March 8, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard today hosted a joint press conference following the dedication of the photo exhibition in the Russell Rotunda, “Enduring Bond: 60 Years of ANZUS.” Senator McCain delivered the following remarks:
“It is my distinct privilege to welcome Prime Minister Gillard to Washington, DC and to Capitol Hill. A number of us will be meeting with the Prime Minister later today, and we are all looking forward to her addressing a joint session of Congress tomorrow. We are honored by your presence here in our nation’s capitol.
“No matter who occupies the White House, and no matter what party holds power in Congress, America’s commitment to the security and success of our ally Australia is enduring and unbreakable. This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty, and as we do, we recognize that we are bound together by far more than that one document. We are united by ties of family and friendship, mutual interests and common values, and the shared sacrifice in service of each other.
“Here in this Rotunda are photographs that commemorate the more than one century of shared military struggle and sacrifice that Australians and Americans have undertaken together. I particularly want to mention that more than 50,000 Australians served, and 521 gave their lives, in the war in Vietnam – and as a veteran of that conflict, I was personally very moved by, and very grateful for, the Prime Minister’s visit to the Vietnam Memorial yesterday, and especially her generous contribution to the education center now being built there.
“Our nations have given much together, both to protect our way of life and to give others the same chance to enjoy the blessings of peace and freedom. So Madame Prime Minister, if you take only one message back to Australian from your time in Washington, let it be the thanks of this grateful nation – which values our historic alliance, which values the brave Australians who are serving with our men and women in uniform in Afghanistan, and which values above all else the safer, freer, and better world that your nation does far more than its fair share to promote.”
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