Remarks at the Presentation of the Congressional Medal of Honor to Fourteen Members of the Navy and Marine Corps.
THIS IS ONE of the pleasant duties of the President of the United States. These are the young men who represent us in our fighting forces.
They said we were soft, that we would not fight, that we could not win. We are not a warlike nation. We do not go to war for gain or for territory; we go to war for principles, and we produce young men like these. I think I told every one of them that I would rather have that medal, the Congressional Medal of Honor, than to be President of the United States.
We fought a good fight. We've won two great victories. We're facing another fight, and we must win the victory in that. That is a fight for a peaceful world, a fight so we won't have to do this again, so we won't have to maim the flower of our young men, and bury them. Now let us go forward and win that fight, as we have won these other two victories, and this war will not have been in vain.
Thank you.
Note: The President presented the medals in a ceremony held at 10:30 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White House. The citations were read by Vice Adm. L. E. Denfeld.
A list of the recipients, in order of presentation, follows: Lt. Col. Gregory Boyington, USMCR; Lt. Comdr. George L. Street, USN; Maj. Louis H. Wilson, USMC; Capt. Joseph J. McCarthy, USMCR; 2nd Lt. Arthur J. Jackson, USMC; Sgt. William G. Harorell, USMCR; Pharmacist's Mate George E. Wahlen, USNR; Cpl. Richard E. Bush, USMCR; Cpl. Douglas T. Jacobson, USMCR; Cpl. Hershel W. Williams, USMCR; Hospital Apprentice First Class Robert Eugene Bush, USNR; Pfc. Jacklyn H. Lucas, USMCR; Pvt. Franklin E. Sigler, USMCR; and Pvt. Wilson D. Watson, USMCR.
Harry S Truman, Remarks at the Presentation of the Congressional Medal of Honor to Fourteen Members of the Navy and Marine Corps. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/230626
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