A DAY TO BE PROUD

[Music] this is the dawn of a special day a day when America's armed forces received tribute from the people they serve and the man who is their commander-in-chief the President of the United States [Music] this is armed forces day and all over America today Americans will be reminded of what we owe to the young men who served the Armed Forces of the United States these two men symbolize that service because they have rendered service in the highest tradition far beyond the call of duty thank you for being such great Americans under fire and for reminding us of the fact that we sometimes forget that Americans in this century have had to go into war not because we wanted war but because we wanted peace you made us proud to be Americans proud of our flat and of course proud of you on the South Lawn of the White House President Nixon that paid the highest honor to heroes of a conflict still being ways to preserve freedom and Southeast Asia now he would travel by helicopter to witness the readiness of American forces standing guard in another part of the world the waters of the Atlantic ahead 14 ships and nearly 10,000 men of an attack carrier striking group of the Navy's Atlantic Fleet made ready for the president's visit grouped around the aircraft carrier Saratoga in a tight air defense screen was a formidable Armada of cruisers destroyers and other support vessels plus a nuclear-powered submarine [Music] within the atlantic fleet announcement of the commander-in-chief's visit had set off a chain reaction of preparation everything from dress rehearsals of military maneuvers to the classic grooming chores of the ocean-going Navy [Music] the [Music] the Atlantic to push myself in its ocean Roger you'll be making approach from the starboard then and have a chilling [Music] Richard M Nixon wants the Navy lieutenant commander now the 37th president of the United States is greeted with a 21-gun salute from ceremonial batteries which has funded their tribute to so many distinguished guests of the Navy in these waters off Norfolk Virginia modern warfare consists of a staggering complex of equipment and weapons but manin dedicated and highly trained are still the backbone of any military operation [Music] [Music] on the four-acre flight deck where a moments before pomp and ceremony were the order of the day the atmosphere is that of simulated war steam catapults jammed 3 g's into the backsides of pilots as they and their weapons systems become airborne surface and subsurface guided missiles and rockets are primed aboard the outlying elements of the air defense screen in preparation for to our firepower demonstration illustrating for President Nixon the Navy's firepower mobility and defense in depth and how it can be effectively employed across the full spectrum of warfare good afternoon mr. president I have a report that our drone target is proceeding inbound we r goes to second hello special action yours and destruction of the ground the Wainwright there goes the terrier never suspended for up to beam of it the drone has been slashed now Columbus himself a stirred fires to birds this has rock which stems will fire will fall was less many dead no event occurred before shadow is one of our permit class submarines she's 278 erase block growing up at the wide-angle about 60 degrees and if forge a phantom will be approaching the ship at supersonic speed now approaching from the bow are 287 courses [Music] in a-6 intruder will be releasing the bombs in secret you can see what's on the premise that might be [Music] besitos rocketed pretty shortly right the impact area again just of course is the primary method of boundaries I a relatively low speed and approximately 150 knots of course the players only simulate the tailpipe temperatures of a jet airplane and there goes one two [Music] flying gas stations ka3 tankers of a Vietnam have saved 67 aircraft to the in-flight refuelling technique 5 a-6 intruder aircraft simulate a simultaneous dive bombing attack this woman in now at 450 nozzle will be releasing a 6,000 feet as the personal event of the air power demonstration we have the 21-gun salute we today honor the armed forces of the United States to me you are the piece forces of the world because without the strength of the United States of America there would not be peace in the world and there could not be the survival of freedom in the world and so as I address the magnificent men of the Atlantic Fleet today and through you all of the Armed Forces of the United States of America around this world just let me say this when you hear the criticism sometimes of the military complex in this country when you hear what is wrong with the United States and particularly what is wrong with our armed forces and what we are necessarily doing in the cause of peace and freedom in Vietnam and everyplace else in the world just remember that history will record that never has a great nation had military forces more dedicated to peace and whose activities made a greater contribution to peace than the armed forces of the United States by what you do by what you are we will achieve peace in vietnam in the Pacific and we're going to be able to keep peace in the world I'm proud to be here as the one who has been elected to lead this country and particularly proud to stand in the presence of the men over whom i am commander in chief thank you very much in my very best wishes to the peace forces of the United States and the world [Applause] [Music] there are some things that impressed me very much by what I saw first the magnificent teamwork the teamwork that is so essential for an operation of this type I realized that when we see a man whose opportunities to do his job are only made possible by hundreds of men on the ground or on the flight deck working together as a team when I saw that teamwork it made me feel very confident of the Armed Forces of this country and of the United States Navy and the various functions that it must carry out to me you are the piece forces of the world because without the strength of the United States of America there would not be peace in the world and there could not be the survival of freedom in the world and that's the proud do to you have and so for the men of the Atlantic Fleet a very special day animals a day to remember and a day to be proud [Music]