Remarks at the Dedication of the Air Force Museum, Dayton, Ohio.

Mr. Chairman, all of the distinguished guests on the platform, and all of the distinguished guests in the audience:

I am honored, on behalf of the American people, to accept the Air Force Museum for this generation and generations to come. And as I do so, I wish to put this event in the perspective which I think it deserves.

First, I was reminded by Governor Gilligan, as we drove from the airport, that it was just a month ago that I was in Canton, Ohio, at the birthplace of American professional football. I have very pleasant memories of that visit. Incidentally, I saw a sign over here saying "Nixon Country." I simply want you to know that I understand this is Bengal country.¹

¹Cincinnati Bengals professional football team.

Today, here in Dayton, Ohio, I am honored again to be in a place that has historic significance not only for America but for the whole world, because this is truly the birthplace of aviation, of manned flight, for America and for the world.

It is a proud moment for the United States, and it should be particularly a proud moment for the people of Dayton, for those who participated--the thousands, as the chairman indicated--and contributed to make it possible for this museum to be erected.

Let me pay a tribute to some of those who are represented here. First, to the Kettering family, and to Mrs. Gene Kettering who is here on the platform. How much they have given, how much they have contributed to America, only history will adequately record. But certainly no greater monument to that family, no greater monument to its creative abilities, could be erected than this one that is being dedicated today and accepted for the United States.

Second, to the people of Dayton, the thousands who contributed, the ones who conceived the idea, the people who made it possible for now, I understand, even a million Americans a year to visit this museum to see the past, and also to think about what it means to the future.

When Senator Taft and Congressman Brown came in to talk to me about coming here to Dayton, they said that this would be one of the finest meetings that I would ever have the opportunity to address. They were right. I am proud to be here in Dayton on such an occasion.

On the ramps around the museum and in this building and behind me are the great airplanes that have been built through the years. And as we look at those planes, we can think of the tremendous developments that have occurred. But more important than those planes, I know we all realize, are the men who have flown them and what they have given to America, what they have sacrificed for America, how much we owe to them.

I think, for example, of so many in this room who should be recognized. When I think of Eddie Rickenbaeker being here today, he certainly symbolizes what we think of when we think of the American Air Force and the men who have manned its planes. We think of their service in war and in peace in World War I, in World War II, in Korea, and in Vietnam. We think of the brave men, and we also think of brave women. I speak particularly of the wives and the mothers of some of our prisoners of war and those missing in action in Vietnam, who are here today.

Let me say that we should all dedicate ourselves to secure the release of their husbands and of their sons, and then to build a lasting peace so that their sons will not have to fight in a war in the future. This is the goal that we have.

But at this moment, let us be proud that America could produce such brave men, and let us be proud, also, that America could produce such brave women--the wives and mothers of these men who are represented here today in this audience.

On such an occasion as this, we naturally tend to think more of the past than of the future. But I think it is well that we look to the future as we examine the past. As we examine the past, what we find is that America has been first in aviation, first in the exploration of space, and the exploration of the air. That has been true since the year 1903.

What we must recognize as we look to the future is that that position of world leadership is now being challenged. It is being challenged in the air. It is being challenged also in many other areas.

I would like to address myself, for a moment, to that challenge and what it means; and to address myself to that challenge not in terms of fear, but in terms of opportunity and in terms of hope, as all Americans should respond to a challenge.

Immediately after World War II, the United States, in an economic sense, was the unchallenged leader of the world. Seven percent of the world's people produced over 50 percent of the world's goods, and not one nation in the world could even attempt to challenge us in any significant field, including aviation.

In the 25 years since that time, largely as a result of the generosity of the United States--and we should be proud of that record--those who were our allies, and even those who were our enemies in that war, have gotten on their feet economically, and now they are our competitors. They challenge us in all areas. They challenge us in aviation. I was, for example, interested to note accounts of the recent air show in Paris and stories to the effect that there were other nations that could well be ahead of the United States at this time in terms of the development of manned aircraft.

So now the question arises, what should be the reaction of the United States? This is the reaction I believe we should have: We should welcome competition, welcome competition from those who are willing to make the sacrifice and who have the drive and the ambition, as we have the drive and the ambition, to develop in any area the excellence which we want to achieve. But we must insist that that competition be fair. The time when the United States had to, in the interest of building a more peaceful world, help other nations so that they could compete is now past. They are our competitors, and consequently, as I pointed out in my speech to the Nation on August 15, the United States, from now on, is not going to compete with one hand tied behind its back.

But there is another side to that coin. There are some among us, I suppose, who would say, "What difference does it make whether the United States is number one or tries to be number one?" And there is an answer to that. We cannot expect to be number one in all areas, but we must try in every area, because we must never forget that whenever a nation fails to try, to do the best that it can to be number one, that nation ceases to be a great nation. Let that not happen to the United States of America.

So as we see these planes that are examples of America's leadership in the world of aviation in the past, let us not rest on our laurels, let us not build a great wall around us and let the rest of the world pass us by, but let us say, "We will compete; we will be productive; we accept the challenge of peaceful competition."

And the United States intends, and we resolve today, that having been first in aviation from the beginning, we will attempt to be first in aviation for the time to come. This should be our goal, and one that we can achieve.

This is a peaceful goal, because the era into which we are now entering can be a peaceful one. But in that period, as the danger of war recedes, the challenge of competition in the peaceful area increases, and this will be the test of America: Whether we--when in a period when we are rich, when we are strong--whether at this time we will tend to recede into ourselves and not accept the challenge which we have always accepted in the past of meeting competition and doing the best that we possibly can to make this a great and a good nation, to do the best we can to make this a nation which is the freest nation in the world, a nation with the greatest opportunity in the world, a nation with the best environment in the world, a nation with the greatest progress in the world.

All these are American goals, but they will not be achieved unless we dedicate ourselves to the spirit that built American aviation. Let me describe that spirit.

Orville Wright flew with his brother only once. On that same day that he flew with his brother, the year 1910, 61 years ago, he flew with his 82-year-old father that same afternoon. And the words that his father spoke as he flew with his son, Orville Wright, on that afternoon here in Dayton 61 years ago were simply these: "Higher. Higher. Higher."

That was the spirit of American aviation. That is the spirit of the American Air Force. That is the spirit of the people of Dayton, of the people of Ohio who have created this great museum which reminds us of our great past. Let that spirit, higher and higher, always be the spirit of the United States of America.