Remarks At Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

Governor Connally and Mrs. Connally, Secretary Rusk, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Mrs. Johnson and I want to thank you very much for coming out to see us this cold morning.

In a few minutes, we will go across the border to help inspect a dam we are building with our good friends of Mexico. That dam, as all of you here in Del Rio know, will serve many purposes.

This new dam will, first of all, stand as a monument to international cooperation. It will be proof that two very proud and great nations can share a common border in both peace and harmony.

Not everyone in the world has learned that lesson. A few weeks ago I landed at another Air Force base, near another border. That base was in Vietnam. That is where brave Americans are today fighting and dying to protect the freedom and independence of 16 million human beings.

All of us wish it were not so. We wish we could stop the shooting and begin the long task of rebuilding that war-torn land.

But I want to tell you today how very proud all of us in positions of leadership in Washington are of the men on whose shoulders this burden has fallen. When I was there, General Westmoreland told me that no Commander in Chief ever commanded a finer Armed Force. They are brave. They are good-humored. They are selfless. And they know what they are fighting for.

Some of you no doubt have already served in Vietnam. Others of you will probably be called upon to do so.

You can be very proud of the uniform you are wearing. It was never in all our history worn by better or more competent men. And the world will not soon forget the sacrifices all of you are making in the name of preserving liberty and freedom for all of us.

This morning, as I leave our border to cross into another country, I salute each of you. May God bless all of you. Thank you very much.