 But these are some of the best trained fighting men in the world. They are United States Army Rangers, soldiers who specialize in using muscle and mind to accomplish their mission. You all know what that mission is, the protection of our country. But as you can see, you don't get this kind of protection without work. And you don't get it unless you've got men who are in physical shape to do the job. That's what our big picture is about today. You might call it the shape of the nation. And these fellows going through their paces at Ranger Training Camp make a good jumping off point for our story on physical fitness. He gets trim regularly at this game and he needs trimming, especially around the bay window. The only part of him that gets a workout in this activity is his wristwatch. The way his exercise is a little more strenuous. He's got to move those eyeballs around pretty fast to keep dodging the other cars. But let's give him his due wherever he is, those jaws get a real workout. Picture of a man getting in shape for heart disease and a good case of hardening at the arteries to chip off the old block. It won't be long before junior begins to develop his own fifth grade spread. What our friends, big and little, are really suffering from is the same affliction that hits thousands of Americans under activity. Yes, sir, we're the sit-ness nation in the world. Never have so many sat while so few moved. Then there are the automatic gadgets to make the living easy. Grandma had to use her biceps to get these jobs done. Today, the little woman flips the switch and the machine sweats it out. We got it made. As if I had to tell you, you're a narrator with Mrs. Hope's little boy, Robert. And I'm glad to be in here pitching again for Uncle Sam. Well, hello. Sir, did you read the sign, no peddlers? Oh, let's see machines replace that. Say, you wouldn't think all of this has anything to do with defending our country, but it has. We've got this tendency over here to make things as easy as possible for ourselves. So we give the work to the gadgets, sit around and let ourselves spread and get soft. Now, when a country gets all flab and no flip, it's in for real trouble when the going gets rough. Let me show you. For instance, did you know that three out of every five men called up for military service are rejected for physical reasons? In order to get the 196,000 men needed for the Berlin crisis, the government have to call up over 700,000 men. That's the kind of statistics that should keep us upnights worrying about where we're heading. In a recent speech, President Kennedy said he was afraid we were getting to be a nation of spectators. That we prefer to look instead of play, ride instead of walk. Greetings, Kate. Meet my golfing mate. Well, I see you're still in the rough. I'll see you at the clubhouse. Say, Jerry, I was just telling the folks that most of us don't get enough physical activity. Oh, I'm just breaking it in for a friend. Now seriously, folks, Bob's right. It's great having all these gadgets provided we don't let them wreck our health. That's the big danger, Jerry. Too many of our people don't seem to realize how important it is to keep the flab down and the flip up. Well, there are a lot of other countries in the world that do know how important it is. I don't know if Khrushchev has one of these things, but one thing I do know, the people over in his part of the world really work at keeping fit. Yeah, maybe you've seen some of the pictures of those Eastern European athletic meets. These are not professional athletes. They're mostly young people who are trained from childhood to keep their bodies in top condition. Many of them will go into their country's armed forces, bringing with them the strength and coordination they've built up over the years. Others will bring honors to their nation and international sports competitions. Often the United States has fallen behind in the Olympic games. That's because other nations go in for more individual participation in a great variety of sports. With these people, physical fitness is a way of life. And while there isn't much over there, we care to copy. We could do with a little more of this kind of thing in our country. Most pictures certainly aren't to give us something to think about, Bob. Well, we're doing a lot more than just thinking, Jerry. Fortunately, we got people in our country who are doing something about it. One of them is President Kennedy's consultant on youth fitness. Famous coach of Oklahoma's football team, Bud Wilkinson. Viv, you're the key man in this defense, and it's a little bit tough for you because we've got you lined up playing in front of the tackle. We want you to key the guard. When the guard pulls, you've got to go with him. When he makes a pass protection block, you've got to drop out and cover the hooks. Got it, Roy? Got it. Good. The President's Council on Youth Fitness was created by an executive order of President Eisenhower in 1956. This action alerted the country to the problem that we face in the area of physical fitness. The cause is practically self-evident. Modern conveniences, our technology, have eliminated the muscular effort in our daily lives. Under President Kennedy, the Council decided to take more specific action aimed at specific groups. The majority of young Americans are in our schools. We felt first that we should identify the underdeveloped child and be sure that each school had a program to bring the underdeveloped child up to par. To our amazement in a preliminary survey, we found that only 28% of America's schools had adequate physical education programs and less than 50% had daily activity programs for each boy and girl. We feel that this situation obviously needs to be corrected. With the cooperation of 19 leading educational and medical organizations, the President's Council has developed a recommended basic physical fitness program for the nation's schools. Many of them have already responded to the urgent appeal of the President's Council for a more vigorous fitness program. Now I would like to show you a portion of a film report by the President's Council on