Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-04-07

anu pdICleS VI llie IHeu Oh our
fighting forces.
No one can think of the great
American Army without thinking
of those leaders of victory, those
commanding officers, who now take
their place in history with the i'm
mortals of the past. And the Army
itself as we'll as the American people
will always remember the inspira-
ton, leadership, courage and deter
mination which came from that
gallant warrior in the White House
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The past is history. 1t is the
future to which we must turn our
thoughts and energies now. What
of the world on the Army Days to
come? What of the future of man
kind in the atomic age which is
upon us?
Let us look clearly at today and
tomorrow The facts are plain, and
L think our course is also plain.
Determined to Remain Strong.
The United States today is a
strong Nation; there is none strong
er. This is not boast. 1t is fact
which calls for solemn thought
and due humility. 1t means that
with such strength, we have to as
sumo leadership and accept re-
sponsibility. 1t would be a tragic
breach of national duty and inter
national faith If, consciously Or
carelessly, We permitted ourselves
ever to. be unprepared to fulfill that
responsibility.
We still have much to do. We
are determined to remain strong.
We still have all the duties of
the armies of occupation. We still
have to do our share in supervising
former enemy governments, enforc-
ing the peace terms, disarming and
repatriating enemy troops, taking
care of hundreds of thousands of dis
placed persons. We still have to
service and supply all our troops
overseas. We still have to protect
and preserve American property all
over the world. We still have to de-
stroy the war materiel and the war
making industries of our enemies.
But far and above all those things,
We must remain strong because only
so long as we remain strong can we
insure the peace of the world. Peace
has to be built on power for good.
Justice and good will and good deeds
are not enough. We cannot on one
day proclaim our intention to pre-
vent unjust aggression and oppres-
sion in the world, and on the next
day call for immediate scrapping of
our military might.
Must Retain Leadership.
We must remain strong. Not be-
cause we plan or want to impose our
views upon the world by force, or do
battle with any nation. We must
remain strong in order to retain our
leadership, and, with all our re-
sources, exercise that leadership on
behalf of a world of peace and har-
mony among all nations and all
peoples. That is not only our moral
duty; it is firm obligation which
we have undertaken as member of
the United Nations.
From the military point of view,
how can we best maintain this
strength and leadership? I have,
during the past year, given what
consider appropriate answers to that
question, to the Congress and to the
Nation. Because time passes quickly,
and because delay is itself a proc
ess of decay, I emphasize those an
sWers again today.
They are: First, unification of
all our armed services in single
department: second, temporary ex-
tension of the Selective Service Act;
third, universal training.
Unification does not mean subor-
dination of any branch of the serv-
ice. 1t does not mean a loss of
identity. 1t means just what the
word standardization. 1t means
a concentration and cohesion of our
best military thought and our best
military resources, geared to maxi
mum efficiency. 1t means using our
experience in World War II for the
peace of the world.
/ hope that the second objective
will very soon be achieved in the