Remarks to Families Awaiting the Return of the Nimitz Battle Group in Norfolk, Virginia

I can tell you first of all that I have just been out to greet the officers and men of the U.S.S. Nimitz, the U.S.S. Texas, and the U.S.S. California. They are not very far away. They are on their way home. And although they made me feel very welcome on the Nimitz, I know that you're the ones they are looking forward to putting their arms around and giving you their love and their appreciation.

It's hard for me this afternoon to express adequately my appreciation to the men on those three ships, but it's also difficult for me to let you know, the families of those who've served so well in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf during the last number of months, during this time of crisis, for our country. I know that you realize that loved ones of service men and women are also on the front lines of service to our country and on the front lines of protecting liberty and preserving the peace. Like your hearts, my heart was with them when they were on duty protecting the interests of our Nation with courage and commitment and in a sense of dedication and sacrifice. And like their hearts, my heart was with you during this long time of waiting for your men to come home.

On Memorial Day there is a time both of gratitude and of sober reflection. It's a day of commemorating and expressing our appreciation in a special way for those during all the wars since the history of our country who gave their lives for the preservation of freedom. It's also a time to honor those who served in uniform in times of peace and in time of war. It takes as much dedication and sacrifice to serve in peacetime as it does in time of war, and quite often the service is even more lonely and sacrificial in nature, because your concern and your constant awareness of their commitment and courage and sacrifice is not always shared by the other millions of people who live in our Nation.

But in this particular instance when the Nimitz, the Texas, and the California were on station, the hearts of a grateful nation were with them. They were not only protecting the stability and the peace of a troubled region of the world, and therefore protecting our own stability and peace here in the continental United States, but their presence and the strength of our military forces represented by them was the best guarantee that the lives of the 53 American hostages in Iran would indeed be protected.

Let me say again that I'm grateful to them and welcome them home; I'm grateful to you and know that you will welcome them with open arms in just a few hours. They're approaching now; their hearts go out to you and vice versa. But on behalf of the other 220 million people in our country, let me say that all of us are glad to see you reunited with these heroic and courageous men, who served you and all Americans in our Nation so well.

God bless you all. Thank you for letting me be with you.