THIS MEMORIAL DAY, 1973, is an occasion for all of us to express special gratitude for the sacrifices of those brave men who have given their lives to protect America's freedom over the past two centuries.
Today, as we honor the memory of our wartime dead, we are able for the first time in 12 years to do so as a peacetime nation, with all of our fighting forces home from Vietnam and all our prisoners set free, their heads held high. The men and women who fell in America's wars, from Bunker Hill to Khe Sanh and Hue, have brought the promise of lasting peace on Earth closer for us all. Let us prove that their heroism was not in vain. Let us work together to erect a new structure of peace upon the firm foundations they fought so nobly to build.
Note: The President recorded the message for use on radio. The text was released at Key Biscayne, Fla.
Richard Nixon, Memorial Day Message. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/255535