Remarks at Nashville, Tennessee, on Mrs. Nixon's Return From Venezuela and Brazil.

MRS. NIXON. I can tell you that it is mighty nice to be back here in Tennessee, where we always have so many friends who come out to welcome us.

This is truly a wonderful homecoming and a wonderful birthday surprise to have so many friends here with your signs and all these Scouts who are out and all the beautiful roses from the Girl Scouts.

I appreciate everything, and I bring you messages today from leaders, from leaders all over the world, because our delegation was one of 88 who met in Venezuela and also in Brazil for the inaugural ceremonies. And I had a chance to visit with these leaders. They wanted me to convey the message that they support us in our quest for peace and that they have good will and good wishes for all the people of the United States.

THE PRESIDENT. Governor and Mrs. Dunn, Senator Baker, Senator Brock, and the Members of Congress, all of the distinguished guests who are here:

I want to express appreciation to all of you for coming out here today for two reasons. First and foremost, because as you know, this is my wife Pat's birthday, and I don't know any place in this country where she could get a finer, warmer welcome than right here in middle Tennessee.

Second, I wanted to express to the people here our appreciation for your coming out in such great numbers.

As you know, we are here for the opening of the Opry House, the new one, and I think you will be interested to know that last year in the White House, we had country music in the White House on Pat's birthday. So we decided to come to country music in order to celebrate the second time here today.

But the particular point I would like to make is with reference to the trip that Mrs. Nixon, my wife Pat, has just taken to Latin America, and the trips that she has taken with me all over the world, and what they mean to all of us, and particularly what they mean to the young people who are here, your children, and your future.

You think, for example, of going to Latin America, to Venezuela and Brazil, and how far it is, and you wonder what all this means to your future. And I am sure you must have thought the same thing at the time that you saw on television our visit to the People's Republic of China, where one-fourth of all the people in the world live, and what it means to you.

And you must have thought that, too, when we went to the Soviet Union, where you have the most powerful nation in the world in terms of anyone who might be a potential adversary of the United States, and what that visit and the other developments that we have discussed mean to you.

I will tell you this very simply: What it means is that we believe very strongly that our generation, this generation that now has the responsibility for government, owes something to you and future generations.

We have had four wars in this century, and young Americans have fought and died very bravely for their country. We have never gained anything out of those wars except the chance for other countries to be free and to build a peace.

And now what we want is not just peace in our time but peace in your time-and I am speaking particularly to all the young people here--we want a generation of peace. And in order to do that, it is necessary to talk to people who even might be your opponents and might think very differently from you, rather than to have the option of fighting them.

It also is necessary--and this is the important thing to remember--that the United States never forget that the strength of America, its military strength, its economic strength, the character of America, is essential if we are going to be able to maintain the peace of the world.

And when I come here to the heartland of America, just let me say two things. From a military standpoint, I know that in this great State of Tennessee, as indicated by the votes of your Senators and your Congressmen, the people of Tennessee support strongly my position that the United States must never become the second strongest nation in the world.

And I know, too, that here in the State of Tennessee, there is that strong character, that patriotism which will see to it that America is not only strong militarily but that we will be the world's leader, which it is our destiny to be, because without our leadership there cannot be peace.

And that brings me back to Mrs. Nixon. Sometimes we think of the strength of missiles and other weapons that we have. But just as important is the sympathy, the understanding which can only come from people-to-people contact. She brings from the people of South America to the people of the United States their affection, and she brought to them, better than anyone else could, the feeling that every American has for everybody in the world.

Let us clearly understand, we want to be the enemies of no people in the world. We want to be friends with all people in the world, but we will maintain our strength so that America can play the great role of peacemaker in the years ahead and that this young generation will be the first in this century to enjoy a generation of peace, and with your help we will do it.

Thank you.