My fellow Americans:
Today we are commissioning our 28th nuclear-powered Polaris submarine. This submarine will be named for a great American-the late Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn.
Polaris submarines are named for great patriots who have rendered distinguished service to the cause of freedom.
Nothing could be more appropriate than to honor in this fashion Sam Rayburn.
In our times, no man pursued that cause with greater fervor, nor with greater distinction, than did this great representative of the people.
He served in the Congress for nearly half a century. He held the high office of Speaker longer than any other American. His achievements and his example will endure so long as this Republic stands.
Mr. Rayburn was a man of peace--but he was also a man of firmness and courage. He knew that peace and freedom could be preserved only if we, as a nation, held steadfast to a course of firmness and courage. Many of the victories won on fields far away began in the leadership of Mr. Rayburn-and others like him--in the hails of our Congress.
When Mr. Rayburn died in 1961, only two Polaris submarines had been deployed. Soon there will be 41 on patrol beneath the seas of the world, virtually invulnerable to surprise attack by any enemy.
Yet the purpose of this new submarine-like those which came before--is not war, but peace. While such power exists, no potential enemy can hope to profit from an unprovoked, surprise attack on the United States.
Our Polaris missiles, together with our strategic bombers and our long-range missiles ashore, guarantee any adversary that retaliation for a nuclear attack on this country would be inevitable and devastating.
Because the world knows this, the chances of war are lessened--and the chance of lasting peace is greater.
As we put this fine ship into commission, let us reaffirm our dedication to the cause of peace, and the pursuit of justice among men around the world.
We of this generation share responsibility not only for our own security, but for the security of the entire free world.
In facing these responsibilities, we pursue not our own interests, but the interests of all mankind. It was by this standard that Sam Rayburn served his country and it is by this standard that we live and labor today.
Our great strength exists not to destroy, but to save--not to put an end to life as we know it, but to put an end to conflict and war as man has known it since time began.
With God's help, that is what we shall do.
Note: The President's remarks were taped earlier at the White House for use at the commissioning ceremony held at Newport News, Va., at 2 p.m. on December 2.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Remarks Recorded for the Commissioning of the U.S.S. Sam Rayburn. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241400
