forbearance should never be misunderstood our reluctance for conf lict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security we will act. We will maintain suf f icient strength to prevail if need be knowing that if we do so, we have the best chance of never having to use that strength Above all we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsena ls of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women It is a eapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors I am--I'm told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day i and for that i am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God and I believe God intended for us to be free. It would be f itting and good i think if on each ina ugural day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer. This is the first time in our history that this ceremony has been he ld, as you've been told, on this West Front of the Capitol Standing here, one faces a magnif icent vista, opening up on this city's special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand. D irectly in front of me, the monument to a monumental man. George Washington, father of our country. a man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infan nationhood. Off to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jefferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. And then beyond the Ref lecting Pool, the dignif ied columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln Beyond those moments -- those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. they add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero i spoke of earlier Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, the Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and ha lf way around the world on guada Canal, tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam Under one such a marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division There, on the Western front, he was killed trying to carry a message betweenforbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain suf ficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do so, we have the best chance of never having to use that strength. Above all we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of f ree men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors. I am -- I'm told that tens of thousands of prayer meetings are being held on this day; and for that I am deeply grateful. We are a nation under God, and I believe God intended for us to be f ree. It would be fitting and good, I think, if on each inaugural day in future years it should be declared a day of prayer. This is the first time in our history that this ceremony has been held, as you’ve been told, on this West Front of the Capitol. Standing here, one faces a magnificent vista, opening up on this city’s special beauty and history. At the end of this open mall are those shrines to the giants on whose shoulders we stand. Directly in f ront of me, the monument to a monumental man. George Washington, father of our country. A man of humility who came to greatness reluctantly. He led America out of revolutionary victory into infant nationhood. Of f to one side, the stately memorial to Thomas Jef ferson. The Declaration of Independence flames with his eloquence. And then beyond the Reflecting Pool, the dignified columns of the Lincoln Memorial. Whoever would understand in his heart the meaning of America will find it in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Beyond those moments -- those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny f raction of the price that has been paid for our f reedom. Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, the Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam. Under one such a marker lies a young man, Martin Treptow, who lef t his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the Western f ront, he was killed trying to carry a message between