Political Quotes

“honoring those who die in the service of others is a practice as old as life itself. From ancient times to the present day, those who survive pay tribute to those who have fallen with songs and symbols, flowers and ceremonies. And it is a good thing, for it is at times like these that words often fail us. Few memorial addresses have outlived those who uttered them--not because of the inadequacy of the speakers, but because of the inadequacy of words themselves. To quote General James A. Garfield, who spoke at the first memorial at Arlington National Cemetery--where Officers Gibson and Chestnut will be buried later this week--``If silence is ever golden, it must be here beside the graves of men whose lives were more significant than speech, and whose death was a poem the music of which can never be sung.'' John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut were such men, as their countless friends and associates have testified, and so I add my small tribute to the hundreds that have already been offered in the hope that it may, in some small way, console the hearts of those they leave behind. Mr. President, long after these men are laid to their final rest, the memory of their warmth and their many kindnesses, their lives and their heroic sacrifice will live on in the hearts and minds of all of us-- indeed, of all who visit the soaring symbol of freedom and democracy they died to defend.”