A few moments ago I placed a wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and as I stepped back, and stood during The Moment of Silence that followed, I Said A small Prayer, and it occurred to me, that each of my, predecessors has had a similar moment, and i wondered if our Prayers weren't, very much the same, if not Identical. We celebrate, Veterans day on the Anniversary. Of the Armistice that ended World War One. The Armistice that began on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. And i wonder in fact if all America's Prayers, aren't the same as those I mentioned a moment ago. For, all we can ever do for our Heroes, Is remember them, and, remember what they did, and memories are transmitted, through words. We see these soldiers in our mind as, Old and Wise, We see them as something like the Founding Fathers Grave and Gray-Haired, but most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives, the one they were living, and, the one they would have lived. When they died they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers, they gave up their chance to be. Revered old men. They gave up everything, for our Country, for Us, and all we can, do is remember, there's always someone, who is remembering for us. No matter what time of year it is or what time of day. There are always people who come to this cemetery, Leave A flag, or a flower, or a little rock on a headstone. And they stop and bow, their heads, and communicate, what they wished to communicate. I think sometimes of general Matthew Ridgway, who, the night before D-Day, tossed sleepless on his cot, and talked to the Lord, and listened for the promise that God made to Joshua. I will not Fail Thee. Nor Forsake Thee. We are surrounded today by the dead of our wars, we owe them a debt, we can never repay. All we can do Is remember them, and what they did, and, why they had to be brave, for us. All we can do Is try to see that other young men Never, have to join them, today as never before. We must pledge to, remember the things that will continue the peace. Today as never before we must pray for God's help in broadening and deepening the peace we enjoy. Let us pray for Freedom and Justice, and a more stable world, and let us make a compact today with the dead. A promise in the words for which general Ridgway listened, I will not fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee.
