May 20, 1997
Proud to Remember Candle Lighting
Today, we gather to celebrate a First in our nation's history...
We are a part of one of the greatest peacetime displays of unity ever assembled to honor the memory of our country's heroes...
At this very moment, in our nations capitol and in every statehouse across this great land, we are paying homage to those whose gift to us is the most precious heritage of freedom...
This is a landmark event in our national history: a sign of grateful unity the United States seldom has the opportunity to display.
In just a moment, we will light the South Carolina Remembrance Candle...
With its flame we rekindle our commitment to encourage all Americans to restore the meaning of Memorial Day...
The non-profit humanitarian organization, No Greater Love, is sponsoring a national campaign to recapture the true spirit of this holiday by asking all Americans to pause at 3:00p.m. on Memorial Day in tribute to those men and women who in our darkest hours, rose to meet our country's call to arms, only to fall on distant shores in foreign lands never to rise again...
At 3:00p.m. on Memorial Day, "Taps" will be played throughout the country, trains will sound their horns, cars will run their headlights, shoppers and travelers will pause, and all of America will remember those men and women who died, so that you and I might have the simple freedom to enjoy such modest things as a family picnic, a ball game, or a day out on the lake with friends...
Simple things for sure. And simple things that we far too often take for granted...
For this reason, I am calling upon all South Carolinians to join Proud to Remember Honorary Chairman President Clinton, and the distinguished Honorary Committee of former Presidents Bush, Ford, Reagan, in a silent sign of respect for all the world to hear...
I urge you to share this moment with citizens throughout the Palmetto State and across our nation...
Say a prayer for those who died, for the loved ones they left behind, and for "the last best hope of man on earth"...
As these heroes came together in time of threat and war, let us all unite in a moment of remembrance, respect and rededication at 3:00 on Memorial Day. And let there be no mistake that from shore to shining shore, we, as Americans, are indeed "Proud to Remember"...
At this time, I am honored to ask South Carolinian, Michael Thornton, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, to join me in lighting this candle-- a symbol of liberty, hope, and remembrance...
Together, we the people of South Carolina stand Proud to Remember those "who have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the alter of freedom"...
The world is a better place because they lived-- and because they served.
God Bless them one and all, and all those who loved them...