The President's News Conference
02/23/1988
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu...
We stand in admiration of the indomitable courage of the Afghan people who are an inspiration to all freedom-loving nations around the globe...
I think it's high time that we did this.
The fatality rate is a measure of the risk of death that a person is exposed to when travelling.
Let us, therefore, resolve to pay tribute to the brave Afghan people by observing March 21, 1985, as Afghanistan Day.