Statement About the Air Force Museum

EVER SINCE the Wright brothers began to test their flying machines on this land in 1904, the site now occupied by the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has been intimately linked with the history of American aviation. The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is an outstanding symbol of that technological excellence which has done so much to enhance the quality of American life and which is so important to our position as a world leader.

This base is a most appropriate place, therefore, to commemorate our aviation history through the outstanding collections of the United States Air Force Museum. The new building which we are dedicating today will do much to enhance the scope, the attractiveness, and the usefulness of these exhibits. On behalf of all Americans, I extend deepest thanks to those whose contributions have made this project possible. I especially salute the Air Force Museum Foundation, its late chairman-Eugene W. Kettering---the Kettering family, and the people of Dayton for their central role in creating this great facility as a gift to the United States Air Force and to the American people.

The United States Air Force Museum demonstrates in a most compelling fashion the tremendous progress which American aviation has made in a remarkably brief time. It will afford a valuable opportunity for future generations of Americans to learn about the dedication and courage and skill which have made that progress possible.

We honor today the spirit of American aviation--a spirit which is always striving to test the limits of what is possible, a spirit which thrives when it is pursuing the unknown. This is the spirit which drove the Wright brothers in the early years of this century and which has characterized all those who have since followed in their steps. It is this spirit which we now must demonstrate anew--in every area of life-if we are to meet our current challenges and fulfill the American promise in our own time.