THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. Secretary Principi, thank you
for agreeing to serve our nation. Thank you for your vision and hard work
to make sure that those who have worn the uniform receive the benefits that
they are owed. Principi is a good man who is going to do a fine job on
behalf of the American people.

I'm honored to be here with my friend, the Governor of the state of
Arizona, Jane Dee Hull. (Applause.) Senator John Kyl, from the great state
of Arizona. (Applause.) Congressman Bob Stump, the Chairman of the
Military Affairs Committee. (Applause.) J. D. Hayworth -- (applause.) And the Congressman from this district, Jeff Flake. (Applause.)

It's an honor to be here with the commanders of Arizona's military
bases. I'm pleased to be here with the distinguished guests on the stage.
There's one special American here today, a man named Tom Lockhart, who was a
captain in the United States Air Force, who had the dubious distinction of
trying to teach me how to fly a T-38 aircraft at Moody Air Force Base,
Georgia. And I'm so honored, my friend, Silver Star winner Tom Lockhart is
with us today, as well.

Before I begin I do want to ask us to join in a moment of silence for a
veteran who passed away today, the Congressman from the state of
Massachusetts, Congressman Joe Moakley. Please join me in a moment of
silence.

(A moment of silence is observed.)

Thank you very much. Joe loved America and he will be sorely missed.

Today's the day we say thanks to many heroes. There's a true hero, who
is a senator from the state of Arizona. He is overseas today, but I know
you all join me in thanking John McCain for his service not only to Arizona,
but to the United States of America. (Applause.) And no President can pass
through Arizona without remembering the great Arizona statesman who left us
three years ago, Senator and Major General Barry Goldwater. (Applause.)

I want to thank you all for coming out. I am so pleased that so many
of your citizens lined the streets and came into this hangar on this kind of
warm Arizona day. (Laughter.) I began this day with a group of veterans at
the White House by signing into law a bill to expedite construction of a
national World War II memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)

I had the honor of bringing one of the two pens I used to sign the bill
with me today, and present it to the law's primary sponsor in the House of
Representatives, Congressman Bob Stump. (Applause.)

Throughout America, we will find monuments to those who served in that
war. The generation of World War II defeated one of history's greatest
tyrannies, leaving graves and freedom from Europe to Asia. In Phoenix, near
your state capital, you keep the anchor of the USS Arizona, honoring the men
who died on that ship almost 60 years ago. It is time to build a lasting
national memorial to World War II in our Nation's Capital. And the work
begins soon. (Applause.)

I would like all those who served our nation in World War II, World War
II widows and World War II orphans to raise their hands, so we can thank you
for your service. (Applause.) Now you can put them down.

Many veterans of other wars are with us today -- Korea, Vietnam, the
Cold War and other conflicts. We're honored by your presence. And we're
honored by the President of the Buffalo Soldiers standing with us today, as
well. (Applause.) And we're especially honored by the presence of several
men who wear the nation's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.
Thank you all for being here. (Applause.)

Arizona is also home to some veterans of the Navajo code talkers
program. (Applause.) In the Pacific theater, these men made a brilliant
and legendary contribution to victory in the second world war. Countless
American lives were spared because our military could communicate in the
unbreakable code of the Navajo language. (Applause.) In a time of great
need, our country was served bravely, and served well by the Navajo.

There are many thousands of veterans in this state. And often veterans
are not eager to look back at their experiences. Hardest of all is to
recall the ones who never live to be called veterans. But memory is our
duty, and on this day, it is our privilege. (Applause.)

At 3:00 p.m., in every town and city, village and hamlet in America,
Americans of all walks of life are posing for a moment of silence. It is
3:00 p.m. in this great state of Arizona. Please join me in a moment of
silence for those who gave their lives to our great nation.

(A moment of silence is observed.)

God bless. The heroes we remember never really set out to be heroes.
Each loved his life as much as we love ours. Each had a place in the world,
a family waiting and friends to see again. They thought of the future just
as we do, with plans and hopes for a long life. But they left it all behind
when they went to war, and parted with it forever when they died. Every
Memorial Day we gather at places like this to grasp the extent of their loss
and the meaning of the sacrifice. It always seems more than words can
cover. In the end, all we can do is be thankful; all we can do is remember,
and always appreciate the price that was paid for our own lives and our own
freedom.

Today, in thousands of towns, Americans have gathered to pay their own
tributes to the men and women who died young -- some very young. We often
think of this as one of great national loss, and that is certainly the case.
But for so many, and perhaps many here today, there is one name among all
the others, a name that recalls a different time and memories held close and
quiet. To those who have known such loss and felt such absence in their
life, Memorial Day gives formal expression to a very personal experience.
Your losses can be marked, but not measured. And we can never measure the
value of what was gained in their sacrifice. We live it every day in the
comforts of peace and the gifts of freedom. These have all been purchased
for us, and we're grateful for the sacrifice.

It's not in our nature to seek out wars and conflicts, but whenever
they have come, when adversaries have left us no alternative, American men
and women have stood ready to take the risks and pay the ultimate price.
People of the same caliber and the same character today fill the ranks of
the all-volunteer army of the United States of America.

Any foe who might ever challenge our national resolve would be
repeating the grave error of defeated adversaries. Because this nation
loves peace, we do not take it for granted. And because we love freedom, we
are always prepared to bear its greatest costs.

I oftentimes see the military folks who serve our nation, so proud and
humbled, to see them in lines of such discipline and training and
preparedness. They're the new generation of America's defenders. They
follow in an unbroken line of good and brave and unfaltering people who have
never let this country down.

Today, we honor those who fell from the line -- who left us never
knowing how much they would be missed. We pray for them with an affection
that grows deeper with the years. And we remember them -- all of them --
with the love of a grateful nation.

Thank you all for coming, and God bless. (Applause.)