Youth Fitness demonstrating what some schools in the country are doing about this vital problem. Here's what happened in one town, Muscogee, Oklahoma. Physical fitness program in our school wasn't easy. Our muscles weren't used to this kind of exercise, and we were sort of stiff the first few days. We found we could do a whole lot more than we thought without getting tired. And anybody who couldn't keep up was a real square. We found the exercises helped us to do our schoolwork better, and we slept better at night and felt better. In a couple of weeks, we were really with it. We could really dig what all that exercise was doing for us. It was just like the music man Robert Preston said in a song about keeping fit. That's where physical fitness gets off to a good start in the school during the vital formative years. And equally important is continuation of exercises in the home where the whole family can join in. Reverend Bob Richards, nationally known authority on physical fitness, is a firm believer in family participation in exercise and sports. That's right, bud. I think the home is one of the best places to emphasize physical fitness. Considering the amount of time we spend around the house, what could make more sense than to use a small portion of that time to keep ourselves in shape? You're all probably familiar with some of the basic exercise routines that almost anyone can run through every day. Let's take push-ups for a starter. According to studies, most Americans are weak in their upper body development. Here's one that'll build your upper body. Here's a wonderful one for the midsection that you can do in your living room. If your abdominal muscles aren't in shape, you can bet your whole body will get in shape. This can be a fun exercise. You can do it with members of the whole family. Still another exercise. And one that is good for the hips is the hip bend. From this one, you can go into running in place, touching your toes, and many other kinds of exercising. The important thing is to stick with your exercising. Make it a daily routine, like eating. Actually, the two do go hand in hand. Good nutrition is an important part of physical fitness. And as Bud Wilkinson said, we've got to start the whole process at the beginning with our children. In every place where there are children, there should be some provision for outdoor exercise. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Just a few things to hang on, swing from, or climb over. Anything to give young muscles a workout. A physically fit America might well begin in the backyard or the community playground, where kids can start laying the groundwork for strong, healthy bodies. There are many more ways to continue the chain of physical fitness training in and around the home. Sandlot baseball, touch football, skating, bicycle riding, and dad, what about taking the kids for a hike when you get the chance? Good old fashioned walking is still fine exercise. Unfortunately, these days, most of us, children grownups alike, we just don't do enough of it. More than anything else, however, physical fitness has to be a state of mind. An attitude developed early in life. The child must learn to want a strong body, not necessarily to allow him to lick every other kid on the block, but because a strong body will help make him a more secure person. Through his growing years, this constructive attitude toward physical fitness can be encouraged most effectively in the child, both by school programs as we've seen, and within the framework of home and family where he spends most of his life. School and community, home and family. When these agencies unite in a concerted effort for physical fitness, our children are the beneficiaries. Sound bodies will enable them to lead healthy lives now and do their jobs better when they are grown. I guess we all recognize that there are many challenging jobs to be done in this country. Do you recognize this man? He's astronaut Alan Shepard, America's first man in space. Working out in the gymnasium may seem pretty tame compared to what astronaut Shepard and America's other astronauts have to go through, but it's all part of keeping fit for their job. And this is one job that calls for fitness right down to the fingertips. These are some of the physical tests our spacemen are put through by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency. Coordination, alertness, ability to withstand tremendous pressures. That's the order these men must fill. Only the best can make the grade. Perhaps Commander Shepard himself can tell us what it takes. More than anything else, it takes preparation in a way it's like baseball. Nobody ever made the big leagues without really being ready. And I think space flight is pretty big league too. You never really know what kind of an emergency situation may develop up there. A situation which often requires split second judgment. And it takes fast, cool-headed reaction to meet this kind of challenge. This reaction can only come from a body and mind that are healthy enough to accept a situation. Now over the years in the United States Armed Forces I've had to keep myself in good shape. And consequently it's become a habit for me and my family to maintain good physical fitness. I think this is a habit that would benefit all of us to enable us to meet our own individual challenges. Key words from a man who knows the importance of physical fitness. Whether we're talking about America's team of astronauts preparing for a shot into space or a much larger team which may someday have to defend our country. Like this team of West Point men in summer training at Camp Buckner. One day each of these men may be an officer in the United States Army. Like other West Pointers such as Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton and others some of these men may similarly be marked for fame. But all of them will become leaders with vital military assignments. Their preparedness, their readiness for important roles in the defense of their country is not a matter of accident. Their admission to the United States Military Academy depended on the highest