of Governor Herbert R. O'Conor 403

for us at Valley Forge; at Gettysburg, at Montfaucon, that we of this genera-
tion, and of all generations to come, will carry on the fight they waged so
gloriously, will never yield a fraction of the heritage won for us by their valor.

In the light of the threats to our security today, Memorial Day finds us
steeped in thought, leaves us with troubled emotions. The will for peace is
dominant as ever in the hearts of American men and women. But no longer '
can we afford to be complacent; rib more can we be cynical about preparing for
war while declaring a will for peace. The irony of that paradox is already too
clear, now that we have seen, ruthless attacks become the order of the day. Now
we know that a will for peace is not enough.

Ten years ago—five years ago—even perhaps two years ago, it was p03sible
to entertain the conviction that the United States had seen its last World War,
at least within our lifetime. ' No longer, we believed, was it necessary to make
much of an issue of peace. It was already with us, everyone took it for granted,
we all believed it was here to stay. Those public men who expressed doubts
upon the subject ran the risk of being classed as sensationalists. We were com-
placent in our own security. We came to the cemeteries and to the monuments
on Memorial Day, and we laid down our wreaths and went away saying to our-
selves: "Thank Heaven, it will never happen again. "

Just a few evenings ago, however, millions of anxious Americans listened
tensely as the President of the United States, acting in his capacity as Com-
mander-in-Chief of our military and naval forces, laid down the policy which
he and his advisers had decided must be followed if the security of America
is to be preserved.

Here was no militaristic ranting, but rather a dignified expression of the
well-reasoned conviction that only by the exercise of the utmost vigilance could
America escape the tragic fate that had engulfed so many nations of the world.

No longer can we sit in false security, trusting to the natural defense of
distance to protect us. Our old-time ideas about war have been out-moded,
and with them ancient ideas of isolation and defense must be discarded.

Today, our Commander-in-chief warns that not only must we be alert to
repel the enemy when he is actually amongst us, but our defense patrols must
range far and wide to detect attack and to intercept it before the enemy strikes.
For this purpose, our people must realize every resource of our Country, of our
man power, of industry, of labor, must be directed to the common goal—the
goal of thorough and immediate preparedness. No one can truly call himself
American, no one deserves to continue in the enjoyment of his American rights
and privileges, if he fails to heed and to comply whole-heartedly with that
clear-cut rallying cry.

In the presence today of our hero-dead, we are reminded of the tremendous
debt we owe them. To discharge that debt one must be ready to discharge to
the fullest the responsibility he owes his Country in the way of service. The
most gratifying tribute our dead could exact from us today is the renewal of
their democratic principles, of our spirit of fealty to our Country and to them.
Today at their resting place; on this, their day of tribute, we can do no less