Letter Accepting Resignation of Anthony J. Celebrezze as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

[Released July 28, 1965. Dated July 27, 1965] My dear Tony:

You leave this Administration to sit on the bench of one of the highest courts in the land. I am aware that this new calling coincides with your own desires, and no man is more deserving.

You go with my reluctance. No Cabinet officer has worked longer, harder, with a more zestful spirit, than you. The results of what you have done are plainly evident in the Congress, and will leave even larger imprints in the objective scrutiny of history.

The legacy you bequeath, not merely to your successor, but to the succeeding generations of Americans is the mark of your achievement. Medical care for the aged; education for more young people too often disadvantaged; bold new pathways in combatting disease, particularly the unapprehended killers: cancer, stroke and heart disease; in all these adventures you were both leader and tireless worker.

You carry with you the gratitude of an advancing nation, and you take with you the appreciation and the friendship of your President.

Sincerely,

LYNDON B. JOHNSON

[Honorable Anthony I. Celebrezze, Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Washington, D.C.]