Remarks at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the World War II Memorial - Transcript

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 20, 2000

November 11, 2000

Thank you very much. Secretary Cohen, thank you for your service. To the other members of the Cabinet and the administration, I thank you. General Woerner, thank you for your lifetime of service and your leadership of our Battlefield Monuments Commission. Ambassador Williams, thank you, and all the members of the World War II Memorial Committee. Archbishop Hannan, thank you for your prayers and your leadership in the war.

And to Captain Luther Smith of the Tuskegee Airmen, he and told you his story, but I can't help noting that in telling you his story he was rather like a lot of World War II veterans. He left out a few things. He left out the Distinguished Flying Cross, seven air medals, the Purple Heart, and a POW medal. Like many of our soldiers in World War II, his bravery went unmentioned, but we are, nonetheless, profoundly grateful for it.

I'd like to thank Fred Smith, my friend of many years, for stepping up and helping to raise all this money; and also, my friend Tom Hanks, who played Captain John Miller in "Saving Private Ryan" and is now making sure that America never forgets all the Private Ryans. We are grateful for him, as well.

I thank Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, who recognized the vision of her constituent Roger Durbin and introduced this legislation and has fought for it ever since. I can tell you as someone who has dealt with her for 8 years, there is no more determined person in the United States Congress. I am only amazed that this memorial was not built in 1988, since she got behind it. Thank you, Marcy Kaptur, for what you are doing.

I thank the Members of Congress who are here. Senator Thurmond once told me that he was the oldest man who took a glider into Normandy. I don't know what that means, 56 years later, but I'm grateful for all of the Members of Congress, beginning with Senator Thurmond and all the others who are here, who never stopped serving their country.

But most of all, I want to say a thank-you to Bob Dole and to Elizabeth for their service to America. As my tenure as President draws to a close, I have had, as you might imagine, an up-and-down relationship with Senator Dole. But I liked even the bad days. I always admired him. I was always profoundly grateful for his courage and heroism in war and 50 years of service in peace. After a rich and long life, he could well have done something else with his time in these last few years, but he has passionately worked for this day. And I am profoundly grateful.

I also want to thank the men and women and boys and girls all across our country who participated in this fundraising drive, taking this memorial from dream to reality. Their stories are eloquent testimony to its meaning. As Senator Dole and I were sitting up here watching the program unfold today, he told me an amazing story. He said, "One day a man from eastern Pennsylvania called our office. He was a 73-year-old Armenian-American named Sarkis Acopian. And he said, 'I'd like to make a contribution to this memorial. Where do I mail my check?"' -- just called. So he was given the address, and shortly after, this man's--who was grateful for the opportunities America has given him--check arrived in the office, a check for $1 million.

But there were all the other checks, as well, amounting to over $140 million in private contributions. There were contributions from those still too young to serve, indeed, far too young to remember the war. More than 1,100 schools across our Nation have raised money for the memorial by collecting cans, holding bake sales, putting on dances.

Let me just tell you about one of them, Milwaukie High School in Milwaukie, Oregon. Five years ago a teacher named Ken Buckles wanted to pay tribute to the World War II veterans. He and his students searched out local veterans and invited them to school for a living history day. Earlier this week, Living History Day 2000 honored more than 3,000 veterans with a recreated USO show that filled the pro basketball arena. Last year's event raised $10,000 for the memorial, and students think that this year they'll raise even more.

Now, what makes those kids fundraise and organize and practice for weeks on end? Many have grandparents and other relatives who fought in the war, but there must be more to it than that. They learned from their families and teachers that the good life they enjoy as Americans was made possible by the sacrifices of others more than a half-century ago. And maybe most important, they want us to know something positive about their own generation, as well, and their desire to stand for something greater than themselves.

They didn't have the money to fly out here today, but let's all of us send a loud thank-you to the kids at Milwaukie High School and their teacher, Ken Buckles, and all the other young people who have supported this cause. [Applause]

The ground we break today is not only a timeless tribute to the bravery and honor of one generation but a challenge to every generation that follows. This memorial is built not only for the children whose grandparents served in the war but for the children who will visit this place a century from now, asking questions about America's great victory for freedom.