Remarks at the Presentation of the Presidential Medal of freedom Posthumously to Herbert H. Lehman.

Mr. Secretary, Mrs. Lehman, members of the family, and friends of Herbert Lehman, ladies and gentlemen:

In December, one of my first and most rewarding acts was to confer the Presidential Medal of freedom for distinguished achievements on 33 individuals. The brilliance of that occasion was marred by the absence of two men: John Kennedy, who conceived and planned these new civil honors, and Herbert Lehman, whose death in New York occurred just minutes before his departure to Washington to receive this award from a grateful Nation.

Today it is altogether fitting that in special ceremony we present Herbert Lehman's Medal of freedom to the one person who shared his life and his hopes, his triumphs and his disappointments, who was always with him in sunshine and in sorrow. Edith Lehman was the indispensable companion. When the days were dark or the mornings seemed far away, Edith Lehman was always there. No one knows this better than the friends of Herbert Lehman who are gathered here today.

The Nation is diminished when a patriot dies. Senator Lehman was an unusual man. He believed in the worth of the human being. He rejoiced and he agonized in the cause of freedom. He was civilized and calm when all around him were confused. He did not accept the view of the grey-minded and the doom-hangers that the corrupted currents of this world would overwhelm us.

He believed, as Aristotle had said, that excellence is much labored for by the race of man. He believed in the goodness and the rightness of the individual citizen and in that arena he fought his long fight. What a happy legacy he leaves to his family and to his State and to his Nation, an estate that will always endure, for it consists of love and loyalty for his country.

Under Secretary of State George W. Ball: Mr. President, the citation.

THE PRESIDENT [reading]. "The President of the United States of America awards this Presidential Medal of freedom to Herbert H. Lehman, citizen and statesman. He has used wisdom and compassion as the tools of government and he has made politics the highest form of public service. The White House, Washington, D.C."

[At this point Mrs. Lehman responded briefly. She thanked the President for the tribute to her husband and said that "the knowledge that the medal was coming to him added a great deal to his last hours of life." The President then resumed speaking. ]

There is nothing more I can add except this: Senator Lehman was a most unusual man and a most thoughtful person. And when I was hovering between life and death, he made it possible for me to be here today. He got up in the Senate one morning, the first time a Senator had so arisen since 1789, and offered a Senate resolution that the Senate pray for my recovery. And it was just at the time when I needed every prayer I could get. And his prayers were answered.

Thank you.