degree of physical and mental fitness. They bring will and strength to their tasks. But they must have what it takes to make the grade and it takes plenty. A full program of athletic activities keep the men in shape during the long season of academic and technical studies. At the Academy, West Pointers get a workout in physical activities which stress individual performance. A sound mind and a sound body is an integral part of the educational program at West Point. Today we are engaged in a great challenge of ideologies. Our soldiers must be capable of clear swift thinking and intelligent judgment in order to meet the heavy demands of leadership in a technological age. Only a healthy and vigorous body is up to these demands. The end product of any effort is the sum of what you put into it. The foundation on which you build. The foundation of each man is his physical condition. And like every foundation, it must be strong. On its strength depends the safety and well-being of our nation. Today, as in World War II, we know that the building of the physical side of young Americans is one of our most crucial tasks. Former Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, said in 1944, it is the truth that only those men are fit to be free who can fight to win and maintain their freedom. Whenever a nation becomes incapable for physical reasons of maintaining itself in this world, its freedom will be destroyed. The price of freedom is the ability to defend it. That defense must begin early in life with girls and boys whose bodies are strong and healthy so that they will be prepared to meet the growing stresses of our time. The degree of their strength and of their purpose will determine our survival as a free nation. To those of us who've got school behind us and now have to make it down the long run to good jobs, a family, and everything that goes with healthy living, the example of men like Bud Wilkinson, Alan Shepard, and Bob Richards is an inspiration. My particular interest is skiing and I'm in pretty good shape, but I sure was shocked to learn that three out of five of my buddies couldn't pass the induction physical. There are many roads to physical fitness and there's sure to be one to fill the bill for each of us. Maybe it's the high board where the champs set their sights right at the top. Roll and timing needed here. In swimming, it's limber muscles and limbs that don't tire easily. Water sports of every kind are fun and good body building exercise. And we can do them in our local club and winter as well as at the beach or lake in warmer weather. Many of us take to the bowling alleys, a great indoor sport that can do a lot toward keeping us in shape. With strength and endurance, as a goal, all of us should set for ourselves. Very few of us will become strongmen at demonstrations or international competitions. Good pound barbell takes plenty of lifting power and calls for a lot more weight than is good for most of us. But this kind of strength is an example of what the body can do when it is trained for the job. For most of us, walking, as Bob Richards said, is one of the easiest kinds of exercise that one almost everybody can do. It doesn't have to be a 50-mile hike, but more power to the ones who can make it. The walking habit can go a long way toward keeping us physically fit. But whatever form of exercise we take, we know what's going to prepare us for what's up ahead, for helping us measure up to the demands of military service in the defense of our nation and for meeting our responsibilities as citizens. Now that's nice firm flat. Well, everybody can't make top grade in physical fitness, but everyone can make the most of what he is by following a daily program of exercises. That goes for juniors, sis, mom, and dad, and the rest of the family. For all of you, keeping fit will pay off in a happier life. And remember, no matter what your job is, it can be done better when you're in good physical shape. And now the man behind the country's youth fitness program, President John F. Kennedy, has a personal message for all of us on this important subject. I welcome this opportunity to speak to the people of America about a subject which I believe to be most important, and that is the subject of physical fitness. And I speak not only as President of the United States, but also as a parent of two children who I hope will grow up with those qualities of vigor and energy which we identify with the best of America. This should be a matter of concern to us all. A country is as strong really as its citizens. And I think that mental and physical health, mental and physical vigor, go hand in hand. I hope that we will not find a day in the United States when all of us are spectators, except for a few who are out on the field. I hope all Americans will be on the field. That is, they will concern themselves with the education of their children, with the physical development of their children, with the participation in the vigorous life, and then also as their children get older, inculcate into them a desire to maintain that vigor through their normal life. Our citizens are living longer, and we want them to participate fully in that longer life. But they can only do so if they give some of their time and some of their effort to maintaining that vitality. This is a subject which should be of interest to us all. And I hope when we have seen the astonishing results which we have seen from our work in a few schools across the country, where we've been able in the short space of two and three months to change the physical habits and strength of our children, that this will spread to every school district in the United States, that all of us will participate in the life around us. And in so doing, we'll be better citizens and happier ones. This is a challenge for us all, children, boys and girls, college students, mothers and fathers, and all of us I think should welcome it. I hope all of you will join in a great national effort to build a strong and better America through physical effort and through the contributions we can make by the drive and force we bring to our daily lives.