Nimitz Battle Group in the Indian Ocean Remarks on Board the U.S.S. Nimitz on the Battle Group's Return to the United States.

Secretary Brown; Admiral Train; Captain Batzler, with this great ship, the Nimitz, and all the crew and officers; Captain Owens and the officers and crew of the Texas; Captain Smith and the officers and crew of the California:

It's good to have you back here at home away from the Gonzo, Station.

We just flew over Pier 12 in Norfolk. There are hundreds of your family and friends already assembled there. In just a few hours, when you arrive, there will be literally tens of thousands of people there to welcome you home, including, I understand, 200 new Americans who've been born since you left.

Our Nation is grateful to you for what you have meant to our country, to freedom, and to the peace that has been maintained for the entire world by your courage and your dedication and your service to the U.S. Navy, to the Marines, and to our country.

It was my judgment that it would be better to have this welcoming ceremony to express the gratitude of our country at sea, while the Nimitz is still underway, so that we would not have any delay when you arrive at Pier 12 in letting you go down the gangplank and put your arms around the people who love you.

As you know, this ceremony is being broadcast to the other two ships in the Nimitz task force and also to those assembled at Pier 12 in Norfolk.

This is also Memorial Day, a day when our Nation pays tribute to those who've lost their lives in the service of our country in the military forces and also those who've worn the uniform in times of peace and in times of war.

History most often records the courage and dedication and sacrifice of those who have been in battle, when wars were won and lost and when heroism was apparent and well-publicized. But all of us know that the sacrifice and the courage and the dedication and the service in times of peace to prevent war are equally gratifying to those whom you have served so well.

I know what it means to be at sea for weeks and for months, both when our Nation was at war and also when our Nation was at peace. Quite often, it's even more .lonesome for a service man or woman to serve in a sacrificial way in times of peace. The publicity is not there; quite often, the recognition is not there. But your sense of service and dedication in this particular time in the history of our country is particularly appreciated and known, not only by the people of our country but of the entire world.

Two weeks ago in the National Cemetery in Arlington, I offered my tribute on behalf of a nation to eight brave men who gave their lives in a lonely desert in Iran in the highest possible service that one human being can offer to another. They laid down their lives in a courageous way to save the lives of 50 hostages who have been held in an inhumane and unconscionable way by the Iranians, supported by their government, now for more than 6 months.

This was a time of soul searching for me and for our country as we look back on that tremendous act of heroism. All of you shared in that humanitarian commitment and that humanitarian mission. Since the rescue team returned to our country, I have met personally and shaken hands with almost all of them. Their uniform message to me was, first of all, "Mr. President, we regret that our mission was not completely successful." Second, they said, "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving us this opportunity to serve and to offer our lives for the lives of the American hostages." And third, "Mr. President, we are ready to serve again whenever the time comes to bring those hostages home."

The three ships in this Nimitz Battle Group has literally made United States naval history: 270 days of deployment and, as you may have noticed, 144 days- [laughter] —at sea without any visit to any port. That is indeed service beyond the call of duty. But your presence in the Indian Ocean and in the Arabian Sea, a ship and an air wing constantly ready, constantly in training, serve to project the presence of the United States Government and its military forces at a time when your presence was crucial to the maintenance of peace and in the provision of a stability in that troubled region of the world vital to all nations on Earth.

You not only served to provide stability in the Persian Gulf, but I am absolutely convinced that your presence there-along with other United States ships and the fighting men on them—has been the major factor in protecting the lives of the 53 American hostages who are still held, because the clear knowledge of American military strength is the surest guarantee that when your presence was felt, stability prevailed, and the hostages were indeed protected in their lives.

There has been with your presence there no doubt about American strength, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for exhibiting that strength so clearly and so well. I say on behalf of a grateful nation, again, "Well done," in this tremendous mission.

There can be no preservation of peace, there can be no maintenance of American strength, without patriotism and without sacrifice. You have not been the only ones to sacrifice because I know, as part of a Navy family myself, how sacrificial is the performance of duty of the members of your family who've had to wait so long for you to return. When our Nation is in debt to American military men, the highest possible officials of the Navy and the Government find it incumbent on us, and a grateful duty, to express the feelings of 220 million Americans who have seen you perform so well.

In the last 9 months we have seen tremendous, almost earthshaking events take place, which could have brought suffering and worldwide conflict had it not been for the service of men like yourselves. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was indeed a threat to the stability of Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf region. This is a vital region, and the United States presence there help to mean that your mission of peace has been indeed successful.

Let those who wonder about the difference between freedom in our country and a life under the Soviet Communists compare the difference: in Afghanistan, Soviet troops at war with Moslem schoolgirls while you yourselves trained peacefully in a nearby ocean; in Afghanistan, tanks destroying 'helpless villages while Americans in the Caribbean provided a haven for those escaping from communism.

We see at this time:

—in Afghanistan, more than 800,000 refugees from communism and from tyranny;

—around the Ethiopian area, hundreds of thousands of others trying to escape from communism and from tyranny;

—around Kampuchea in Southeast Asia, hundreds of thousands of human beings trying to escape at the risk of their own lives from communism and from tyranny;

—in the Caribbean in our own hemisphere, literally hundreds of thousands of people, more than one tenth the population of Cuba, eager to escape the oppression of communism and tyranny.

Our Nation stands for freedom. Our Nation stands for human rights. Our Nation stands for democracy. Our Nation stands for peace. But there is no way for us to stand for these vital elements of the lives of human beings who love liberty without a strong military force.

As Commander in Chief, as the President of our country, I'm determined to maintain our military forces at the highest level of readiness, at the highest level of strength. In doing so, I realize quite clearly that the well-being of our military families is crucial. I understand and I'm committed to the principle that a career in the military should be as rewarding personally for those who serve as a career in any pursuit in the society that I represent.

We will therefore ask that the Congress move without delay to appropriate compensation, in addition to what's already provided, to give you more help when you move from one location to another, for reassignments; to provide more appropriate compensation for sea duty; to provide more compensation for flight duty; to provide more compensation for housing in high-cost areas in the United States and other places where you have to serve; and to provide more compensation for the reenlistment bonuses of senior career enlisted personnel. Many of these improvements are already incorporated in legislation sponsored by Senator Nunn and Senator Warner, and I'll also ask the Secretary of Defense to provide legislation at the earliest possible moment, to provide under an expanded CHAMPUS program for dental care for your dependents in the future.

There is no way through pay or privileges adequately to reward you for offering your very lives in the service of our country. But I think you all realize, and will for the balance of the days you live, that the service that you've provided in the last 9 months is crucial not only to our country, as I mentioned several times, but to a particular group of Americans.

I would like now in closing my own remarks to introduce to you the wife of one of the hostages being held in Iran, Mrs. Louisa Kennedy, who will express to you the sentiments of the hostages' families for what you have meant to them personally as well as to our Nation.

Thank you. Welcome home. God bless everyone of you.

Mrs. Louisa Kennedy.