of Governor Herbert R.. O'Conor 385

This confidence has been generated not alone by the addition of the giant
battleships North Carolina and Washington to our fleet; not alone by the fact
that in cruisers and in destroyers, in airplanes and in submarines, we have add-
ed reassuring numbers of the most modern fighting craft.

The prime source of this supreme confidence in our navy is the realization
on all sides that its personnel, the gallant sailors who man our fighting ships,
measure up fully to the exacting standards that have always prevailed in our
sea forces.

In intelligence, in training, in courage and morale, the United States Navy
is the equal, or superior, of any navy, in the world today. And you men can
be proud to claim membership in its ranks! You enter a service which has
never known defeat.

What, then, does one say to young men commissioned in the service of
their Country? Certainly you can be given no easy promises, no empty
phrases, none of the usual graduation pat-on-the-back advice. Nevertheless, it
would be just as wrong to hand down the doctrine of despair.

History has shown that there never was" a time within the life of our
Nation when the principles on which it was founded have not been challenged.
And those challenges, those threats have been met by young men remarkably
like you.

If you are sons worthy of your forefathers, why, then, let the enemy be-
ware! If your feet stand as firmly on the decks as American feet have stood
before, then the world may truly believe that "there shall be no night. "

How shall I charge you with your duties? I shall charge you in the
names of Perry and Farragut and Dewey; of John Paul Jones and Joshua
Barney; of the Monitor and the Merrimac and Old Ironsides! I shall remind
you of the traditions of the service you are entering; of the men before you
who went "down to the sea" in American battleships and swept the enemy from
our waters.

For let us remember that the future still belongs to the youth of the world.
It is going to be whatever you make of it. The flame of liberty burns inside
the human heart, and it will not die in hearts that are ardent with courage and
determination. Yours is the heritage of brave hearts and bright souls. Yours
is the legacy of freedom and of glory. Be it yours, too, to keep that which our
forefathers won and bequeathed to us.

Optimism and confidence, based upon determination and resolute action,
should be the watchwords of the day. America will say "yes" when the ques-
tion is asked whether we can organize and discipline ourselves to meet the
efficiency and brute force of the dictator nations, without impairing our system
of government or losing our essential rights.

Whatever sacrifices are necessary, will be made. Whatever cost is re-
quired, will be met. Whatever temporary adjustments are essential, will be
arranged.

We, of this generation, will keep faith with our forefathers. We will