Third, if we don't want to squander our opportunity for greatness, then the decisions our future leaders make can't be guided by polls and politics-but by character and judgement. What our leaders do in the next few years will help direct not just the course of events.but the course of the century.and the course of our lives. Just last month, we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon. On the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, there are 58,000 names. Most belong to young men.young men who had followed in the courageous footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers who crossed the Rhine or climbed Pork Chop Hill.
Political leaders decide when our nation goes to war.
But those who fight wars do not sit in the White House, or in Congress. Those who fight wars are young. They come from places like Raleigh and Concord and Pine Tops. They come from all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds. And today, they will be both men and women.