pd06jn94 Digest of Other White House Announcements...

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letter from Chief of Staff Thomas F. (Mack) McLarty to Mr. Watkins were 
also made available by the Office of the Press Secretary. This item was 
not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue.


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[Page 1182-1183]
 
Monday, June 6, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 22
Pages 1177-1208
 
Week Ending Friday, June 3, 1994
 
Proclamation 6695--National Safe Boating Week, 1994

May 27, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    The discovery and subsequent development of the United States 
evolved through the exploration and utilization of the abundant 
waterways of this great Nation. During

[[Page 1183]]

the territorial expansion, our founders could scarcely have dreamed of 
the significant role our vast water resources would ultimately play in 
commerce, agriculture, industry, energy production, and boundless 
recreational activities. This year it is anticipated that more than 70 
million Americans will enjoy on-the-water recreation throughout our 
country.
    While boating can be a wonderful source of pleasure, improperly 
handled watercraft can be dangerous and sometimes even deadly. 
Tragically, approximately 800 persons die each year in boating-related 
accidents in our Nation alone. Because most of these accidents can be 
prevented, the United States Coast Guard and other Government agencies 
are working with volunteer organizations around the country to educate 
the boating public and to make safety the number one priority for all 
who use the Nation's waterways.
    It is imperative that those enjoying the privilege of aquatic 
recreational activities must accept the responsibility of ensuring 
safety on the water. For boaters, this means respecting the marine 
environment, being well-informed, carrying, maintaining, and using the 
proper equipment, and remaining sober. Only then will boaters be 
prepared to prevent hazardous situations or deal with them if they 
arise. When boat operators and their passengers disregard their personal 
responsibilities, the consequences can be serious and direct. Statistics 
indicate that about 50 percent of boating accidents are alcohol-related 
and that more than 85 percent of the people who die while boating are 
not wearing personal flotation devices.
    Accordingly, this year during National Safe Boating Week, proclaimed 
annually at the start of the summer boating season, recreational boaters 
are urged to heed the call of responsibility--to ``Boat Smart, Boat 
Safe, Boat Sober.''
    In recognition of the need to promote safe boating practices, the 
Congress by joint resolution approved June 4, 1958 (36 U.S.C. 161), as 
amended, has authorized and requested the President to proclaim annually 
the week commencing on the first Sunday in June as ``National Safe 
Boating Week.''
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning June 5, 1994, 
as National Safe Boating Week. I encourage the Governors of the 50 
States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and officials of other areas 
subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, to provide for the 
observance of this week. I also urge all Americans to become informed 
and to always practice safe recreational boating.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-seventh 
day of May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and eighteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:24 p.m., May 31, 1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on June 2. 
This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate 
issue.


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[Page 1183-1185]
 
Monday, June 6, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 22
Pages 1177-1208
 
Week Ending Friday, June 3, 1994
 
The President's Radio Address

May 28, 1994

    Good morning. Next week, many millions of Americans, indeed people 
all across the world, will focus on the beaches of Normandy, France, for 
the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of D-Day. I'll be leaving for 
Europe in the next few days to represent our people at the ceremonies 
honoring the sacrifices of those who fought in World War II. D-Day, June 
6th, 1944, saw the single greatest mobilization of any fighting force in 
human history. It was the turning point of World War II and in many 
respects a turning point of the 20th century. It was the beginning of 
the end of Nazi tyranny and a downpayment on all the years of freedom 
the rest of us have enjoyed ever since.
    Memorial Day, on Monday, reminds Americans everywhere that the 
ultimate price of freedom is never fully paid. This past week, I 
presented the Medal of Honor, our Nation's highest award for valor, to 
the widows and families of Sergeants Gary Gordon and Randall Shughart, 
who served nobly, fought bravely, and died while saving the life of a 
comrade in Somalia last October.

