Dedication of the National Medal of
Honor
Memorial
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery By Secretary of Defense William
S. Cohen Riverside National Cemetery, Riverside, California
Friday, November 5, 1999
Thank you, Michael Goldware, Chairman
of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, for your moving
words and for the extraordinary amount of time and energy that
you have invested to make this memorial such a great success.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Togo D. West Jr.; Congressman Ken
Calvert; Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients and members of
your families; officers and members of the armed forces, past
and present; Janet Cohen; distinguished guests; ladies and
gentlemen.
More than a century ago, one of the
earliest recipients of the Medal of Honor, the Civil War hero
General Joshua Chamberlain, returned to Gettysburg and spoke at
the dedication of a monument to his soldiers.
He said, "The inspiration of a
noble cause involving human interests far and wide, enables men
to do things they did not dream themselves capable of before and
which they were not capable of alone. The consciousness of
belonging, vitally, to something beyond individuality, of part
of a personality that reaches we know not where, in space and in
time, greatens the heart to the limits of the soul’s
ideal."
Today, at this grand memorial to
Americans of singular courage and character, we gather with
hearts that are indeed greatened to their limit.
We gather, in part, to express the
fullness of our gratitude to the proud members of the
Congressional Medal of Honor Society, to this city and its
cemetery, and to the countless hands—veterans, donors,
volunteers, and artisans—who have joined together to create
this inspiring symbol and magnificent ceremony.
This national expression of
appreciation to America’s greatest heroes will reach not only
beyond the bounds of this city and this state, it will reach
beyond the bounds of this generation—profound in its
principles, powerful in its eloquence—and speak down through
the ages to those who inherit the flourishing legacy of freedom
that has been bequeathed to us.
We also gather, in part, to offer our
respect and remembrance to men and women of boldness and
bravery: soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who, through the
force of will, or an unexpected twist of fate saved their
comrades from the unforgiving savagery of war, or inspired them
to victory through unimaginable feats of sacrifice.
Today, we honor the heroes who stand
among us and those living across the nation, who, in their
defining hours, were not blind to fears but rather strong enough
to see through them, who reached deep within for the resolve to
achieve what even they may have considered impossible.
Today, we honor the heroes now
departed, who carried into battle the light of true friendships
and fidelity to their nation, but who broke and bled into a
blackness from which they never returned.
Destiny has carved a signature of
their lives into these walls, and I dare say that no one will be
able to witness the force of this memorial without being
profoundly moved in the very center of their souls. But if we
are to keep faith those who have served and sacrificed, we must
do more than revel in their gallantry and epic daring. We must
also grant them the simple dignity of being remembered in their
true dimensions, as they regarded themselves and were viewed by
those around them: as a child raised by a mother and father; a
young person, a student, or a neighbor; an occasional confidante
or a friend for life.
Indeed, to run one’s fingers along
the eternal etchings of these walls is to trace the larger
fabric of humanity in which their acts were enfolded: parents
whose last contact with their son was a letter from a distant
country; friends who have helped our veterans to heal and
recover from the ravages of war; entire families stricken with
grief when the young spark in their lives flickers with pain or
vanishes in silence.
So I believe we should use this
memorial to remember their pain and sacrifice also. America is
eternally indebted to the families and friends of our servicemen
who stood, and continue to stand, behind each of these heroes.
It is never too late for us, individually and collectively, to
say we recognize your loss, we respect your sacrifice, we thank
you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to
invite this amazing array of Medal of Honor recipients here
today to stand at this time so that a grateful nation can honor
their service and sacrifice. And as they remain standing, I
would like their family members and the relatives of all the
recipients--past and present--to also stand so that we may pay
tribute to you.
Every American--military and
civilian, old and young--should be heartened by the depth and
diversity of this gathering here today. But ultimately the
burden of responsibility that each of us carries away from this
sacred place and builds upon is far more important than what has
been built here. As President Lincoln counseled, the greatest
honor we can pay to those who have fought for America is to
rededicate ourselves to the principles for which America stands,
to ensure that those who suffered or died shall not have done so
in vain.
At the dawn of this century, the
soldier and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
spoke at the dedication of another memorial. And he said,
"We all walk by faith. But our faith must not be limited to
our personal task, to the present, or even to the future. It
must include the past and bring all—past, present, and
future—into the unity of a single continuous life. We
consecrate these memorials with the intent and expectation that
centuries from now those who read the simple words will find
their lives richer and their purposes stronger. Modest as they
are, the monuments now unveiled seem to me trumpets, which two
hundred years from now may blow the great battle calls of
life."
Ladies and gentlemen, a walk by these
walls is indeed a "walk by faith." But among these
walls, we hear more than the rousing echoes of the victorious,
more than the tragic cries of the fallen. We hear the clear and
distant trumpets of battles still to come, the summons to gather
our courage and our resolve. And they bid us to preserve freedom
in our time in order to honor those who made us free.
The spirit and purpose shown here
today gives me great confidence that we shall always answer that
call. The gallant heroes whom we honor today deserve no less.
Our destiny can not be achieved unless we are always ready to
ask and to give more. Thank you very much.
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