President Obama, 2009:
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"That
is what Memorial Day is all about. It is about doing all we can to
repay the debt we owe to those men and women who have answered our
nation’s call by fighting under its flag. It is about recognizing that
we, as a people, did not get here by accident or good fortune alone.
It’s about remembering the hard winter of 1776, when our fragile
American experiment seemed doomed to fail; and the early battles of
1861 when a union victory was anything but certain; and the summer of
1944, when the fate of a world rested on a perilous landing unlike any
ever attempted.
"It’s about remembering each and every one of those moments when our
survival as a nation came down not simply to the wisdom of our leaders
or the resilience of our people, but to the courage and valor of our
fighting men and women. For it is only by remembering these moments
that we can truly appreciate a simple lesson of American life – that
what makes all we are and all we aspire to be possible are the
sacrifices of an unbroken line of Americans that stretches back to our
nation’s founding.
"That is the meaning of this holiday. That is a truth at the heart of
our history. And that is a lesson I hope all Americans will carry with
them this Memorial Day weekend and beyond."
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President Bush, 2003:
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"On
Memorial Day, Americans place flags on military graves, walk past a
wall of black granite in Washington, D.C., and many families think of a
face and voice they miss so much. Today, we honor the men and women who
have worn the nation's uniform and were last seen on duty. From the
battles of Iraq and Afghanistan, to the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam,
to the trials of World War, to the struggles that made us a nation,
today we recall that liberty is always the achievement of courage.
"And today we remember all who have died, all who are still missing and
all who mourn. And on this day, especially, our nation is grateful to
the brave and fallen defenders of freedom. In every generation of
Americans we have found courage equal to the tasks of our country. The
farms and small towns and city streets of this land have always
produced free citizens who assume the discipline and duty of military
life. And time after time, they have proven that the moral force of
democracy is mightier than the will and cunning of any tyrant."
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President Clinton, 1999:
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"On
the eve of a new millennium, we can see clearly how closely the
sacrifices of our men and women in uniform in the 20th century are
linked to the yearning for freedom that gave birth to our nation over
200 years ago, a yearning based on the then radical premise that we are
all inherently equal, fully able to govern ourselves and endowed with a
God-given right to liberty.
"That is our history, a history that beckons us especially on this
Memorial Day, and especially here at Arlington. The most powerful
evidence we now have that our country has accepted consistently the old
adage that much is expected from those to whom much is given. From
Concord to Corregadar, from Korea to Caisson, from Kuwait to Kosovo,
our entire history is written in this ground. "
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President Bush (41), 1990:
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"Nearly
half a century ago, President Franklin Roosevelt issued a gentle
admonition to the American people when he observed that "Those who have
long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have
died to win them." It is too soon for us to forget those Americans who
were killed during Operation Just Cause in Panama and during recent
communist attacks in the Philippines; their loss is a fresh and
powerful reminder that peace and freedom are precious blessings and
that preserving these blessings requires eternal vigilance and
unfailing moral resolve.
"Yet today we also remember those Americans who made their final stand
for freedom in more remote times and places -- durign the dark days of
world war, in the extreme climes of Korea and Vietnam, in Beirut,
Grenada, and in the Persian Gulf. Each time we recall the courage and
patriotism of these individuals, each time we rededicate ourselves to
the ideals they are fervently cherished and defended, we help to ensure
that they did not die in vain. "
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