Remarks at Dedication of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Memorial Building.

Mr. Chairman, Commander Feldmann, distinguished guests, comrades-in-arms of past years, and friends:

It is an honor to participate in this moving tribute to American veterans, living and dead. The emblem of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, here established, will be, I am told, perpetually lighted, symbolizing the Nation's eternal gratitude for the service and sacrifice of those who served its colors in the cause of freedom.

The struggle for freedom does not stop when the guns of war cease firing. Nor will it stop so long as freedom is suppressed or threatened anywhere in the world.

Freedom makes its rightful claim upon the daily life of everyone who enjoys its benefits. No deed is too small to count. Every one of us contributes in his own way to the strength of America, and the strength of this country is dedicated to the preservation of freedom.

So our efforts add up to more than simply our own health, our own well-being and economic development. They answer the disbelieving and the doubtful that in freedom man can achieve his rightful destiny; and that men of all nations and races can live in dignity together as they seek the common goal of peace with justice.

Our daily preoccupations too often divert us from our duty in the service of this noble cause. We accept freedom much as the air we breathe. We lose sight of the connection between our own acts and the vigor of our governmental representatives in preserving the values we deem priceless. We tend to forget the high price that was paid for the privilege of living in freedom, and the price that would be exacted from all mankind if freedom should ever be allowed to shrivel and weaken in the earth.

This is why it is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom's price. As we stand here in grateful remembrance of the veterans' contributions we renew our conviction of individual responsibility to live in ways that support the eternal truths upon which our Nation is rounded, and from which flows all its strength and all its greatness.

Thank you very much.