Ambassador Gnehm Remarks:
HMAS Adelaide:
Dedication to the loss of lives on USS Peary
Sunday, February 18, 2001

(Laying wreath at site of the USS Peary)

Governor General, Administrator, Prime Minister Howard, Governor General, Honored Veterans and Servicemen and Distinguished Guests:

On January 1, Australians throughout this land commenced the celebration of the centenary of Australian Federation. One hundred years ago Australians banded together to form one of the world's great democracies -- a democracy established on the same principles of freedom which form the foundation of democracy in my own country, the United States.

And on this day, February 19, we gather together in Darwin to commemorate one of the most dramatic events of the past century -- an event that helped forge this continent into a great nation and an event that forever will inscribe in history the alliance of our two democracies. On that morning of February 19, 1942, when Japanese aircraft arrived over Darwin, they found Australians and Americans prepared to fight together in defense. Our security as much as Australia's was at stake in the battle. Darwin was the front line of freedom that morning and Australians and Americans fought side-by-side.

The destroyer USS Peary had entered Darwin just a short while before, having already experienced several bombardments. The men on the USS Peary were seasoned veterans by the time the Japanese struck, but nothing could have prepared them for the fate they were to meet in this harbor. The accounts of the guns blazing and the men continuing their fight as the ship went down, serve as a record of bravery and heroism in the chronicles of the war in the Pacific.

The 91 men who were killed aboard the USS Peary represent the sacrifice that we were forced to make to preserve freedom. Those who survived this attack, our veterans who are with us today, represent the victory and the fulfillment of the commitment that was made by Australia and the United States to ensure that our freedom was not lost. It is to our veterans I would like to pay my deepest respect.

For almost two years following this initial attack on Australia, the residents - military and civilians - of Darwin endured the hardships of a nation at war. As generations pass on and our younger population moves to the role of lawmakers and leaders, there are certain lessons that must never be lost: the anguish of battle, the loss of lives, the devastation of property.

Among the lessons, the most important is our tradition of standing together to confront aggression. This year is the fiftieth anniversary of the signature of the ANZUS Alliance which commits us formally to work together to preserve freedom. This treaty serves as a promise to our children that we will work together to ensure peace in the region and the world. More deeply, of course, what binds us together are common democratic values.

Working together, strengthening our Alliance, we will keep alive the memories of those who died and we will continue to ensure the peace that those who survived fought so hard to preserve.

Thank you.

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