I shall always cherish his wisdom and his insights, but most especially I shall cherish the inspiration of his character.

And when he was first asked, his first and immediate answer was 'Yes, Mr. President.'

The defense of peace is the very purpose of our power, and peace for the people of Viet-Nam is the purpose of our presence in Viet-Nam.

The United States would never undertake the sacrifice these efforts require if its help were not wanted and requested.

I selected General Taylor for this most important of our diplomatic assignments with the understanding that I would ask him to serve for a period of a year.

Ambassador Lodge and I are fully agreed on the underlying principle that in Viet-Nam we are there to help the people and their Government to help themselves.

This is a very proud occasion for all of us here.

He was adviser to two Presidents on Government reorganization, and he was adviser to a third one, yours truly, on other things, including Government reorganization.

When he died, we felt the loss of something good and something honest and something uniquely American.

What America is, and all that America will ever be, is built on the willingness of her most able citizens to serve their country in times of need without regard either to their personal comfort or sacrifice.

But it is a very great cause for special pride and reassurance that seasoned and able Americans like Maxwell Taylor and Henry Cabot Lodge are willing to respond voluntarily and unselfishly to the same call that our young men have responded…

In Viet-Nam the credibility of our commitment everywhere is challenged.

The Congress has passed, and I shall sign today, a bill to establish the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa, the scene of his birth and the site of his burial.

I may or may not be the most optimistic person in America about the progress we can make on desalting the seas, but I am, and I intend to remain, the most determined man that we shall make the great breakthroughs before the calendar turns…

It is my own studied and considered judgment, however, that this bill that you are witnessing being signed this morning will be the most historic of all of them: not for what it provides but rather for what it promises, not for what it…

The pollution that is taking place in this country, and the effect that a few industrial plants are having on the future of our country, is absolutely disgraceful.

All Americans are really heirs of travelers who originally came here from far across the seas to cast their lot in this great country of ours.

Our net loss this year is going to be nearly $2 billion on tourists abroad—almost $2 billion.