Statement Announcing Inauguration of the "Very Important Patients" Program

NOVEMBER 11th, Veterans Day, will mark the inauguration of a significant national program called VIP Very Important Patients.

The VIP program will involve nearly 500 outstanding Americans volunteering their time to visit Veterans Administration hospitals throughout the country. These volunteers include famous names from the fields of entertainment, professional football, baseball, and basketball, as well as Olympic stars, noted cartoonists, and prominent individuals from government, industry, the arts, literature, and religion.

As President of the United States, I am serving as patron of the VIP program. I am pleased to announce that Presidents Johnson and Truman are joining me in that role. As men who have served in our Armed Forces, and as Commander in Chief, all three of us are aware of the need to give special attention to the some 800,000 patients treated annually in 166 VA hospitals.

These patients include men who fought in the Spanish-American War, as well as veterans of World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Many of them have been hospitalized a long time. Many are a long distance from home. Others have no homes at all. Almost all are lonely.

While the Veterans Administration can and does attend to the physical needs of these men, the VIP program will let them know that the Nation has not forgotten their service and sacrifices. I want to thank the public spirited citizens who are joining me in supporting the VIP program. Those of us who participate will surely receive more in gratitude and self-satisfaction than any of us can possibly give.