500,000 Americans who perished in two 
World Wars to conquer tyrannies and build free nations from their ruins. 
Here rest some 90,000 Americans who gave their lives to confront 
Communist aggression in places such as Korea and Vietnam.
    Many names here are known: the 18-year-old Union soldier named 
Arthur MacArthur who grabbed a falling flag and carried it up Missionary 
Ridge; the Tuskegee Airmen who defended America abroad and challenged 
prejudice at home; the slain war hero and President who asked that we 
``assure the survival and success of liberty'' and found his rest 
beneath an eternal flame. Still others here are remembered only by 
loving families. Some are known only to God.
    Now this hallowed ground receives a new generation of heroes, men 
and women who gave their lives in places such as Kabul and Kandahar, 
Baghdad and Ramadi. Like those who came before them, they did not want 
war, but they answered the call when it came. They believed in something 
larger than themselves. They fought for our country, and our country 
unites to mourn them as one.
    We remember Army Specialist Ross Andrew McGinnis. Ross was born on 
Flag Day in 1987. When he was in kindergarten, he said he wanted to grow 
up to be ``an Army man.'' He enlisted at 17--the first day he was 
eligible. He deployed to Iraq. Last December, a grenade was thrown into 
his Humvee as Ross was patrolling the streets of Baghdad. The soldiers 
inside could not escape in time, so Ross leapt into the vehicle and 
covered the grenade with his own body. By sacrificing himself to save 
four other men, he earned a Silver Star and the eternal gratitude of the 
American people.

[[Page 689]]

    We remember Marine Sergeant Marc Golczynski of Murfreesboro, 
Tennessee. Marc volunteered for a second tour of duty in Iraq. He knew 
the dangers his service would entail. Before he deployed, he wrote the 
following in an e-mail to his family and friends: ``Please don't feel 
bad for us. We are warriors, and as warriors have done before us, we 
fight and sometimes die so our families do not have to.'' Marc left 
behind an 8-year-old son, Christian, who is with us today. He managed to 
be brave while he held his father's folded flag.
    With us are other children and families mourning moms and dads and 
sons and daughters. Nothing said today will ease your pain. But each of 
you need to know that your country thanks you, and we embrace you, and 
we will never forget the terrible loss you have suffered. I hope you 
find comfort in knowing that your loved ones rest in a place even more 
peaceful than the fields that surround us here.
    The greatest memorial to our fallen troops cannot be found in the 
words we say or the places we gather. The more lasting tribute is all 
around us--a country where citizens have the right to worship as they 
want, to march for what they believe, and to say what they think. These 
freedoms came at great costs, and they will survive only as long as 
there are those willing to step forward to defend them against 
determined enemies.
    As before in our history, Americans find ourselves under attack and 
underestimated. Our enemies long for our retreat. They question our 
moral purpose. They doubt our strength of will. Yet even after 5 years 
of war, our finest citizens continue to answer our enemies with courage 
and confidence. Hundreds of thousands of patriots still raise their 
hands to serve their country; tens of thousands who have seen war on the 
battlefield volunteer to reenlist. What an amazing country, to produce 
such fine citizens.
    Laura and I have met many of them. We've sat at the bedsides of the 
wounded. This morning I met with servicemembers who received medals for 
distinguished service and found myself humbled by their grace and their 
grit. I had the honor of meeting with families of the fallen in the Oval 
Office and was amazed by their strength and resolve and decent grace 
under pressure.
    We've heard of 174 marines recently--almost a quarter of a 
battalion--who asked to have their enlistments extended. For these 
extensions, they would earn no promotion and no promise of a favored 
posting. They want to serve their Nation. And as one of them put it, 
``I'm here so our sons don't have to come and fight here someday.''
    Those who serve are not fatalists or cynics. They know that one day, 
this war will end--as all wars do. Our duty is to ensure that its 
outcome justifies the sacrifices made by those who fought and died in 
it. From their deaths must come a world where the cruel dreams of 
tyrants and terrorists are frustrated and foiled, where our Nation is 
more secure from attack, and where the gift of liberty is secured for 
millions who have never known it.
    This is our country's calling. It's our country's destiny. Americans 
set off on that voyage more than two centuries ago, confident that this 
future was within our reach, even though the shore was distant and even 
though the journey may be long. And through generations, our course has 
been secured by those who wear a uniform, secured by people who man 
their posts and do their duty. They have helped us grow stronger with 
each new sunrise.
    On this day of memory, we mourn brave citizens who laid their lives 
down for our freedom. They lived and died as Americans. May we always 
honor them. May we always embrace them. And may we always be faithful to 
who they were and what they fought for.
    Thank you for having me. May God bless you, and may God continue to 
bless our country.

Note: The President spoke at 11:20 a.m. in the Amphitheater at Arlington 
National Cemetery.