and honoring them for their service and i thought it would be special. i sent a note to the staff and i was very surprised that he responded so quickly but he did write back a very nice letter and if it s ookay i ll read a little bit of it for you. please. as you know my father and grandfather served in the navy. both were men of great curage and dignity, both were tough acts to follow. but they also inspired me to serve a cause greater than own self interest. it was their leadership and inspiration that encourage canned me to work for others. god bless me with a company of heroes and it has made all the difference in my life. and he closed it with these two sentences i think are powerful. be proud of your accomplishments and never stop believing in yourself and most importantly you will find the most happiness serving a cause greater than your own self interests.
i m about to share with you right now comments from both presidents, bush and obama about the political life led by senator john mccain the powerful example he set. first the 43rd president, george w. bush. thing about john s life was the amazing sweep of it from a tiny prison cell in vietnam floor of the united states senate. from trouble making plea to presidential candidate. wherever john passed throughout the world, people immediately knew there was a leader untheir midst. and one epic life was written the curage and greatness of our country. for john and me there was personal journey. our hard fought political history. back in the day he could frustrate me. and i know he d say the same thing about me.
and decency that makes the military something new in history, an unrivalled power for good. it s this combination of curage and decency that set america on a journey and to the world to liberate death camps, to stand guard against extremism and to work for the true peace that comes only with freedom. john felt these commitments in his bones. it is a a tribute to his moral compass that dissidents and prisoners in so many places from russia to north korea to china knew that he was on their side. and i i think their respect meant more to him than any medals and honors life could bring. the passion for fairness and justice extended to our own military. when a private was poorly equipped or a seaman over worked in terrible condecision, john loved nothing more than dressing down an admiral or a general.
the little guy to speak for forgotten people and places. one friend recalls how john, while a lowly phraoeb reacted to seeing an upper classman verbally abuse a steward. he told the jerk to pick on someone his own size. where did such strength and conviction come from? perhaps from a family where honor was in the atmosphere or the first-hand experience of cruelty which left physical reminders that lasted his whole life or from some deep well of moral principal. whatever the cause, it was this combination of curage and decency that defined john s calling. and culturely paralleled the calling of his country. it s this combination of curage
code. he lived by a set of public virtus that brought strength and purpose to his life and country. he was curages. with a curage that frightened his captors and inspired his countryman. he was honest. no matter whom it offended. presidents were not spared. he was honorable. always recognizing that his opponents were still patriots and human beings. he loved freedom with a passion of a man who knew its spbs. he respected the dignity inherent in every life. a dignity that does not stop at borders cannot be erased by dictators. perhaps above all john detested the abuse of power. could not abide bigots and swagering despresident trumps. there was something deep inside him that made him stand up for