Remarks Upon Arrival at El Dorado Airport, Bogota, Colombia

Mr. President:

I want to express my great appreciation to you and to the people of this country for their generous welcome to my wife and to myself.

The relations which have existed between the United States and Colombia stretch back to the earliest days of both of our nations, and it is a source of pride to me, and I'm sure it is to you, that this country was the first of all of the countries of Latin America that broke relations with the Axis at the beginning of World War II, and was the only country during the difficult and dark days of the Korean War that sent a detachment to fight with great distinction.

Of the one thousand men in that detachment, over two-thirds of them were casualties, and of the 29 soldiers of this country who were taken prisoner, not one displayed anything but the strongest resistance and the strongest courage.

So I come here today to express our warm feeling of friendship, with great sincerity, to the people of this country.

We believe in freedom--in the United States and in Colombia. We are opposed to tyranny of any kind. We are for the social justice for our people, because we recognize that we cannot have freedom unless all of our people have an equal opportunity to the advantages of a productive life--homes-education--work.

These are the things to which the Alliance for Progress--the Alianza para el Progreso-is committed. And therefore, Mr. President, it is particularly appropriate that I should come to this country where you have taken so many steps to put into actual implementation the ideals and the practices to which we are committed.

It is a great pleasure and a source of pride and satisfaction to come here as President of the United States, and to extend once again our hand of friendship to you, and to accept the hand of friendship which you have so generously shown us today.