Bill Clinton: “Admiral Larson, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor for me to be here, not for the first time but for the first…”

“Admiral Larson, ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honor for me to be here, not for the first time but for the first time as President, to honor the memory and the service of those who were killed 52 years ago on a Sunday morning like this in the service of their country. During December of 1941, Americans throughout our Nation were going about their business aware that much of the rest of the world was already embroiled in a conflict but hopeful that America would not be forced into it, that somehow by standing apart we might keep America's shores and our sons and daughters safe from the strife that had then engulfed much of the rest of the world. Much has changed since that fateful Sunday morning in 1941. The United States no longer faces the threat of an expansionist Germany or Japan. Indeed, I have just met with the leaders of those two nations and four others in an attempt to increase the prosperity and opportunity of all the peoples who live within our nations. The expansionist Soviet Union, which sprung up after the Great War, was dismantled in the failure of communism in the last few years. And at this same meeting in Tokyo, the new democratically elected President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin, came and talked to us about how together we might build a brighter and freer and more prosperous future for his people. Our closest friends now are those with whom we fought a half a century ago.…”