Remarks at Camp Pendleton, California

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Dec 13, 2004

Last month, I met a 15-year-old from California named Shauna Fleming, who collected a million thank you letters for our military personnel. In Washington, DC, veterans--Vietnam vet Steve Cobb and his wife, Tanya, have been coming out regularly to Andrews Air Force Base to meet wounded servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those two good folks welcome the troops home, and they offer whatever help they can provide. Steve earned four Purple Hearts and the Silver Star in Vietnam, but this is what he said. He said, "When I came home, there was nobody but demonstrators to meet our troops. I never wanted to see another generation of troops come home without being welcomed and appreciated."

In Massachusetts, a contractor named John Gonsalves says--heard about a soldier who had lost both legs in an RPG attack in Iraq. So he started Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit dedicated to building and adapting homes for disabled veterans with special needs. John says, "The war on terror is something the American people should all be a part of, not just the people on the frontlines in Afghanistan and in Iraq." He says, "We have a responsibility to do more for our veterans who are out there fighting every day and putting their lives on the line."

Here at Camp Pendleton, a nurse named Karen Guenther saw the financial strain on the families of the injured sailors and marines. Many spent weeks, even months away from home, standing by their loved ones recovering at a military hospital. They struggle with the cost of food and lodging and travel and lost income. So she and other Marine spouses started the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to raise money for those struggling military families. Since its founding here 6 months ago, it has grown into a national organization that has helped over 300 military families across the United States, with more than $400,000 in grants.

As a wife of a wounded marine recently put it, "There was no redtape. They just helped. Had it not been for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, I would not have been able to pay my bills for the past 3 months or stay at my husband's bedside."

These examples represent the true strength of the country, the heart and souls of your fellow citizens, and they make America proud. Across our country, Americans are coming together to surround our deployed forces and wounded warriors with love and support. We should be doing more, so I want to speak to our fellow citizens who might be listening today. I urge every American to find some way to thank our military and to help out the military family down the street. The Department of Defense has set up a web site: AmericaSupportsYou.mil. If you're interested in finding out how you can help, go to AmericaSupportsYou.mil. You can go there to learn about efforts in your own community to say you support our troops. In this season of giving, let us stand with the men and women who stand up for America, our military.

Every man and woman who serves at Camp Pendleton and all who wear the Marine Corps uniform are part of a great history. The General mentioned, 63 years ago today, our Nation was attacked at Pearl Harbor. And soon, the United States Marines were storming beaches and engaging the enemy in distant lands. In places like Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima, our fathers and our grandfathers struggled and sacrificed to defend freedom. And today, in places like Fallujah and north Babil, this generation of Marines is fighting to extend freedom.