WE celebrate Columbus Day tomorrow. It is the day when schoolchildren across the Nation marvel at the greatness of a man who braved the unknown. It is the day when adults reflect on the beginnings of our civilization.
But we honor more than Columbus the man. We honor the qualities that made him great: qualities of daring, imagination, determination, and courage. These are qualities that all Americans hold dear. They drew the Pilgrims to these shores; they prodded the pioneers westward; they spurred Lindbergh across the Atlantic; and now they urge us to explore the heavens.
But we cannot honor Columbus without being reminded of other Italians who have contributed so much to our civilization. From Vespucci to Fermi to Toscanini, America has been enriched by the blood of Italy flowing in its veins.
As we honor the first Italian-American, we honor all the others who came after.
Note: Proclamation 3673 designating October 12, 1965, as Columbus Day was signed by the President on September 22, 1965 (1 Weekly Comp. Pres. Docs., p. 296; 30 F.R. 12277; 3 CFR, 1965 Supp., p. 59).
The statement was released at the Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Md.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President: Columbus Day, 1965. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241201