[[Page 1184]]

    It was the first time this medal had been earned in over 20 years. 
Sergeants Gordon and Shughart served above and beyond the call of duty 
and died in the most courageous and selfless way any human being can 
act. They risked their safety without hesitation and gave their lives to 
save a comrade. Because of their heroism and that of others on October 
3d, America was able to complete its mission in Somalia without any 
further casualties, turn over its responsibilities to the United 
Nations, to their soldiers from other lands, and to come home knowing 
that our efforts saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and 
gave Somalia at least a chance to become a stable land. These soldiers 
and others will live in the memories of those whose lives they touched.
    From the American Revolution to the Civil War, down through all the 
conflicts of our own century, the lives of all Americans have been moved 
by every patriot who ever fought and died for the freedoms we all share. 
To honor the sacrifices of those who have gone before, we must build on 
their service in a very different and challenging world. The World Wars 
are over. The cold war has been won. Now, it is our job to secure the 
peace. For the first time in history, there is a chance that democracy 
and economic progress can reach across all Europe and to the far corners 
of the world. It is an exciting and promising challenge. But if we are 
to expand freedom's reach, we must first and foremost stand ready to 
protect America from danger's reach.
    No era is ever free of dangers; none ever will be. And ours is no 
exception. The cold war world, which was bound up in a nuclear standoff, 
has been traded for a new world yearning for stability and facing 
unimaginable chaos. Nations once burdened by the smothering grip of 
communism faced economic insecurities as they moved toward market 
economies. The heavy lid of authoritarian regimes has been lifted to 
reveal the smoldering embers of ethnic and religious hatreds. Millions 
are dying from hunger rooted in environmental and economic devastation 
and uncontrolled migration. Millions more hunger to be free. And all of 
us on this Earth still face serious threats from the spread of nuclear 
weapons technology and the spread of other weapons of mass destruction 
around the world.
    In this new era we cannot dispatch our troops to solve every problem 
where our values are offended by human misery, and we should not. But we 
are prepared to defend ourselves and our fundamental interests when they 
are threatened. We'll do so on our own whenever necessary, and we'll act 
with others whenever that's possible and prudent. In all cases, as the 
great power of this era, we have a responsibility to lead, because 
millions around the world look to us for strength, for ideals, for the 
power of example.
    Today more than any time in human history, we live in an 
interdependent world where the fortunes of all nations are tied 
together. Through two World Wars, we learned that the security of our 
freedom here at home depends on the survival of freedom overseas. That's 
why we still have troops in Europe and in Korea. Now more than ever 
before, the strength of our economy here at home also is joined to the 
strength of economies abroad.
    In an age of increasing interdependence, our mission is to provide 
for our own security, fighting terrorism, fighting proliferation of 
weapons of mass destruction, fighting conventional threats; then to help 
other nations achieve economic reforms and prosperity and become more 
democratic. A world of free and stable trading partners is not only good 
for our economic security, it's important for our national security.
    That's why we've worked so hard for the North American Free Trade 
Agreement, for the worldwide GATT trade agreement, to reach out to the 
countries of the Asian-Pacific region and Latin America, to involve 
South Africa in the world's growing trade, and now to try to engage the 
Chinese to support not only human rights in that country but the 
continuing evolution of economic integration.
    To be sure, there is more danger and uncertainty ahead, but there 
also awaits a world of promise. As we go forward, we should learn from 
the brave veterans who stormed the shores of Normandy and fought in 
Italy 50 years ago. They had no guarantee of survival when they 
approached their beachhead. Many now say that even with 50 years gone

[[Page 1185]]

by, they remember expecting that they would not survive. They had no 
guarantees, but they went on against gunfire, under shelling, over land 
mines. Against all, they plowed ahead. And they knew that unless they 
prevailed, our very way of life might be lost.
    The sacrifices of their yesterdays have given us the promise of 
freedom in our tomorrows. A grateful nation must never forget that. It 
is our obligation to make a world in which no D-Day will ever be 
necessary again. Working together, with American leadership, we can do 
that. We can resist tyranny. We can combat terrorism and contain chaos. 
We can work for peace, for progress, for human rights. The sacrifices of 
those who went before us demand no less. Like the soldiers who fought on 
D-Day and in Italy, our great Nation must always push onward to see our 
freedom endure. For when our memories exceed our dreams, we have begun 
to grow old. And it is the destiny and the obligation of America to 
remain forever young.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: This address was recorded at 4:41 p.m. on May 27 in the Roosevelt 
Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on May 28.


