Remarks at the Annual Service of the Atlanta Chapter' of the Military Order of World Wars

Thank you very much, Admiral Howell, Dr. Harrington, Colonel Williams, Gold Star Mothers, ladies and gentlemen:

We observe today an occasion of somber reflection and grateful praise. As we honor the mothers of men who gave their lives in the service of their country, we have cause once again to honor the brave men themselves.

Although our hearts are still mourning the loss of loved ones, we can draw inspiration from the knowledge that their supreme sacrifice was made in the defense of our Nation's noblest ideals.

The fact that we stand here today as citizens of the strongest, freest, and greatest nation on Earth is powerful testimony to the valor and courage with which these men gave their last full measure of devotion to America.

The pages of history record the names of many brave men who led armies into battle and to victory, and this Nation rightly reveres them. But there are others--other names known only to those assembled here--whose contributions were just as great, whose devotion was just as steadfast, whose sacrifice for the cause of freedom was just as complete. They all share the same glory, won many times over many foes in many different uniforms. Their common enemy was always tyranny, and thanks to them that enemy has never cast its shadow over our land.

It is by the deeds of these gallant men--by heralded acts of bravery and by unknown acts of quiet courage--that freedom flourishes in America today. It is their legacy that government "of the people, by the people and for the people" still thrives in America in 1976.

Our memorial today is a recognition of their deeds and a celebration of their legacy and it is a prayer for the divine care of men who pressed the battle of freedom and made freedom secure. And it is a pledge to them of America's unfailing resolve to preserve, enhance, and cherish the freedom that they made secure for us. America has no intention of abdicating its leadership to any nation committed to the destruction of liberty.

We know that the freedoms we have defended so often are being challenged today. We know that our strength, our vigilance, and our national resolve are the foundations of hope for peace and stability in the world.

When I took the solemn oath of office as your President 20 months ago, I pledged myself and our Nation to an uninterrupted and sincere search for peace. I said then, and I say again today, that America will remain strong and united, but our strength will be dedicated to the safety of the entire family of man as well as to our own precious freedom.

America has seen too much of war in the 20th century, too much of suffering and dying on bloodstained fields of battle. We cherish the peace that America enjoys today, the peace that finds no American boys in combat anywhere on the face of the globe.

Peace today has a very special significance because war today has a very special terror. The devastation and death left in the wake of a thermonuclear war would be so great that the world as we know it would simply cease to exist. Therefore, we must do our very best to keep the peace, not the peace of weakness and concession but the peace secured by strength and courage and dedication. That is the role that destiny calls us to play.

Our country is very special in the eyes of the world. America shines today as the brightest beacon of hope for millions who live in the darkness of tyranny and oppression.

The men whose mothers we honor today have held that beacon high, have carried it into battle and made the darkness retreat. Now, they have passed the beacon to us. In the quality of our lives, in the steadfastness of our purpose, we must show ourselves worthy of the sacrifice that they made on our behalf.

May we, like them, devote ourselves to peace and liberty and, like them, march always in the ranks of honor.

Thank you very much.