Ronald Reagan

“ Every year, in the beautiful springtime, the American people pause on a special day to pay the heartfelt tribute of love and remembrance to all the sons and daughters of our land who have laid down their lives on the altar of liberty. ”

“ Let us pay tribute, then, to the dead and injured of United States Ship STARK by making their faithfulness and courage and love our own, ever and always. Without Americans like them, there would be no land of the free and no home of the brave; because of Americans like them, the lamp of liberty burns on undimmed, unvanquished, and unquenchable. ”

“ No words of ours can pay them the full tribute that is their due: their service, sacrifice, and love of country crown their memory on this day of grief and will do so as long as there is an America that defends freedom and honors its heroic champions. ”