"This was the cost--the terrible cost--of protecting the Republic of Korea from Communist aggression. And as I meet with President Park and see your countryside and your people, and then I look out into the faces of this Assembly, I know that these men did not die in vain. For here is one of the truly dramatic stories of our time--a nation transformed within a generation. I hope that a great historian will soon record the story: of how an ancient nation has emerged from the shadows of its colonial past and from the tragedy of war to become one of the youngest and the most vigorous constitutional democracies in the world. I want him to tell how this nation-through no fault of its own--was divided, and invaded, and almost destroyed. I want him to record that, when the fighting stopped, Korea faced every conceivable difficulty: its cities in ashes, millions of refugees, transportation in ruins, factories idle, inflation rampant, and unemployment high. I want him to tell of the men and women who guided this nation through those terrible years; of their greatness and their shortcomings; of their foresight and their errors. I want him to describe the student uprising, the military revolt, and then the achievement of constitutional government in the fall of 1963. I want him to recall the sense of triumph and accomplishment--when the votes were cast and counted, and the people had made their choice of who would govern. I want him to record how you have taken your stand with other nations that are helping South Vietnam to resist a new Communist tactic, one that combines external aggression with internal terror. I want him to record that your contribution, in terms of population, matches the United States of America."