Pensacola Naval Air Station, Florida Remarks Following an Inspection Tour of Areas Damaged by Hurricane Frederic.

I would like to say just a word that I think is important, not only to you who are assembled here in Pensacola and in Florida and those who might hear my voice later on in Alabama and Mississippi but for the entire Nation.

Our hearts go out to those who have suffered so much in Hurricane Frederic, but I think that the most overwhelming sense that we have is one of gratitude that in spite of one of the most severe hurricanes which has ever hit our Nation, because of the close working cooperation between local and State and Federal officials and many volunteers and citizens who came forward, that the loss of life has been minimal. My reports have shown and my observations have also proven to me that this is perhaps even more a destructive hurricane than was Hurricane Camille 10 years ago, when about 250 people lost their lives. But because we had a massive evacuation effort, when 500,000 people moved further inland, we have minimized. thank God, the loss of life.

The damage has been severe. I just flew in from Pascagoula, over Dauphin Island and down the gulf shore area. And hundreds and hundreds of places where homes formerly existed, there are no homes at all, and it's impossible even to tell where the building lots were located. Mobile bas suffered very severe damage.

We have a fine organization already in place, with all the Federal agencies being administered from a single place and with the closest possible cooperation from Governors and other State officials, from mayors and county officials in every community involved.

The damage is extremely severe, and the Federal commitment to helping all of you and all those who were damaged repair what has been done and restore the quality of your lives is complete and it's permanent. The repair of this damage is going to take a long time. It can't be accomplished in a few weeks or even a few months. But we are dedicated to provide unemployment compensation for those who are not presently employed because of the loss of their jobs because of damage, low-interest loans for homes, low-interest loans to repair businesses, help for farmers who've lost their crops. And we'll try now to restore the vital services, transportation, electric power, telephones, working with the private organizations for power and telephones that are doing so well.

I'd like to point out that after a few days the intense concern and the unselfish attitude and the cooperative spirit might tend to fade away. I hope that you all won't let that happen. We're going to have to have a sustained effort of taking care of one another. Government can do just a limited amount. The vast contribution of repair and human care must come from volunteers. This is the character of our Nation, and when we are tested as a country, we always respond successfully.

I hope that as we rebuild the areas of our gulf coast, which have in many cases been completely destroyed, that we'll be looking forward to the future with caution, building on our experiences. Camille was 10 years ago, and we don't know whether a year from now or 10 years from now we'll have another severe hurricane. As we do rebuild and repair, we ought to have in mind how we can minimize damage in the future.

I think the early warning that came to you was a tremendous achievement. We now have the ability to track hurricanes and to predict their course. Sometimes you may have to move from your home and the hurricane didn't strike. I hope that the next time the Governor asks you to move, you'll do it immediately, because I have seen many places that had people not responded, not knowing for sure that the hurricane would strike, they would have lost their lives. They've lost their homes.

The last thing I want to say is this: We ought not be discouraged. We are sensitive about your needs. We'll be available when we can to help you. And I would like to congratulate every Member of the Congress, every Governor, every State official, every local official, every Red Cross worker, every volunteer who has accommodated so far the intense need of many people and have minimized the damage which has come to us.

We have many things for which we can be thankful, and the saving of human life is one of the most important.

The country will not forget you, those people who were not severely injured in this storm. We'll be partners with you in the days and weeks ahead. And I pray that this damage can be minimized and that your own lives might be restored very quickly to a normal state so that we can enjoy the privileges and the honor of living still in the greatest country on Earth.

I've appreciated the aid and the help and the reports that I've gotten from many officials. Those lined up behind me come from almost every community around here. Some are in charge of school systems; some, transportation systems; some, administering cleanup operations. And they've come to let me as President know, in some cases we are doing well, in some cases we need certain things. But together, as partners, we've done a good job so far, and I have no doubt that in the future we'll continue to do so.

Thank you very much. You have my admiration and my appreciation, my pledge of support, my congratulations. May God bless all of you.

Thank you very much.