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[Page 1185-1186]
 
Monday, June 6, 1994
 
Volume 30--Number 22
Pages 1177-1208
 
Week Ending Friday, June 3, 1994
 
Remarks at a Memorial Day Breakfast

May 30, 1994

    Thank you very much. Thank you, Hershel, for that kind of 
introduction and for the good work that you do for our veterans every 
day. Secretary Perry, Postmaster General Runyon, General Shalikashvili 
and the chiefs of our military services, General Gordon at the Military 
District here in Washington, to the other distinguished guests who are 
here. Let me welcome you here for another happy and honorable Memorial 
Day.
    I'd like to begin, if I might, by asking one person here to stand 
and be acknowledged. I want to say a special word of thanks to General 
Mick Kicklighter and the World War II Commemoration Committee for the 
remarkable work they have done in organizing this commemoration and what 
we are about to do in the coming week. General, please stand up. 
[Applause] Thank you.
    In just a few moments, I will sign two proclamations, one a prayer 
for peace on Memorial Day and the other the declaration of D-Day 
National Remembrance Day. Before I do that and before Postmaster General 
Runyon unveils this year's additions to the World War II commemorative 
stamps, I'd like to say just a word about this occasion.
    Fifty years ago, our Nation and our allies were engaged in a 
monumental struggle, the outcome of which was far from clear for quite a 
long while. Americans from all walks of life were called far from their 
homes and their families. Franklin Roosevelt spoke of their mission on 
the morning of the 6th of June, D-Day: ``Our sons, pride of our Nation, 
this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our 
Republic, our religion, and our civilization and to set free a suffering 
humanity. They fight not for the lust of conquest, they fight to end 
conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise and 
tolerance and goodwill among all God's people.''
    Today, we enjoy the fruits of that toil. We owe our liberty and our 
prosperity to the strength and the valor of those who fought in that 
great struggle. But we also inherit the responsibility of defending that 
gift. We must be the guardians of the freedom that was delivered to us 
today by what we do here at home to keep freedom alive and to enhance 
its meaning.
    And around the world our men and women in uniform stand guard, 
guaranteeing and defending that freedom. I think the veterans of D-Day 
and World War II who are here must take a great deal of pride in knowing 
that today's men and women in uniform are the finest, most well-
motivated Armed Forces our Nation or any nation has ever known. Our 
highest commitment must be to ensure that they remain so, best trained, 
best equipped, best prepared. If they must be in harm's way, they must 
have the support they need and deserve.
    As we observe the 50th anniversary of World War II, we must also 
pause to remember and to pay tribute to those who did not come home, to 
honor them for the ultimate sacrifice, to honor their families, their 
friends, those who love them. Also, we must honor those who are here and 
those they rep- 

[[Page 1186]]

resent who did come home after service in World War II and all those who 
have guarded our security since. Our Nation is in your debt. We will 
never forget your valor, your sacrifices, the daily lives that you have 
made possible.
    Let me say, too, a special word of appreciation to those of you who 
came through the line today who told me that you, too, were going back 
to Europe this week to be part of that celebration. I hope when you go 
back, you will feel the immense pride and gratitude that all Americans 
feel for the sacrifice you made, the commitment you made, and for all 
the days you made possible in the 50 years since. And I hope everyone 
else who is here being honored today will also share in some of that 
pride. We sometimes forget that no democracy in human history has ever 
lasted as long as the United States of America. It is easy to forget 
that. It is easy to forget it, but if you measure against all the 
recorded history of civilization, every day we have is a miracle, a 
miracle that you made possible, and we thank you for it.

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