My First Recollection Is That Of A

Even When Opportunity Knocks, A Man Still Has To Get Up Off His Seat And Open The Door.

Like The Old Soldier Of The Ballad, I Now Close My Military Career And Just Fade Away, An Old Soldier Who Tried To Do His Duty As God Gave Him The Light To See That Duty. Goodbye.

I Address You With Neither Rancor Nor Bitterness In The Fading Twilight Of Life, With But One Purpose In Mind: To Serve My Country. The Issues Are Global And So Interlocked That To Consider The Problems Of One Sector, Oblivious To Those Of Another, Is But To Court Disaster For The Whole. While Asia Is Commonly Referred To As The Gateway To Europe, It Is No Less True That Europe Is The Gateway To Asia, And The Broad Influence Of The One Cannot Fail To Have Its Impact Upon The Other.

In The Mighty And Almost Limitless Potential Of American Industry-the Brilliance And Rugged Determination Of Its Leaders; The Skill, Energy And Patriotism Of Its Workers-there Has Been Welded An Almost Impregnable Defense Against The Evil Designs Of Any Who Would Threaten The Security Of The American Continent. It Is Indeed The Most Forceful And Convincing Argument Yet Evolved To Restrain The Irresponsibility Of Those Who Would Recklessly Bring Down Upon The Good And Peace-loving Peoples Of All The Nations Of The Earth The Disaster Of Total War.

A Better World Shall Emerge Based On Faith And Understanding.