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, / eer ee he! SPOT OV RRR ET Tern ym 1 ( ws + en we eee eg nr ed meee came 2 Sane res = ~ i ave americen Lepien--1608 K St., N. W., Washington 6, D.C. EX 3-482 Response ef Bishop Fulton J. Sheen te the Presentation of The ipo American Legion Distinguished Service Medal, National = --------—~ PF ETI TOTO Yorn ae SAN mMWHE & syst ey "Why?" : — perry [mois Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, September 17, 1957. r , . 7 ' I hope that you members of The American Legion were less shot at by eneny soldiers than by photographers. Bener is im the ene honoring, not in the ene homered. I have been honored teday by the greatest group in our mation, the men and women who have fought in one er two wars, never once in a war of offense and never ence to Wen fer America a single foot of alien territory. Thank you. , I do not know precisely why you should honor me. Some time ago I was talking in the new War Memorial of Syracuse -- oh, yes, there's New York. _ CApplause.) Some ushers in the War wemorial of Syracuse were talking to onc another and they said, "You kmow this War Memorial has never yet been filled. We have had boxing matches, wrestling mtches, dances, basketball." — One usher said to the other, "Well, it will be filled next Thursday . night." OA Le ee ae "Well," i id, "B S is costing." io 3 ye oe ell," ke said, "Bishop Sheen is coming Dhit_ 9h is : And the first wsher said, "Who's he wrestling?" ~ oo A754 I am very happy you honored me because I have something in my heart which I haye had for a long, long time that I wanted to say te The American Legion and this gives me an opportunity. I have no mamiscript, no papers here. I am just going to talk out of the _ fuliness of my heart and let well out thoughts that have been there for many years. Another reason why I do not use papers is because an Irish woman @nce heard a Bishop reading a speech and she said, "Glory be to God! If he can't remen- ber it how does he expect us to?" ; Gentlemen; more than Congress, more than any political party, more than atty civic group in the United States, The American Legion is the most stable force for the preservation of American ideals in our nation, and for two reasons: First, you are preserving the sense of discipline .since you have ail "been in the armed services; you know what a command is, erder, authority. f There is a softening process going on in the world and in the nation in which liberty is gradually degenerating into license. Teachers in schools are having difficulty, civil authorities are having difficulty having jrespect for law; but because you have combined in your lives law and freedom fyou are acting as a very stable force in the nation. eT Law without liberty is tyranny; liberty without law is license.: